Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the UK Classic Car Industry is supported in the event of future restrictions on the use of petrol and diesel cars.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The government is going further and faster to decarbonise transport by phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030 and, from 2035, all new cars and vans must be zero emissions at the tailpipe. Owners of existing petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans, including classic cars, will still be able to use these vehicles and buy and sell them on the used market.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to implement a temporary reprieve in the need for an annual MOT test in relation to the disruption caused to businesses by the ongoing covid 19 situation.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Considering the developing situation and the need to balance the risks to road safety with the needs of vulnerable groups and businesses, the legislative requirements relating to vehicle use and testing are under review.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, if the Commission will (a) subscribe to the bill tracker service provided by Public Information Online and (b) make it available on the Parliamentary intranet; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Pete Wishart
The Commission has no plans to subscribe to the bill tracker service provided by Public Information Online and to make it available on the Parliamentary intranet.
The functions provided by the service, which are to enable users to follow the progress of bills through Parliament, are already provided by the Bills before Parliament pages of the Parliament website. This covers Public Bills from the 2002–03 session and Private Bills from the 2001–02 session. Additionally, Bills are indexed in the Parliamentary Search tool on the Parliamentary intranet. This enables users to find any Parliamentary business related to a Bill.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of ticketing infrastructure on the Essex Thameside trainline.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Trenitalia c2c have been implementing new ticket retailing infrastructure since summer 2019, upgrading ticket office machines and ticket vending machines across the route. Officials are aware that a number of technical issues have been experienced and, as a consequence, Trenitalia c2c are providing regular updates to the Department on the measures being taken to rectify and improve the technology.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Trenitalia's operation of the Essex Thameside train line, what steps he is taking to help ensure that rail customers are not charged unexpected currency conversion fees when purchasing travel tickets.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Customer should not be charged unexpected currency conversion fees when purchasing travel tickets. However, there was an instance in August 2019 when Trentialia c2c launched their new Sigma Ticket Vending Machines, where a software issue led to a limited number of customers being charged in Euros. As soon as this was discovered the issue was rectified, those customers were reimbursed. Since then there have been no similar issues with charging in other currencies.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of new ticketing technology on the Essex Thameside train line.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Officials are aware of a number of technical issues experienced with the new ticketing technology being implemented at stations and ticket offices across the c2c network. As a consequence, Trenitalia c2c are providing regular updates to the Department on the measures being taken to rectify and improve the technology in order to ensure smooth, reliable and user-friendly ticket purchasing facilities for all customers on the route.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of restrictions on aircraft (a) noise and (b) emissions at Southend Airport.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The management of aircraft noise and emissions at Southend Airport and restrictions to ensure compliance with any limits is the responsibility of the airport and the relevant planning authorities. It is not appropriate for the Government to intervene in this process.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received on (a) noise pollution and (b) emissions from aircraft at Southend Airport exceeding legal limits.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since the Secretary of State was appointed in July last year, the Department has received one representation related to noise pollution or emissions from aircraft at Southend Airport. This included the topics of night flights and air quality at Southend Airport and came from my Honourable friend himself.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received on (a) noise pollution and (b) emissions from aircraft at Southend Airport.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since the Secretary of State was appointed in July last year, the Department has received one representation related to noise pollution or emissions from aircraft at Southend Airport. This included the topics of night flights and air quality at Southend Airport and came from my Honourable friend himself.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to allocate additional funding to local authorities who own aerodromes to release the economic potential of those facilities.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Most airport operators whether in the commercial private sector, or in public/private partnerships operate as private commercial undertakings.
In this regard, the UK’s aviation industry operates essentially without subsidy. It is therefore for local authorities to determine any additional funding for any aerodromes they own. Additionally, provision of public funding for airports needs to comply with the European Community State aid guidelines for airports and airlines.