Asked by: Fay Jones (Conservative - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what support his Department is providing to the Welsh hydrogen economy.
Answered by Simon Hart - Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip)
The Government aims to consult on a preferred business model for low-carbon hydrogen production in 2021. This will be key to stimulating the deployment of hydrogen across the UK.
In addition, I am pleased to see that the South Wales Industrial Cluster is being supported by UK Research and Innovation’s £170m Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge, which is looking at options for decarbonising the region’s industrial base, including using hydrogen.
My officials regularly engage with officials in other departments across the UK Government to raise awareness of the opportunities in Wales for hydrogen energy generation.
Asked by: Fay Jones (Conservative - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve waiting times at the DVLA.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has a range of services available online offering quick and easy ways of transacting. The DVLA’s online services have worked well and as normal throughout the pandemic. Between March and the end of August, the DVLA has issued nearly seven million registration certificates and three and a half million driving licences.
The DVLA’s 6,000 staff are largely based at a single site in Swansea and to adhere to Welsh social distancing requirements the number of staff onsite had been greatly reduced. This impacted on the time taken to process applications sent by post as these have to be dealt with in person. The DVLA has reconfigured its accommodation to maximise staff numbers whilst meeting the requirement in Wales to maintain the two-metre social distancing and ensure it remains Covid secure.
Drivers with a licence that expires between 1 February and 31 December 2020 have been given an automatic extension from the date of expiry. This means they will not need to renew their entitlement to drive until 11 months after the original expiry date.
The DVLA has also accelerated the development of additional online services to further reduce paper applications and supported their take up through a publicity campaign.
Asked by: Fay Jones (Conservative - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve the accessibility of the DVLA to people seeking to use its services.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has a range of services available online offering quick and easy ways of transacting. The DVLA’s online services have worked well and as normal throughout the pandemic. Between March and the end of August, the DVLA has issued nearly seven million registration certificates and three and a half million driving licences.
The DVLA’s 6,000 staff are largely based at a single site in Swansea and to adhere to Welsh social distancing requirements the number of staff onsite had been greatly reduced. This impacted on the time taken to process applications sent by post as these have to be dealt with in person. The DVLA has reconfigured its accommodation to maximise staff numbers whilst meeting the requirement in Wales to maintain the two-metre social distancing and ensure it remains Covid secure.
Drivers with a licence that expires between 1 February and 31 December 2020 have been given an automatic extension from the date of expiry. This means they will not need to renew their entitlement to drive until 11 months after the original expiry date.
The DVLA has also accelerated the development of additional online services to further reduce paper applications and supported their take up through a publicity campaign.
Asked by: Fay Jones (Conservative - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had about the role hydrogen passenger vehicles can play as part of the Transport Decarbonisation Plan.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Ministers and officials are engaging extensively with UK hydrogen stakeholders including through the Net Zero Transport Board, our strategic priority workshops that ran through July and August and involved over 700 key stakeholders, as well as a number of Ministerial and official roundtables and bi-laterals meetings as we develop the Transport Decarbonisation Plan. We are committed to exploring all the options for green hydrogen across freight, buses, trains, maritime and aviation and ensuring the UK can leads the world in its deployment and use in transport applications.
Asked by: Fay Jones (Conservative - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the role hydrogen passenger vehicles can play in decarbonising transport.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
In 2018, the Department for Transport published the outputs of the Transport Energy Model. The model provides an assessment of the relative environmental impacts of a range of fuel and powertrain options for road vehicles over the period to 2050, including hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
Asked by: Fay Jones (Conservative - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the use of wool in UK construction.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government is committed to meeting its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The National Planning Policy Framework sets out how we expect the planning system to help mitigate and adapt to?climate change. In their development plan policies, local planning authorities can encourage the use of sustainable materials like wool in new development.
The Building Regulations are generally couched in performance terms and do not prescribe the technologies, materials or fuels to be used, allowing builders the flexibility to innovate and select the most practical and cost-effective solutions in particular circumstances. Developers are able to use wool products in construction projects where it is safe to do so and where it can be shown to meet all applicable Building Regulations requirements.
Asked by: Fay Jones (Conservative - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
What discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on opportunities to promote Welsh produce abroad.
Answered by Conor Burns
My counterpart in the Welsh Government, the Noble Baroness Morgan of Ely, the Minister for International Relations and the Welsh Language, recently wrote to me that ‘For a small nation, Wales enjoys a reputation which stretches far beyond its borders’. She is right. Wales was my second visit as a Minister as we see the opportunities to help promote Wales abroad. Indeed I recall pushing the cause of Welsh Lamb quite recently in Vietnam. I hope we may continue those conversations today when I Chair the inaugural Ministerial Forum for Trade with Ministers from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.