Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the monies allocated under City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements are directed toward projects exclusively or mainly concerned with active travel improvements.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) programme the Government has agreed five-year local transport funding settlements for seven eligible city regions from April 2022. CRSTS funding is supporting improvements across a range of transport modes, but based on the plans put forward by mayors, the Government expects at least £700m to be allocated to active travel infrastructure over the period of 2022-25.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that per capita spending by Active Travel England is distributed equitably between regions in England.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Active Travel England provides funding to local authorities in England, outside London, based on several criteria. These include local authorities’ technical capability to deliver active travel projects, the quality of bids received and population levels.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help increase participation in the cycle to work scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department regularly promotes the cycle to work scheme, and in 2019 revised the scheme’s guidance so as to make it simpler for employers to offer it to their employees.
The Department previously commissioned Business in the Community and Sustrans to publish best practice guidance for employers and local authorities, highlighting how employers can enable more of their staff to cycle to work using the scheme.
Officials from this Department and HM Revenue & Customs are in regular contact on the scheme, and the Department regularly meets with the Cycle to Work Alliance in order to identify further opportunities to increase take-up of the scheme.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2022 to Question 99878 on Buses: Exhaust Emissions, what recent estimate he has made of the total amount of funding allocated to local transport authorities under the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme where the procurement process has not yet been completed.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
£270 million funding was awarded from the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme to 17 local transport authorities.
In March 2023 the Department announced an additional £25.3m funding to four local areas for an additional 117 zero emission buses.
Once funding has been awarded the procurement of buses will be undertaken by either local transport authorities or bus operators.
Please see below Table 1 which presents information on how much funding each local transport authority received from the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme and whether buses have been ordered. The numbers in Table 1 are not official statistics: they are based on the latest publicly available information and are therefore subject to change.
Local Transport Authority | Funding awarded | Number of ZEBs | ZEB Status |
|
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority | £4,200,000 | 30 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Kent County Council | £9,500,000 | 33 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Leicester City Council | £19,000,000 | 96 | 90 ordered 6 on the road | 6 buses on the road supplied by Pelican & Coach UK and manufactured by Yutong 90 buses ordered from Wrightbus |
Milton Keynes City Council | £16,600,000 | 56 | Funded | Following the operator's withdrawal of support, the Department is working closely with Milton Keynes City Council to determine next steps. |
Warrington Borough Council | £21,400,000 | 105 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
South Yorkshire Combined Authority | £8,400,000 | 27 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Norfolk County Council | £14,800,000 | 70 | 70 Ordered | Wrightbus |
North Yorkshire County Council | £7,800,000 | 39 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Portsmouth City Council & Hampshire County Council | £12,800,000 | 62 | 62 Ordered | Wrightbus |
Blackpool Council | £19,600,000 | 115 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Nottingham City Council | £15,200,000 | 78 | 12 ordered 66 funded | 12 buses supplied by Pelican & Coach UK and manufactured by Yutong. Bus manufacturer for 66 buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Greater Manchester Combined Authority | £35,700,000 | 170 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Hertfordshire County Council | £5,600,000 | 27 | Funded | Following the operator's withdrawal of support, the Department is working closely with Hertfordshire County Council Council to determine next steps. |
West Midlands Combined Authority | £30,400,000 | 124 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
City of York Council | £10,300,000 | 53 | 53 Ordered | Wrightbus |
West Yorkshire Combined Authority | £30,300,000 | 136 | 57 ordered | 57 buses ordered from Wrightbus Bus manufacturer for 79 buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Oxfordshire County Council | £32,800,000 | 159 | 159 Ordered | 104 buses ordered from Wrightbus. 55 buses ordered from Alexander Dennis Limited. |
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
What steps his Department is taking to help increase the contribution of the defence industry to societal resilience.
Answered by James Heappey
The Ministry of Defence is committed to safeguarding national resilience across the Defence enterprise, including the Armed Forces and industry. The past few years have seen Defence play a key role in supporting and enhancing societal resilience through the Military Aid to Civilian Authorities process. This activity expanded during the Covid-19 pandemic and was recently engaged in response to widespread industrial action.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the expenditure incurred by local authorities which made successful bids through the first round of Levelling-Up Funding in preparing and submitting bids under the second round of that Fund.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 129836 on 26 January 2023.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when his Department informed local authorities of the information detailed in Section 4.4 of his Department's guidance entitled Levelling Up Fund Round 2: explanatory note on the assessment and decision-making process, published on 19 January 2023.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 129836 on 26 January 2023.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the total amount of funding allocated to local transport authorities under the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme where the procurement process has not yet been completed.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
We have committed to funding 4,000 zero emission buses (ZEBs) this Parliament. Since February 2020 we have provided funding support for nearly 2,400 zero emission buses in England. Across the UK an estimated 3,250 ZEBs have been funded so far.
As part of the Government’s commitment to ZEBs, the Government awarded £270 million through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (Scheme) to 17 local transport authorities which will support up to 1,278 zero emission buses.
Table 1 below presents information on whether zero emission buses have been ordered from funding from the ZEBRA scheme. The numbers in Table 1 are not official statistics: they are based on the latest publicly available information and are therefore subject to change.
Local transport authority | Funding | No. Buses | Status | Bus manufacturer |
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority | £4,200,000 | 30 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Kent County Council | £9,500,000 | 33 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Leicester City Council | £19,000,000 | 96 | 6 buses on the road 90 buses ordered | 6 buses on the road supplied by Pelican & Coach UK and manufactured by Yutong 90 buses ordered from Wrightbus |
Milton Keynes City Council (MKCC) | £16,600,000 | 56 | Funded – on hold | Following the operator's withdrawal of support, the Department is working closely with MKCC to determine next steps. |
Warrington Borough Council | £21,400,000 | 120 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
South Yorkshire Combined Authority | £8,400,000 | 27 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Norfolk County Council | £3,300,000 | 15 | Ordered | Wrightbus |
North Yorkshire County Council | £7,800,000 | 39 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Portsmouth City Council & Hampshire County Council | £6,600,000 | 34 | Ordered | Wrightbus |
Blackpool Council | £19,600,000 | 115 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Nottingham City Council | £15,200,000 | 78 | 12 ordered. 66 funded. | 12 buses supplied by Pelican & Coach UK and manufactured by Yutong. Bus manufacturer for 66 buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Greater Manchester Combined Authority | £35,700,000 | 170 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Hertfordshire County Council | £5,600,000 | 27 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West Midlands Combined Authority | £30,400,000 | 124 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
City of York Council | £8,400,000 | 44 | Ordered | Wrightbus |
West Yorkshire Combined Authority | £24,600,000 | 111 | 32 buses ordered 79 buses funded. | 32 buses ordered from Wrightbus Bus manufacturer for 79 buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Oxfordshire County Council | £32,800,000 | 159 | Funded | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will bring forward legislative proposals on cat breeding that are equivalent to regulations in Scotland.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the 2018 Regulations) introduced licencing requirements in England for specified activities involving animals: selling animals as pets, providing for or arranging for the provision of boarding for cats and dogs, hiring out horses, dog breeding and keeping or training animals for exhibition.
The 2018 Regulations are due to be reviewed in 2023. This will be an appropriate time to re-examine the scope of the Regulations and consider whether there is evidence to explore potential licencing of additional activities. As part of this review, we are proactively working with partners, including local authorities to collate data that can provide a picture of licensed and unlicensed activities involving animals in England. A wide range of stakeholders including key trade associations and the Canine and Feline Sector Group will be integral to coordinating input from this diverse sector to inform Defra’s review.
Whilst animal welfare is a devolved matter, Defra officials liaise closely with their counterparts across the whole of the UK.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ban the import of cats that have been declawed.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was re-introduced to the House of Commons in May and will progress to Report stage as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill introduces measures relating to the low welfare movements of pets into the United Kingdom and includes powers to introduce further restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.
In August 2021, HM Government launched a consultation on how these powers should be used. The consultation sought views on whether maintaining the existing requirements in relation to cats and kittens was the right approach. We are currently analysing the replies to this consultation and will publish our response in due course.