Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential security implications of the proposed merger between Vodafone and Three.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department for Transport has no involvement in considering telecoms mergers.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals under the Environment Act 2021 on the compulsory recall of vehicles and engines on the grounds that relevant environmental standards are not met.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department is currently working with stakeholders to develop an environmental recall regime and expect a public consultation to be available later this year followed by subsequent draft legislation in 2024.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plan to impose financial penalties on vehicle manufacturers who used defeat devices.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Under powers introduced under this government, the Secretary of State has civil powers to fine up to £50,000 in respect of defeat device usage per offence. If the offence is prosecuted as a criminal offence, in particularly serious cases in England that can increase to an unlimited fine.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Road Vehicles (Authorisation of Special Types) (General) (Amendment) Order 2023 on the safety of (a) pedestrians and (b) cyclists.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
After an 11-year trial, safety data indicates that the safety rate for cyclists and pedestrians with Longer Semi Trailers is better than for the average HGV. Longer Semi Trailers also reduce the amount of lorries on the road, which provides an additional safety benefit.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with (a) businesses, (b) industry representatives and (c) other stakeholders on encouraging a move from road to rail for the transport of goods.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Ministers and senior officials engage regularly with businesses, industry representatives and other stakeholders on a range of initiatives to encourage a move from road to rail for transporting goods. For example, initiatives currently include setting a rail freight growth target and a review of the current Mode Shift Revenue Support (MSRS) scheme, which runs until 31 March 2025.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether existing smart motorways will remain in place; and whether the construction of new smart motorways will continue.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
I refer the honourable Member to the Written Statement made by my RHF the Secretary of State on 17 April (HCWS712).
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department will take to reduce the cost of producing sustainable aviation fuel.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government will introduce a SAF mandate from 2025 requiring at least 10% of UK aviation fuel to be made from sustainable sources from 2030. The mandate will drive demand for SAF and the Government expects to see costs fall as production scales up. The Government published its second consultation on the detail of the SAF mandate in April 2023.
Alongside this, the Government has also launched the second application window for the £165m Advanced Fuels Fund competition to kick start a UK industry.
Philip New’s report on supporting investment in a UK SAF industry was published in April 2023, together with the Government’s response, and the Government is working with industry to consider options for additional revenue certainty to accelerate the growth of a UK SAF industry.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will end the toll on the Mersey Gateway Bridge.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The charges on the Mersey Gateway and Silver Jubilee bridges are ensuring that their users make a fair contribution towards the cost of delivering the significant improvements in connectivity enabled by these crossings.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has a target on the proportion of highways with a dedicated cycle lane by the end of this Parliament; and how many highways had a dedicated lane in 2019.
Answered by Jesse Norman
There is no such target nor is this information held by the Department.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will increase the level of funding for the fixing of potholes.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Government is investing more than £5.5 billion between 2020 and 2025 into local highways maintenance. This includes the extra £200 million announced in the Spring Budget in March 2023.