Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps is he taking to ensure that people are aware that it is safe to use buses, trains and trams when appropriate Covid-19 safety measures are followed.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Passengers have been advised to plan ahead and continue to follow guidance on how to travel safely. This includes sanitising their hands regularly, wearing a face covering unless exempt, opening a window to increase ventilation where possible, and maintaining social distancing where possible. We are working with operators to ensure service levels are high as restrictions ease. Operators have already enhanced their cleaning regimes at stations and on-board services and hand sanitisers are widely available at stations.
The Department has also launched the ‘It’s everyone’s journey’ campaign to reset travel behaviours and support disabled people to return to the transport network. The Department is working closely with operators to improve busyness data and on industry communication campaigns to build public confidence in using public transport. As announced on 20 May alongside the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, the Department is introducing new flexible season tickets across England this year, with the new tickets going on-sale on 21 June and becoming available for use on 28 June.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2021 to Question 183124, what assessment he has made of the level of funding necessary to make flat fares the norm on bus services.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The National Bus Strategy sets out what we want to see on fares, including low flat fares (or maximum fares and daily price caps) to be the norm within cities and towns. We expect to see Bus Service Improvement Plans from local transport authorities set out how they will achieve these objectives, including their plans and costs for implementing new fares and ticketing policies.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2021 to Question 183125 on bus services, what plans he has for a public consultation on the meaning of socially necessary services.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government has committed to issuing guidance on the meaning and role of socially necessary services. Further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the National Bus Strategy, what criteria the Government plans to use to make an assessment of whether a bus journey is socially necessary.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The National Bus Strategy sets out how we expect Local Transport Authorities in collaboration with bus operators to deliver more comprehensive, socially necessary services, including services to smaller and isolated places and more services in the evenings and at weekends.
We will issue further guidance on the meaning and role of socially necessary services in due course.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the National Bus Strategy, what steps the Government plans to take to implement low flat fares in cities and towns.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The National Bus Strategy sets out that within cities and towns, we want low flat fares (or maximum fares and daily price caps) to be the norm. Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs), which we expect local transport authorities to produce by the end of October, will need to set out ambitious visions for travel by bus, meeting the goals and expectations in the strategy. BSIPs will influence the share of the £3 billion transformation that each authority receives, and we will expect to see fares policy as an integral part of the plans. We will publish detailed guidance on preparing BSIPs shortly.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department's forthcoming decarbonisation strategy will include carbon reduction targets for the (a) aviation and (b) shipping sectors.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Transport Decarbonisation Plan will include plans to tackle emissions in every form of transport, including maritime and aviation, and how these plans come together to deliver transport’s contributions to carbon budgets and net zero.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to provide support for the purchase of used electric vehicles; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The second-hand electric vehicle market will have an important role in the UK’s transition to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs). We already have various financial incentives to stimulate the new ZEV market and increase the supply of these vehicles feeding through to the second-hand market. Additionally, our funding for chargepoint infrastructure at homes, workplaces, residential streets and across the wider roads network is also supporting consumers to buy used ZEVs.
Fleet operator businesses buy over half of the new vehicles sold each year and are major suppliers to the used market, therefore encouraging them to go zero emission will spur the used ZEV market. As confirmed in March 2020, users of zero and ultra-low emission cars will continue to benefit from favourable company car tax rates (compared to conventionally fuelled vehicles) until 2024-25. In addition, buyers of both new and used ZEVs do not pay vehicle excise duty.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to take steps to review the potential effect of the changes to the plug-in grant on the adoption of electric vehicles over the next six months.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
We ensure that all of our grant funding schemes are reviewed on an ongoing basis. We will continue to keep the eligibility criteria and rates for the plug-in grant under review as the market grows.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he made prior to 18 March 2021 of the potential effect of a reduction in plug-in grant funding on electric van adoption.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Our assessment is that the changes to the van grant will mean funding will last longer and be available to more drivers, while still offering a substantial discount on upfront price. There are now over twenty models of electric vans (including HGVs) eligible for the van grant, with a wide variety of specifications and lower running costs than internal combustion engine vans. We expect the market to continue to grow. Zero emission vans are exempt from vehicle excise duty, and from 6 April 2021 zero emission company vans will be exempt from the van benefit charge.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of electric (a) vans and (b) cars that will be funded through the new plug-in vehicle grant allocation.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Estimates of the number of zero emission cars and vans to receive plug-in vehicle grant funding are commercially sensitive to Government.
The Plug-in Car Grant rate has been reduced from £3,000 to £2,500 per car with the price cap reducing from £50,000 to £35,000, enabling the funding to last longer and making it available to more drivers. The increasing choice of new vehicles, growing demand from customers, and rapidly rising number of chargepoints means that we are re-focusing our vehicle grants on the more affordable zero emission vehicles – where most consumers will be looking and where taxpayers’ money will make more of a difference.
We have also changed the Plug-in Van Grant eligibility criteria to focus only on vans with zero emission ranges of over 60 miles. We have provided over £100m in funding through the Plug-in Van Grant since its launch in 2012, supporting the purchase of over 15,000 ultra-low emission vans and trucks, the majority of which are zero emission vehicles. As the market for electric vans increases, the revised Plug-In Van Grant rates ensure we can continue to support the highest number of vehicles, while still offering a substantial discount on the upfront price.
We will continue to review both grant schemes as the market grows. Generous tax incentives, including favourable company car tax rates, which can save drivers over £2,000 a year, remain in place.