Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will require taxi and minicab drivers to complete disability equality training.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Effective disability awareness training can help ensure that taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers have the knowledge, skills and confidence to provide passengers with appropriate assistance, so that they can travel independently and with confidence.
The Department wants every local licensing authority to require taxi and PHV drivers to complete this training, and will make this clear in updated best practice guidance, due to be published for consultation later in the year.
The Government also remains committed to introducing mandatory disability awareness training for taxi and PHV drivers through new National Minimum Standards for licensing authorities when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Air Quality Expert Group's report on Non-Exhaust Emissions from Road Traffic, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report's findings that fully electric cars cause dust pollution from car brakes and tyres.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department for Transport recognises that fully electric cars, in common with all road vehicles, contribute particulate pollution from road, tyre and brake wear.
In February 2021, the Department commissioned a leading UK research provider to investigate the measurement techniques, materials properties and control parameters of brake and tyre wear emissions from road vehicles. The study will report in 2023 and will be used to inform policy decisions and any potential legislation that may be required to control and reduce these emissions, including from electric vehicles.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason Colombia is on the covid-19 red list for international travel.
Answered by Robert Courts
Colombia has been on the red list since 15 January 2021 due to the ongoing presence of variants of concern. Government scientists will continue to engage with countries on the red list and keep the evidence on variants of concern, especially Lambda and Mu, under close review in order to ensure the UK’s approach remains proportionate.
Decisions on red country assignment and associated border measures will continue to be taken by Ministers, who take into account the JBC risk assessments alongside wider public health factors.
The data for all countries and territories will be kept under review and the Government will not hesitate to take action where a country’s epidemiological picture changes.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take steps to give priority access to key workers and disabled people to fuel their cars during fuel supply chain pressures.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
This is a matter for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will commit to allocating more funding to local authorities to build secure (a) cycle hangars and (b) on-street cycle parking spaces.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
£239 million of capital funding is being made available to local authorities outside London this financial year for active travel measures, including cycle parking infrastructure. Local transport authorities have been invited to bid for this funding and allocations will be announced in the autumn.
In London, Transport for London (TfL) and the London Boroughs are responsible for the provision of public cycle parking. The Government announced a third funding and financing package for TfL in June this year, which includes £100 million to continue the delivery of healthy streets and active travel programmes.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to accelerate the conversion of the world fleet of commercial ships to green propulsion.
Answered by Robert Courts
The Government is working actively to accelerate the transition of the shipping industry to zero emissions operations.
Internationally, the UK has played a key role in the development of the International Maritime Organization’s strategy for climate change, and we will be pushing for a zero emissions international shipping industry by 2050 in future negotiations.
Domestically, we have set out our next steps in the recent Transport Decarbonisation Plan and committed £23m to support research and development through the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support his Department is providing to local authorities to fund and increase the availability of electric charging points.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Department is committed to ensuring consumers have reliable access to a comprehensive vehicle charging network so that they can easily and conveniently charge their vehicles wherever they live and travel. The Government has committed £1.3 billion to accelerate the roll out of charging infrastructure which will see the installation of more on-street charge points near homes.
Local authorities will have a key role in planning and enabling the delivery of charge points to meet the needs of their local communities and areas, with particular focus on supporting those who do not have access to off-street parking. The On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) is available to all UK local authorities to provide public chargepoints for their residents without access to private parking. By 01 August 2021, the Scheme had supported 49 different local authorities to install over 1,400 chargepoints, while a further 88 local authorities have also been awarded grant funding to provide more than 3,200 on-street public chargepoints with their installations to be completed. This year, £20 million is available under the Scheme. Free support and expert advice for applications to the Scheme is provided on the Department’s behalf by Energy Saving Trust.
Government also committed at Spending Review a further £90 million to fund local EV charging infrastructure, to support the roll out of larger, on-street charging schemes and rapid hubs in England.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to help tackle road safety issues in respect of e-scooters hired under the Government’s e-scooter rental trials.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
There are a number of ways in which the Department is making the trials as safe as possible. All trial e-scooters must meet minimum construction standards and have at least third-party insurance provided by the e-scooter operator. Trial areas were required to provide evidence of engagement with the local police before a trial could be approved, to ensure the police were aware of the trials and of their role in enforcement. If an e-scooter is ridden into a no-go zone, it will power down to a safe stop, requiring the rider to push it back to an area in which riding is permitted. It is for the police to take action against rider behaviour for offences including drink driving; riding on the footway; contravening red traffic lights and using a mobile phone. Those who ride private e-scooters on the public highway are liable to be issued with fixed penalty notices for offences including contravening cycle lanes, riding without insurance and riding without a driving licence.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason Canada was not included alongside the EU and USA for quarantine-free travel to the UK from 28 July 2021; and whether he plans to take steps to implement quarantine-free travel between the UK and Canada.
Answered by Robert Courts
Canada was added to the UK government’s green list at 4am on Monday 30 August 2021, meaning travellers arriving in the UK from Canada will not have to quarantine regardless of whether they are fully vaccinated.
The government is taking a phased approach to expanding the policy for vaccinated inbound travellers, and in due course, we will explore expanding this approach to other countries, where it is safe to do so. At present, we are unable to give timescales for extending this policy, but we look forward to working with Canada as we progress towards a safe, sustainable and robust return to international travel.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to reduce the cost of public transport to encourage members of the public to drive and fly less.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The National Bus Strategy, published on the 15 March, will deliver better bus services for passengers across England, through ambitious and far-reaching reform of how services are planned and delivered, to make local bus services more frequent, more reliable, easier to understand and use, better co-ordinated with simpler fares. We expect Local Transport Authorities to produce Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs) by the end of October 2021, setting out an ambitious vision for travel by bus in their area, meeting the goals and expectations in the strategy.
New national rail flexible season tickets were announced as part of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, reflecting modern working patterns and saving many passengers hundreds of pounds. The tickets went on sale on 21 June and became available for passengers to use on 28 June.
Great British Railways will use its leadership to simplify the current mass of complicated fares and tickets. Passengers will have simpler digital ticketing, be able to purchase tickets through a single industry website and app. There will be greater convenience for passengers through contactless travel in urban areas using contactless bankcards and smartphones.