Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the length of time for which Ukrainian refugees may drive a Ukrainian-registered vehicle without (a) registering and (b) taxing the vehicle with the DVLA.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Foreign registered vehicles brought temporarily into the UK are exempt from UK registration and licensing requirements for up to six months in any 12-month period. After this period and to comply with road safety legislation, any foreign vehicle must be registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. The Government recognises the unique circumstances that many Ukrainians have encountered when fleeing their home country and in response His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs is reviewing import duty relief applications. I have assigned dedicated resource across my Department to support those that need to register their vehicle.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring diesel cars to undergo a particulate filter efficiency test as occurs in The Netherlands.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Some initial research has been undertaken by the Department relating to availability of equipment for checks of functioning diesel particulate filters. Where emissions control equipment fitted by a vehicle manufacturer is missing, obviously modified, or defective, the vehicle will not pass its annual MOT test. The Department for Transport keeps the requirements of the MOT test under review and we note with interest the developments that have taken place in parts of Europe.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department (a) is offering and (b) plans to offer financial support to driving instructors following changes to the BE driving licence.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The changes to BE licensing rules are amongst 32 different actions the Government is taking to increase the number of heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers and the number of tests available.
All car drivers wishing to tow a trailer or caravan for leisure or business are still encouraged to undertake voluntary training through an accreditation scheme the trailer industry and training providers are developing with support from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. This will include training for those who tow for leisure and for business requirements.
Responses from the consultation indicated that many drivers who are required to tow as part of the work they do, will continue to take training, and that employers, as part of their corporate responsibility, insurance requirements and health and safety compliance, will also require their employees to undertake appropriate training. As such there will continue to be a market for trailer towing training.
Businesses that have been affected by the BE changes are advised to seek further advice and support from the Business Support Line at www.gov.uk/business-support-helpline.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on increasing the roll-out of rapid charging points for electric vehicles in Wales.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Government works closely with the devolved administrations on supporting the transition to zero emission vehicles across the whole of the UK. Regular discussions about rapid chargepoints as well as other measures to support electric vehicles are held on an ongoing basis with the Welsh Government. Officials have been working together to align the upcoming electric vehicle infrastructure strategy from UK government with the approach set out in the Welsh government’s electric vehicle charging strategy for Wales.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the development of electric vehicle smart charging regulations.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Officials from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) have worked closely with counterparts in Welsh Government throughout the development of The Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021. I wrote to all Devolved Administrations, including the Welsh Government ahead of announcing our commitment to legislate. We will continue to work with the Welsh Government as we develop further smart charging policy in the future.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department’s latest assessment is of the economic benefit to Wales of the proposed HS2 route detailed in the Integrated Rail Plan.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
By improving regional connectivity, the Integrated Rail Plan will unify labour markets, so that people can access a much wider range of jobs; bring businesses closer together; and improve access to key international gateways and markets so they become even more attractive locations for business investment. Crewe Northern Connection would improve connections from North Wales to the HS2 network, potentially bringing many passengers within 2 hours 15 minutes of London. Work to progress options on completing the Midlands Rail Hub could give passengers from South Wales easy access to the HS2 network at Birmingham Curzon Street.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the availability of Welsh language learning materials for DVSA theory tests.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Highway Code is available in Welsh as a book. The Department for Transport is currently working on proposals to change the Code. When the proposed substantive changes come into force in 2022, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) plans to publish them in Welsh simultaneously in print. When the new edition is published, the DVSA wants to publish the Welsh translation online also.
Books, apps and other resources to study for theory tests are available from many commercial sources, including ones endorsed by the DVSA, published by The Stationery Office Ltd (TSO). The DVSA is unaware of any publishers or developers that offer such resources in the Welsh language; this is possibly because there is not a market for it of a commercial scale.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the development of electric vehicle smart charging regulations.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Officials from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) have worked closely with counterparts in Welsh Government throughout the development of The Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021. The Secretary of State for Transport wrote to all Devolved Administrations, including the Welsh Government ahead of announcing our commitment to legislate. We will continue to work with the Welsh Government as we develop further smart charging policy in the future.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment has he made of the adequacy of the (a) provision and (b) availability of driving tests in North Wales.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Driver and Vehicle Services Agency (DVSA) offers driving tests in Welsh at all 24 practical driving test centres (DTC) in Wales, as well as those outside Wales whose catchment area includes part of Wales. Customers can choose to take a practical test in Welsh at the time of booking. The DVSA has 13 Welsh speaking driving examiners (DE) who will be deployed to meet requests to deliver Welsh language driving tests.
The DVSA has a number of measures in place to increase practical driving tests, including North Wales. These include offering a national recovery allowance and annual leave buy back to examiners, asking all those qualified to conduct tests, but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests, and conducting out of hours testing (such as on public holidays and weekends). The DVSA has also started a recruitment campaign to increase the number of examiners and will shortly launch a specific recruitment campaign to increase the number of Welsh speaking examiners.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment has he made of the availability of Welsh language driving tests.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Driver and Vehicle Services Agency (DVSA) offers driving tests in Welsh at all 24 practical driving test centres (DTC) in Wales, as well as those outside Wales whose catchment area includes part of Wales. Customers can choose to take a practical test in Welsh at the time of booking. The DVSA has 13 Welsh speaking driving examiners (DE) who will be deployed to meet requests to deliver Welsh language driving tests.
The DVSA has a number of measures in place to increase practical driving tests, including North Wales. These include offering a national recovery allowance and annual leave buy back to examiners, asking all those qualified to conduct tests, but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests, and conducting out of hours testing (such as on public holidays and weekends). The DVSA has also started a recruitment campaign to increase the number of examiners and will shortly launch a specific recruitment campaign to increase the number of Welsh speaking examiners.