Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Highways England air quality speed trials will recommence; and what criteria Highways England used to identify areas in which to introduce those trials.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Highways England was initially asked to look at 101 sections of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) based on the Government’s national air quality model, which had identified potential exceedances of the annual mean nitrogen dioxide (NO2) limit values on those sections of the SRN.
Following completion of this work by Highways England, a number of links were confirmed as above the annual mean NO2 limit value. Investigations of possible mitigation measures for these links identified four sections of motorway where reducing the speed limit to 60mph could help reduce levels of NO2. Those sections were:
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and associated reduced traffic flows, Highways England has temporarily removed the 60mph air quality speed limit trials that were already in place on the M6 and M1. Highways England will recommence the speed limit trials when traffic flows are above 85% of their pre-COVID lockdown levels.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to ban the use of internal combustion engine vehicles by a target date.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The government has no plans to ban internal combustion engine vehicles. On 18 November, as part of his Ten Point Plan, the Prime Minister announced that we will end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, with all new cars and vans being fully zero emission from 2035.
This will not affect the second-hand car market.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to support investment in electric vehicle charging points in Greater Manchester.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Within the Greater Manchester area the government has provided funding of £14,390,042 to deliver electric buses and the associated charging infrastructure under the Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme, alongside £1,800,000 to Transport for Greater Manchester to deliver 30 rapid chargepoints dedicated for Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles.
Last week, the government announced we are going further and faster to decarbonise transport by phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, and, from 2035, all new cars and vans must be zero emissions at the tailpipe. This ambitious transition will be supported by an accompanying package of £2.8 billion, which includes £1.3 billion to accelerate the roll out of charging infrastructure. Local authorities, businesses and motorists purchasing an eligible plug-in vehicle can apply for a grant to contribute towards the costs of the electric vehicle charging points. This is in addition to the £400 million Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund, which leverages private sector funding to increase the number of chargepoints installed across the UK.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to (a) encourage people to switch to electric cars, (b) make those cars more affordable and (c) increase their rate of sale.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The government is going further and faster to decarbonise transport by phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, and, from 2035, all new cars and vans must be zero emissions at the tailpipe. This ambitious transition will be supported by an accompanying package of £2.8 billion. The government has committed up to £1 billion to support the electrification of UK vehicles and their supply chains, including developing gigafactories in the UK to produce the batteries needed at scale. The government will invest £1.3 billion to accelerate the roll out of charging infrastructure, targeting support on rapid charge points on motorways and major roads to dash any anxiety around long journeys, and installing more on-street charge points near homes and workplaces to make charging as easy as refuelling a petrol or diesel car. While we expect the cost of electric vehicles to come down, the government will provide £582 million to extend the plug-in car, van, taxi and motorcycle grants to 2022–23 to reduce their up-front cost. The government has also ensured that a favourable tax regime has been put in place that rewards the cleanest vehicles on our roads.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will allocate funding for Transport for Greater Manchester to implement its Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government has allocated a total of £312.5 million to Greater Manchester over the five-year period to 2022-23 as part of the Transforming Cities Fund. £160 million of this will help support the creation of a comprehensive cycling and walking network, informed by the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan that is currently being developed by Transport for Greater Manchester.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that private bus companies required to upgrade their fleets in order to meet stricter emissions standards in charging Clean Air Zones do not pass those costs onto customers through increased ticket prices.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
£40 million was awarded in February 2018 through the Clean Bus Technology Fund, to support bus operators required to upgrade their fleets so that they do not pass these costs on to customers. The £220 million Clean Air Fund is also available for local authorities with NO2 exceedances, which can fund measures to support bus operators such as fleet upgrades. Bus operators and local authorities were also able to bid for the £48 million Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme, supporting the purchase of new ultra-low emission buses which will not be charged to enter Clean Air Zones. Winning bidders are due to be announced in January 2019.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that private bus companies whose vehicles are charged to enter charging Clean Air Zones do not pass that cost onto customers through increased ticket prices.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
£40 million was awarded in February 2018 through the Clean Bus Technology Fund, to support bus operators whose vehicles will be charged to enter Clean Air Zones to retrofit their fleet to the minimum emissions standard, so that they do not pass these costs on to customers. The £220 million Clean Air Fund is also available for local authorities with NO2 exceedances, which can fund measures to support bus operators such as retrofitting. Bus operators and local authorities were also able to bid for the £48 million Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme, supporting the purchase of new ultra-low emission buses which will not be charged to enter Clean Air Zones. Winning bidders are due to be announced in January 2019.
£40 million was awarded in February 2018 through the Clean Bus Technology Fund, to support bus operators whose vehicles will be charged to enter Clean Air Zones to retrofit their fleet to the minimum emissions standard, so that they do not pass these costs on to customers. The £220 million Clean Air Fund is also available for local authorities with NO2 exceedances, which can fund measures to support bus operators such as retrofitting. Bus operators and local authorities were also able to bid for the £48 million Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme, supporting the purchase of new ultra-low emission buses which will not be charged to enter Clean Air Zones. Winning bidders are due to be announced in January 2019.