Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's survey, Transport decarbonisation plan: call for ideas, for what reasons Northern Ireland is omitted from that survey.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
It was an error to not include Northern Ireland in the list of options in response to the question “What region do you live in?”. I apologise for this error, which was not a purposeful omission. The question was part of the demographic information which was not a mandatory field and did not prevent responses to other questions being provided.
The online public feedback opportunity welcomed responses from across the United Kingdom, and was one of a number of ways people have fed into the development of the Transport Decarbonisation Plan. Department for Transport officials regularly engage with counterparts from the Northern Ireland Executive, who participated in recent workshops on decarbonising transport.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with representatives of Easyjet on that company's redundancy proposals.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
We recognise that the Easyjet announcement on redundancies will be distressing news for Easyjet employees and their families and Government stands ready to support them.
The Department for Transport is in regular contact with airlines, airports and unions to understand the impact that COVID-19 is having on the sector and its workers.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there is a (a) legislative, (b) health and safety and (c) regulatory requirement for ferry passengers to alight from their vehicles during travel.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
For domestically trading passenger ferries, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s Merchant Shipping Notice, MSN 1823(M) sets out the requirements for compliance with Statutory Instrument, SI 2010 No. 680 - the Merchant Shipping (Passenger Ships) (Safety Code for UK Categorised Waters) Regulations 2010. It only permits the carriage of passengers in their vehicles under certain conditions, where the vehicle decks are open, and the voyage is of less than 30 minutes. This limitation is applied to other to similar vessels trading under equivalent legislation.
For larger vessels on international voyages, the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974 Chapter II-1 Regulation 23 specifically excludes passengers from enclosed vehicle decks, when the vessel is in navigation.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of permitting ferry passengers to remain in their cars in line with social distancing measures during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The carriage of passengers on vehicle decks of ferries was considered early in the Department’s mitigations to the COVID-19 outbreak weighing risk against the need to maintain life-line services.
Limited exemptions were provided on the basis of risk assessments developed by operators for domestic operators with open-decked passenger vessels on short voyages to facilitate safe transport with passengers remaining in their cars on vehicle decks.
For larger vessels on international voyages no exemptions have been requested, though a framework of considerations was developed with our European partners to guide industry on areas for consideration should an exemption be requested specifically to the carriage of a limited number of freight drivers in the cabs of their vehicles.
There are no (a) legislative, (b) health and safety or (c) regulatory requirements for ferry passengers to remain in vehicles during travel.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there is a (a) legislative, (b) health and safety or (c) regulatory requirement for ferry passengers to remain in their vehicles during travel.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The carriage of passengers on vehicle decks of ferries was considered early in the Department’s mitigations to the COVID-19 outbreak weighing risk against the need to maintain life-line services.
Limited exemptions were provided on the basis of risk assessments developed by operators for domestic operators with open-decked passenger vessels on short voyages to facilitate safe transport with passengers remaining in their cars on vehicle decks.
For larger vessels on international voyages no exemptions have been requested, though a framework of considerations was developed with our European partners to guide industry on areas for consideration should an exemption be requested specifically to the carriage of a limited number of freight drivers in the cabs of their vehicles.
There are no (a) legislative, (b) health and safety or (c) regulatory requirements for ferry passengers to remain in vehicles during travel.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any funding from the public purse was formally committed to Flybe prior to its administration.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
We explored a range of funding options with the company but the directors decided it was not viable to keep Flybe operating. Following a commercial decision by the company Flybe ceased trading. Not a single penny of taxpayer’s money has been given to Flybe.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any funding from the public purse was allocated to Flybe prior to its administration.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
We explored a range of funding options with the company but the directors decided it was not viable to keep Flybe operating. Following a commercial decision by the company Flybe ceased trading. Not a single penny of taxpayer’s money has been given to Flybe.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with devolved administrations on the provision of a veterans' railcard.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Most railcards can be used across Great Britain given the interconnected nature of rail services, and I have written to my counterparts in Wales and Scotland to encourage them to accept the Veterans’ Railcard on services for which they are responsible. I will also be engaging with my counterpart in Northern Ireland to explore options for ensuring it is also valid there. Passengers will be fully appraised of the railcard’s validity before it goes live, and this will include how to apply and the detailed terms and conditions.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to address the anomaly whereby using an electric bicycle requires a motorcycle licence and needs to be registered with the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency NI.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Driver licensing and the use of electrically assisted pedal cycles on public roads in Northern Ireland is a transferred matter. Until the NI Assembly re-convene there are no plans to bring forward legislation on this issue.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of promoting regional economic growth through the supply chain of large infrastructure projects.
Answered by Jesse Norman
As set out in the Transport Investment Strategy, rebalancing is a key priority for the Department, and the Government is investing to ensure that its benefits are realised across the country.
The Department's Rebalancing Toolkit is designed to help authors of Strategic Cases assess how a programme or project fits with the objective of spreading growth across the country. In addition, the Procuring for Growth Balanced Scorecard, which is designed to help ensure that major government procurements have a positive impact on economic growth, forms part of the development of the Commercial Cases for our major projects.
The Department's major projects also hold extensive supplier engagement programmes and these are often regionally based. For example, HS2 Ltd has engaged with over 5,000 businesses, from every corner of the UK, to promote HS2 supply chain opportunities. They have supported or hosted well over 100 events in the past three years alone, including a roadshow of events in 11 UK cities, including in Belfast.