Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's plans are for funding of the Tyne and Wear Metro after the current funding arrangement ends in 2021.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department for Transport is currently in discussions with Nexus about funding options for the renewal of the Metro fleet. These discussions include consideration of revenue and capital support for the existing network beyond the current funding arrangement.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with rail franchises in the North of England on improving the service to Sunderland rail station.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Given that the Northern and TPE franchises only started on 1st April 2016, no such discussions have yet taken place and would in any case be led by the devolved franchise management team based in Leeds.
Separately, Virgin Trains East Coast introduced a new daily service to Sunderland on 14 December 2015.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with colleagues and representatives from the automotive sector regarding the adequacy of the £600 million allocated in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 for the Plug-in Car Grant over the Parliament.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) comprises elements of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, Energy Climate Change and Transport and its work programme has cross-government support. The 2015 Spending Review settlement represents an increase of over £100 million on the Government’s manifesto commitment and means that the Plug-in Car Grant can run throughout the Parliament if there is a market need.
The government announced on the 17 December a long-term extension to the Plug-in Car Grant to encourage more low emission vehicles on Britain’s roads. The announcement confirms the grant will continue until at least the end of March 2018.
From next March, buyers of the greenest cars can save up to £4,500 off the price, bringing total funding for the scheme to £400m over the course of this Parliament. In addition the greenest vehicles will be exempt from the £60,000 price cap.
Ministers and officials frequently meet with representatives of both vehicle manufacturers and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders to discuss the ULEV market. This helps to inform policy discussions about grant levels.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with colleagues and representatives from the automotive sector regarding whether the Plug-in Car Grant should prioritise Pure Electric Vehicles above Plug-in Hybrids.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) comprises elements of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, Energy Climate Change and Transport and its work programme has cross-government support. The 2015 Spending Review settlement represents an increase of over £100 million on the Government’s manifesto commitment and means that the Plug-in Car Grant can run throughout the Parliament if there is a market need.
The government announced on the 17 December a long-term extension to the Plug-in Car Grant to encourage more low emission vehicles on Britain’s roads. The announcement confirms the grant will continue until at least the end of March 2018.
From next March, buyers of the greenest cars can save up to £4,500 off the price, bringing total funding for the scheme to £400m over the course of this Parliament. In addition the greenest vehicles will be exempt from the £60,000 price cap.
Ministers and officials frequently meet with representatives of both vehicle manufacturers and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders to discuss the ULEV market. This helps to inform policy discussions about grant levels.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the threat of legal action by the European Commission over UK levels of NOx on level of support required for vehicles that deliver zero real world tailpipe emissions.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Zero emission vehicles are a key component of any long term answer to urban air quality problems. The government will spend more than £600 million between 2015-16 and 2020-21 to support the uptake and manufacturing of ultra low emission vehicles in the UK which will keep the UK on track to meet our ambitious target that nearly all cars and vans will be zero emission by 2050.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has any plans to reduce the number of trains per hour on the East Coast Main Line from London to Newcastle following the opening of High Speed 2.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
It is too early to set the service pattern for the GB rail network in the 2020s and beyond. However, one of the key principles that will guide future service patterns is that all towns or cities which currently have a direct service to London will retain broadly comparable or better services once HS2 is complete. The future design, calling pattern and frequency of network services once HS2 opens will be developed openly, and in partnership.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effects of High Speed 2 on the frequency of trains on the East Coast Main Line from London to Newcastle.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
This assessment will be made as different service options for the post-HS2 railway are developed. A wide range of potential service options are open, ranging from relatively evolutionary change to widespread service redesign. These issues were outlined in the Network Rail report Better Connections published in July 2013, and available on their website (http://www.networkrail.co.uk/improvements/high-speed-rail/).
The Department is working with Network Rail to design the next stage of the service planning work for rail services once HS2 Phase 1 opens, and looking ahead to Phase 2. The Department will make further announcements shortly.