Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding is available for (a) the port of Bristol and (b) other free ports now that the UK has left the EU.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
On 17 December 2020, awards were announced regarding the £200 million Cabinet Office-led Port Infrastructure Fund (PIF). Bristol Port was allocated a Government grant of £1.75 million with which it intends to build a border control point (BCP) to allow effective import of EU goods in line with the UK’s new Border Operating Model.
Decisions on which ports shall be Freeports have not yet been taken. In November, the Government published the bidding prospectus for Freeports in England, setting out how ports can apply for Freeport status, and further policy details. The bidding period will close on 5 February 2021, with successful locations announced in the Spring following a fair, open and transparent selection process. Devolved administrations are following their own processes to a slightly later schedule.
Successful bidders to the Freeports competition will have the opportunity to access a share of £175 million of seed capital funding, as well as a small amount of revenue funding.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) bring forward the Bristol East Junction project and (b) promote economic growth and prosperity in the West of England area; what progress has been made on presenting the business case for that project to the Treasury; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Earlier this year, Her Majesty’s Treasury approved funding for advanced works at Bristol East Junction which significantly de-risk the project’s commissioning phase. My officials have worked closely with Network Rail to develop the Business Case for the project which is close to being finalised and I expect this to be presented to the Treasury in the coming months.
The Government’s continued support for the West of England region is demonstrated by the £5bn investment in the electrification and upgrade of the Great Western Main Line, stimulating economic growth in the region. Additionally, the West of England Combined Authority has received £103m from Government through the Transforming Cities Fund to transform connectivity within the Bristol area.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials of his Department have had with representatives of the aerospace industry on the the potential benefits of the use of autonomous technology.
Answered by George Freeman
The Government is actively supporting the development of innovative technology in aviation including automation. We supported a Global Urban Air Summit held at Farnborough last week which brought together industry, academia and government to discuss the development of new technologies like electric and autonomous aircraft.
The Transport Secretary met a range of aviation stakeholders at the Light Aircraft Association Rally. In addition Ministers from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Challenge meet regularly with the Aerospace Industry through the Aerospace Growth Partnership.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport,what discussions (a) he, (b) Ministers of his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with representatives of the aviation industry on the potential for reductions in the level of (i) emissions and (ii) noise as a result of electric propulsion.
Answered by George Freeman
Ministers and officials across Government regularly meet with the aviation and aerospace sectors to discuss proposals for decarbonisation. The Government is considering further policies it can put in place to assist the long-term development of innovative technology such as electric propulsion.
In addition, the Government recently supported a Global Urban Air Summit held at Farnborough Airport, which brought together industry and academia to discuss the development of new technologies like electric and autonomous aircraft. The Transport Secretary also met a range of aviation stakeholders at the Light Aircraft Association Rally.
I am actively meeting industry leaders to explore new ways to promote transport innovation.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions (a) he, (b) Ministers of his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with representatives of the motor industry on the potential reduction in vehicle emissions from electric powered propulsion.
Answered by George Freeman
Government Ministers and officials are in frequent dialogue with the motor industry as we work together to deliver our ambition for zero emission road transport. Most recently I was delighted to speak and meet with industry representatives at ‘Cenex LCV2019’ the UK’s premier electric vehicle and technology showcase, held at Millbrook on 04 September 2019.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what is the cost to the public purse is for the maintenance work on the Severn Beach line planned for July and August 2019; and what additional maintenance work is planned for that line.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Network Rail’s total allocated budget for the maintenance work on the Severn Beach line planned for July and August 2019 is approximately £700,000. The only additional maintenance work planned at present is ongoing track renewal work.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what levels of apprenticeships are offered by his Department; and how many apprenticeship starts there were at each level in each of the last three years.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
This response covers the Department for Transport – comprising the central Department and the four Executive Agencies.
We only hold the requested data for the last two financial years. Apprenticeship starts and levels are as follows:
| Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 and Higher |
April 2016 – March 2017 | 65 | 61 | 122 |
April 2017 – March 2018 | 38 | 71 | 16 |
This has been a transitional year for apprenticeships with the release of new apprenticeships standards ready for delivery, the implementation of the new apprenticeship funding regulations and the availability of the new Civil Service Learning Apprenticeship contract.
For the Department, the delay in the availability of new professional apprenticeships standards coupled with the delayed availability of the new Civil Service Learning apprenticeships contract made strategic workforce planning difficult this year. This was further impeded by changes to funding processes which resulted in projected starts for 2017/18 not materialising until after the end of the 2017/18 target period.
In addition, a decision by DVLA to refresh its workforce strategy led to a reduction of its internal apprenticeship start target (as based in Wales this did not affect the Department’s apprenticeship start target set by Cabinet Office).
Looking forward, several leadership and management apprenticeship cohorts are now in place across the Department, with a Department wide HR apprenticeship cohort planned to start in June. Should these cohorts prove successful, the department will look to embed these apprenticeships in future development programmes. The quality of apprenticeship delivery has been an issue but supplier management has been a key focus of the Department’s recent activity. Now that the wider Civil Service Learning apprenticeship provision is available, work is underway to further utilise apprenticeships to build capability and develop talent pipelines within the professions.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that UK driving licence holders are able to use those licences in EEA countries after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Chris Grayling
Irrespective of the outcome of our negotiations, our ratification of the 1968 Vienna Convention and 1949 Geneva Convention will ensure that UK licence holders can continue to drive after exit throughout the EU and EEA using an international driving permit document if necessary.
However, in the negotiations on transport we will be seeking to ensure that through the mutual recognition of driving licences, UK motorists can continue to drive throughout the EU and EEA after we have left. Such a deal is in the interests of both sides.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that UK driving licence holders are able to use those licences in EEA countries after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Chris Grayling
Irrespective of the outcome of our negotiations, our ratification of the 1968 Vienna Convention and 1949 Geneva Convention will ensure that UK licence holders can continue to drive after exit throughout the EU and EEA using an international driving permit document if necessary.
However, in the negotiations on transport we will be seeking to ensure that through the mutual recognition of driving licences, UK motorists can continue to drive throughout the EU and EEA after we have left. Such a deal is in the interests of both sides.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much land (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies owns in (i) England and (ii) the South West; and how much of that land has been identified as being surplus to requirements.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Department for Transport reviews land and property holdings on an ongoing basis. As and when appropriate any land or property holdings deemed surplus are promptly identified and disposed of in accordance with business needs.
As part of the Government’s Transparency Agenda information about Department for Transport properties is published on the data.gov.uk website.
Information on the land owned by the Department in (i) England and (ii) the South West and information on land that is surplus is available via the following web link:
https://data.gov.uk/dataset/epimstransparency