Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the treatment by Ryanair in respect of refunds of passengers who have had their flights cancelled as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Robert Courts
Government have published advice for claiming a cancelled flight refund in the Passenger COVID-19 Charter which sets out rights, responsibilities and reasonable expectations when booking and travelling during the pandemic.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) reviewed airlines’ compliance on refunds last summer and worked collaboratively to improve their performance on consumer obligations. The majority of airlines now pay refunds within 7 days. The CAA regulates the compliance of airlines with aviation consumer law.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is currently investigating whether Ryanair has broken consumer law by failing to offer refunds to customers they could not legally take during lockdown in the UK. The government is not able to comment on this case as it is on-going.
Ryanair are also a member of Aviation ADR, an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) body, who can assist consumers to resolve disputes with the airline, including for cancelled flights.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he made underpinning the decision to allow flights from India to land at UK airports after India was put on the covid-19 red list.
Answered by Robert Courts
Since direct flight bans were first introduced in November 2020, England has introduced one of the world’s most stringent systems for testing and quarantining for arrivals from high-risk countries.
Alongside the requirements to take a pre-departure test and complete the Passenger Locator Form, most people who are allowed to enter England from a country on the red list will be required to quarantine for 10 days in a government-approved managed quarantine hotel with Covid-19 tests on days 2 and 8.
Direct flight bans were not introduced for countries added to the ‘Red List’ on 9 and 23 April, which had regular scheduled services to England (Pakistan, Bangladesh and India), on a trial basis. Passengers on direct flights were still subject to measures such as quarantine in a government-approved managed quarantine hotel.
We continually assess the data to understand the efficacy of measures such as managed hotel quarantine, entry bans and testing to ensure public health is protected.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2021 to Question 174767 on Railways: North of England, whether the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Pendle, has made any journeys on the TransPennine train from Manchester to Hull since February 2020.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
I have not made any journeys on the TransPennine train from Manchester to Hull in my Ministerial capacity. I look forward to making many train journeys when restrictions ease.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2021 to Question 175755 on Transport for the North: Finance, whether that decision has any effect on the Government's allocation of funding to the Northern Powerhouse Rail programme.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The decision to reallocate costs from Transport for the North’s core budget to their Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) budget bears no relation to the Government’s overall allocation of funding to the NPR programme.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2021 to Question 175754 on Rolling Stock: Diesel Engines, what estimate his Department has made of the Government funding required to phase out diesel-only trains by 2040.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
High-level estimates of the cost of decarbonising the railway made by Network Rail and the rail industry will inform the government's approach to rail decarbonisation, which will be set out in the Department’s forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan. The costs of individual schemes will be assessed separately to ensure value for money and affordability.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2021 to Question 175754 on Rolling Stock: Diesel Engines, how much funding the Government has allocated to deliver its commitment of a net-zero transport system by 2050.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
Our forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP) will set out the scale and pace of rail decarbonisation necessary to deliver a net zero transport system by 2050. Decisions on funding for decarbonisation schemes and subsequent allocations will be made in the usual way to ensure that they are value for money and affordable.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 April 2021 to Question 175757 on Transport for the North, what the dates were of those meetings held between the Minister of State of his Department and representatives of Transport for the North.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
Departmental transparency returns will include the dates of ministerial meetings with Transport for the North (TfN) representatives. Ministerial colleagues and I frequently meet with northern stakeholders, including TfN Board members, on a range of matters.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2021 to Question 172921 on Transport for the North: Finance, what assessment his Department made of the future spending plans and outgoing costs of Transport for the North as part of the decision to reduce its core funding allocation in response to Transport for the North having high reserves.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The decision to adjust Transport for the North’s core funding grant for 2020/21 and 2021/22 was based on an assessment of the funding required for them to effectively undertake their statutory functions.