Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on (a) the upgrade to the A30 between Penzance and Camborne and (b) other road schemes submitted for consideration in the third road investment strategy.
Answered by Richard Holden - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
The Government recognises the importance of the A30 as a key strategic route into and through Cornwall. Widening of the 2.8-mile section between Temple and Higher Carblake was completed in 2017 as part of RIS1. We are currently upgrading the A30 into a dual carriageway north of Truro between Chiverton and Carland Cross, as part of RIS2. This £330 million scheme will mean the A30 will be a continuous dual carriageway from the M5 to Camborne. National Highways is assessing the viability of options for improvements to the A30 from Camborne to Penzance. This work, which is at an early stage, will inform possible enhancements as part of future Road Investment Strategies beyond 2030.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to support the installation of electric vehicle charging points for people living in (a) residential properties without a driveway and (b) tower blocks.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The £381 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund will support local authorities in England to work with industry to provide tens of thousands of local chargepoints and transform the availability of charging for drivers without off-street parking.
Local authorities will also continue to benefit from the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme. So far, funding has been awarded for the installation of over 18,000 chargepoints.
Grants of up to £30,000 are available to help with the cost of building and installation work to install multiple chargepoints in residential car parks, such as those serving high-rise accommodation.
In addition, the Government provides grants to support people living in flats or rental accommodation with an off-street parking place. Grants of up to £350 are available towards the purchase and installation of a chargepoint.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has taken recent steps to help prevent overcrowding on trains during (a) bank holidays and (b) other periods of increased leisure travel.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Train Operating Companies plan their train service using their available fleet to meet expected demand. The Department expects operators to consider local conditions wherever possible to plan additional services when demand is expected to significantly increase, for example providing additional capacity to support major events or extra services to coastal towns when unusually fine weather is forecast. Operators may be constrained by availability of resources or other factors such as safety.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to put a process in place for approving time-limited temporary danger areas for drone (a) trials and (b) routes.
Answered by Robert Courts
The process for approving temporary danger areas (TDAs), including those for drone trials and routes, is the responsibility of the Civil Aviation Authority and is outlined in their guidance document CAP 1616. TDA requests go through the Temporary Airspace Change Process and the temporary change may last for a maximum of 90 days.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support Royal Mail’s plans for drone deliveries in remote areas of the UK; and how many applications have the Civil Aviation Authority approved for such deliveries from Royal Mail.
Answered by Robert Courts
The Department is working with industry and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to ensure the UK can realise the benefits of new and emerging aviation technology for industry and individuals. This includes the provision of additional funding for 2022/2023 to the CAA to significantly scale up their support to innovators.
It is the responsibility of the CAA to approve any plans the Royal Mail have for drone deliveries. Over the last two years they have received and approved requests from various sponsors to establish temporary danger areas to support the Royal Mail. This includes one from Windracers, which has been supporting the Royal Mail in the Shetlands area and one from Skyports in the Oban / Mull area. In addition to these, one other airspace request has been submitted by Windracers which is in support of the Royal Mail task. This request for an airspace structure has not yet begun the regulatory process.
Separate to the airspace work, the CAA have approved four applications relating to proposed Royal Mail delivery operations. These were submitted by Windracers and Skyports. In addition, Windracers has recently submitted another application linked to the Royal Mail.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the review of the Bus Service Operators’ Grant will be completed.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department for Transport remains committed to the reform of the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG), and as promised in the National Bus Strategy we will publish a consultation on this. Work is underway on proposals, however this has been delayed as a result of responding to the impact of the Covid pandemic.
Ahead of the wider consultation, and any resulting changes, we have already increased the rate at which BSOG can be claimed for Zero Emission Buses from 6p to 22p per kilometre.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to train operators operating limited timetables as a result of the covid-19 outbreak, whether the Government will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to permit railcards not previously permitted to be used at peak times to be used during peak times to assist employees with the costs of commuting.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
My Department took immediate action at the outbreak of the pandemic to support passengers and the rail industry by keeping the services people depend on running, protecting jobs, delivering refunds and removing charges for cancellations. In this context we must ensure the demands placed on taxpayers are fair and balanced and that Government focuses its investment on maintaining services, to enable social distancing and support our economic recovery.
All passengers are eligible to buy season tickets, offering significant savings for those who regularly commute on peak-time services. Additional provisions have been made for younger and lower-income commuters, with both the 16-17 Saver Railcard and the Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card offering discounts on season tickets. While we have no plans at this time to offer further subsidies for peak-time travel, the Government recognises that the pandemic has caused a fundamental change in working patterns and that this could have long-term effects on commuter behaviours. My Department has proactively worked with the rail industry, and is currently considering proposals received from train operators, to try to ensure better value and convenience for part-time and flexible commuters.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of charging points for electric vehicles.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
We recognise that putting in place a joined up, easy to use and reliable network of public chargepoints is essential to overcome a key barrier for motorists considering switching to electric cars, and we will continue to work with industry to establish one of the best electric vehicle infrastructure networks in the world.
In collaboration with industry, the Government will invest an additional £1 billion in charging infrastructure, ensuring that everyone is within 30 miles of a rapid charging station for electric vehicles. To date, Government and industry have supported the installation of over 17,000 devices providing over 24,000 publicly available?chargepoints. This includes over?2,500 rapid?chargepoints?– one of the largest networks in Europe.
The Automated and Electric Vehicles Act gives the Government powers to improve the customer charging experience and increase the provision of electric vehicle infrastructure. This includes powers to regulate the technical standards of infrastructure to ensure easy compatibility with vehicles, to ensure availability of data on chargepoint locations and availability, and to require provision at motorway service areas and large fuel retailers.
To improve customers’ experience of using chargepoints, the Government announced in July 2019 that it wants to see all new rapid and higher-powered chargepoints provide debit or credit card payment by spring 2020, and that it expects industry to create a roaming solution across the charging network allowing electric vehicle drivers to use any public chargepoint through a single payment method. The Government continues to monitor industry’s progress in these and other areas.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to raise awareness of the safe use of electric vehicle charging points.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
We encourage and support initiatives by all involved in the vehicle and chargepoint industry relating to the safe use of electric vehicle charging points. For example, we welcome updates, as the chargepoint industry matures, in the Code of Practice from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (which includes helpful advice on the avoidance of trip hazards), the wiring regulations (which sets technical standards for safe installations, including earthing requirements) and advice generally from vehicle and chargepoint manufacturers.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to increase access to charging points for electric vehicles in rural areas.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Along with the private sector, the Government will invest an additional £1 billion in charging infrastructure, ensuring that everyone is within 30 miles of a rapid charging station. We are already investing nearly £1.5bn? between April 2015 and March 2021 to support the transition to zero emission motoring and have put in place a range of grant schemes to support the installation of charging infrastructure that are available in any urban or rural areas across the UK.
Local authorities in rural areas are able to take advantage of the On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS), which assists them with the cost of installing chargepoints on residential streets. The funding available is for 75% of the capital costs of procuring and installing the chargepoint and an associated dedicated parking bay.
In October 2019, the Secretary of State wrote to all local authorities encouraging them to send their strategies for infrastructure deployment and to take advantage of ORCS funding. In January we announced that Government funding will be doubled to £10 million for the installation of chargepoints on residential streets next year. This could support as many as 3,600 chargepoints for those that do not have off-street parking.
Our jointly funded £400 million Chargepoint Infrastructure Investment Fund’s first investment round, worth a total of £70 million, will ensure the delivery of a further 3,000 rapid charging devices by 2024, more than doubling the current number of rapid charging devices.