Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department spent on social media advertising in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021 and (d) 2022 up to and including 28 February; and on which platforms that money was spent.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is fully committed to the Government’s transparency agenda and publishes details of expenditure over £25,000 by month. This information can be found via the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dft-departmental-spending-over-25000
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to improve (a) access and (b) incentives for people of all ages to take up riding a powered two or three wheeled vehicle.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Grants are available from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles towards the purchase cost of a number of zero-emission motorcycles and mopeds, with the grant paying for 20% of the purchase price, up to a maximum of £1,500. Details are available via www.gov.uk/plug-in-car-van-grants/overview .
The Department is running trials of rental e-scooters to assess their safety and wider impacts. This is part of the Government’s Future of Transport regulatory review which will decide whether e-scooters and similar vehicles should be allowed on the road and, if so, what rules should apply to them.
The Government has also taken a number of steps to support the use of e-cargo bikes and other e-bikes. It has provided over £2 million to support the roll-out of e-cargo bikes, with grants covering up to 40% of the total cost of an ecargo bike, up to a maximum of £2,500 for two-wheel models and £4,500 for three-wheel models. Further details of a new national e-cycle support programme will be announced shortly. The Government is also supporting a number of English local authorities with trials of e-cycles in their areas, and e-cycles are also within the scope of the Cycle to Work scheme allowing employees to access them at a discount.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of supporting the use of powered light vehicles to (a) improve congestion, (b) improve air quality and (c) help consumer select the right vehicle for the right journey.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department gathered evidence on the potential benefits of micromobility vehicles in the Future of Transport Regulatory Review Call for Evidence in March 2020. These benefits are also being evaluated as part of our evidence gathering through ongoing national trials of e-scooters.
Early evidence may show that the use of micromobility vehicles such as e-scooters has the potential to ease and improve congestion, mainly as they are smaller than other road-going vehicles. Fewer parking spaces are also needed, allowing parking space to be reallocated.
Micromobility vehicles that use rechargeable electric batteries also offer a greener way to travel than taking a diesel or petrol fueled car which, depending on mode shift, could help reduce emissions and improve air quality in towns and cities.
With regard to helping the consumer select the right vehicle for the right journey, micromobility vehicles give consumers more options when it comes to vehicle type. They may also make public transport accessible to more people who would otherwise have to walk too far to local stations for example.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the consultation on the phase out of non-zero-emission L-Category vehicles will be published.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Transport Decarbonisation Plan published in July set out the government’s commitments and the actions needed to decarbonise transport in the UK. This includes consulting this year on a date of 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible, for ending of sale of new non-zero emission powered two and three wheelers (and other L category vehicles).
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on publishing best practice and guidance for local authorities on how they should interact with car club operators.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Local authorities are responsible for entering into agreements with car club operators to allow car club vehicles to be parked in their area. Guidance for local authorities is available from organisations representing car clubs.
In addition, the Department for Transport is working closely with the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government to understand the ways in which future planning reforms can reduce car dependency, including the role car clubs can play, to provide genuine modal choice for journeys and ultimately make walking cycling and public transport the first choice for journeys.
The Future of Mobility Urban Strategy was published in March 2019 and sets out in its Principles that "mobility innovation must help to reduce congestion through more efficient use of limited road space”. We will soon be publishing our Transport Decarbonisation Plan to achieve net zero emissions across all modes of transport which represents the biggest piece of work we have ever done to tackle greenhouse gas emissions from transport. Car clubs and shared mobility will be considered within the Transport Decarbonisation Plan.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the impact of car clubs on air pollution; and what steps he is taking to support the growth of car clubs in the UK.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
My officials have engaged with car clubs in the past to understand their impact on air quality, and I would be happy to discuss this with them further.
Local authorities are responsible for entering into agreements with car clubs to allow access to vehicles on the roads in their area, and authorities should consider this as part of the actions they are taking to tackle air quality problems.
The Future of Mobility Urban Strategy was published in March 2019 and sets out in its Principles that "mobility innovation must help to reduce congestion through more efficient use of limited road space”. We will soon be publishing our Transport Decarbonisation Plan to achieve net zero emissions across all modes of transport which represents the biggest piece of work we have ever done to tackle greenhouse gas emissions from transport. Car clubs and shared mobility will be considered within the Transport Decarbonisation Plan and we recognise that these measures will also benefit air quality.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to ensure that charging infrastructure is suitable for car club use.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
This Government is investing £1.3 billion in accelerating the roll out of charging infrastructure over the next four years, targeting support on rapid chargepoints on motorways and major roads, and installing more on-street chargepoints near homes and workplaces. We want to make recharging electric vehicles as easy as refuelling a petrol or diesel car.
We will soon be publishing our Transport Decarbonisation Plan to achieve net zero emissions across all modes of transport which represents the biggest piece of work we have ever done to tackle greenhouse gas emissions from transport. The holistic and cross-modal approach to decarbonising the entire transport system will set out a credible and ambitious pathway to deliver transport’s contribution to carbon budgets and meet net zero by 2050. E-car clubs and shared mobility will be considered within the Transport Decarbonisation Plan.
Later this year we will publish an electric vehicle Infrastructure Strategy to set out the vision and action plan for charging infrastructure rollout needed to achieve the 2030/35 phase out successfully. This will set expected roles for different stakeholders and how Government will intervene to address the gaps between the current market status and our vision.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of California's restrictions on non-road mobile machinery as a result of risk to life posed by that machinery.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government is aware of a number of pollution reduction initiatives for non-road mobile machinery currently underway in California, but the Department has not undertaken an assessment of the policy implications.
Tougher pollutant emission limits and more comprehensive requirements for non-road mobile machinery engines were introduced in January 2019, and new engines were required to be compliant with these provisions from January 2021 in the UK.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with bus operating companies on improving the (a) reliability and (b) journey times of bus routes.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Department of Transport ministers and officials are in regular dialogue with bus operators to discuss various issues facing the sector.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on bringing forward the ban on new fossil fuel vehicle engines to 2030.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
On 4 February, the Prime Minister launched a consultation on bringing forward an end to the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans from 2040 to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible. This consultation ends on the 31 July. The Secretary of State and Minister Maclean have regular discussions with the Business Secretary to discuss the many ways in which the Government is working to achieve net zero by 2050.