Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much their Department spent on hospitality in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport incurred costs of £50,934 in 2021-22 and £156,907 in 2022-23 on hospitality spend. Data for 2020-21 can only be provided at disproportionate cost. Departmental spending on alcohol is not normally permitted.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on the development of sustainable aviation fuels.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is focused on stimulating the demand and use of sustainable aviation fuel in the UK. To create demand for SAF, the Government will introduce a SAF mandate in 2025, which aims to deliver at least 10% of jet fuel from sustainable sources by 2030. The second consultation on the design of the scheme is currently open for consultation.
The Government is seeking to kickstart a domestic SAF industry through the £165 million Advanced Fuels Fund to support the development of commercial scale plants. The Government has already awarded funding to five projects and is currently considering applications to the second funding round.
In April 2023, the Government responded to Philip New’s report on developing a UK SAF industry. Officials are now working with industry to develop options for an industry-funded revenue certainty mechanism.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to introduce national minimum standards for taxi and private hire vehicles.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Government remains committed to bring forward legislation to create national licensing standards for taxis and private hire vehicles, enhanced enforcement powers and a national licensing database, when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential cost of bringing TransPennine Express into public ownership.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The decision was made balancing a number of factors, with outcomes for passengers the priority. An indicative assessment suggests that although some areas may see increased costs, there are expected to be offsetting savings elsewhere. The 2023/24 budget for the operator is unchanged.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much her Department spent on taxi cabs for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in each of the last three years.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The following table provides the total spend on taxi cabs for the core Department and its agencies, covering financial years 2019-20 to 2021-22.
Financial Year | Expenditure (£’000) |
2019-20 | 253 |
2020-21 | 24 |
2021-22 | 244 |
The Department is unable to break down travel expense costs for officials and Ministers by mode of transport.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much her Department spent on first class train travel for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in (i) 2020, (i) 2021 and (iii) 2022.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Department for Transport policy states “All staff must travel standard class irrespective of grade, except under certain circumstances, including temporary or permanent disability or pregnancy related reasons”
To obtain the information in the format requested would be at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had recent discussions with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority on finding investors for Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Government is committed to regional airports. They are key to serving our local communities, supporting thousands of jobs in the regions, and they act as a key gateway to international opportunities. While the UK Government supports airports, it does not own or operate them.
The Minister for Aviation recognises the importance of Doncaster Sheffield Airport to the region and has made clear in meetings both with the South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard and the Peel Group the Government’s desire to see a viable aviation future for the airport. The Minister has urged Mayor Coppard to work with all parties to find a locally led solution to preserve aviation at Doncaster-Sheffield Airport.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had recent discussions with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority on public ownership of Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Government is committed to regional airports. They are key to serving our local communities, supporting thousands of jobs in the regions, and they act as a key gateway to international opportunities. While the UK Government supports airports, it does not own or operate them.
The Minister for Aviation recognises the importance of Doncaster Sheffield Airport to the region and has made clear in meetings both with the South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard and the Peel Group the Government’s desire to see a viable aviation future for the airport. The Minister has urged Mayor Coppard to work with all parties to find a locally led solution to preserve aviation at Doncaster-Sheffield Airport.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department’s published figures in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts includes the total contingent labour expenditure figures for the core Department and its Executive Agencies. These numbers are available online at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dft-annual-reports-and-accounts.
The table below provides the total spend on contingent labour
for DVSA, covering financial years 2019-20 and 2020-21, as these figures are not included in the total Departmental contingent labour expenditure published in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts for those years:
Financial Year | Expenditure (£m) |
2019-20 | 0.6 |
2020-21 | 0.5 |
Agency workers (more commonly referred to as “Contingent Labour” or “Temporary Workers”) are subject to a Cabinet Office controls framework to ensure robust governance of spending in this area.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contingent-labour-spend-control
Commentary on Contingent Labour usage, if applicable, is available in departmental annual reports.
The Crown Commercial Service provides two frameworks specifically for the supply of Contingent Labour which are used by central government departments. These are:
RM3749 - Public Sector Resourcing. https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/rm3749
This provides a managed service for departmental use including low supplier margins, regular pay rate benchmarking, comprehensive tracking and reporting of contingent labour assignments, full timesheeting and approvals technology and onboarding, contracting and payroll services.
RM6160 - Non Clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staff https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6160
This provides access to a range of generalist, specialist and niche contingent labour agencies offering a wide range of suppliers, maximum margins, free transfer to permanent after 12 weeks and onboarding, contracting and payroll services.
Use of these frameworks provides robust governance, visibility, value for money and flexibility in meeting departmental contingent labour needs.
We have interpreted your reference to agency retainer fees as the fees charged at the commencement of the provision of a search recruitment service, this is only applicable when recruiting for a permanent or fixed term post.
Agency retainer fees are not applicable to the contingent labour market.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much their Department has spent on air travel for (a) Ministers and (b) officials in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The following table provides the total spend on air travel for the core Department, covering financial years 2019-20 to 2021-22:
Financial Year | Expenditure (£’000) |
2019-20 | 1,478 |
2020-21 | 72 |
2021-22 | 356 |
The department is unable to break down travel expense costs for officials and Ministers by mode of transport.