Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of electric cars charging infrastructure.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
A widespread, easy-to-use and reliable network of public chargepoints is crucial to support the electric vehicle transition. As of 1 February 2025, the Government and industry have supported the installation of 74,234 publicly available charging devices in the UK, alongside over 680,000 private chargepoints in England alone, supporting drivers to switch to EVs.
In 2024, nearly 20,000 public charging devices were added to the network, making it a record year. Government investment will continue to support public chargepoint rollout, including the £381m Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund which, alongside private investment, is estimated to deliver a further 100,000 chargepoints alone.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of progress in meeting sustainable aviation fuel targets.
Answered by Mike Kane
The sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) Mandate – which came into effect at the start of this year - is the UK’s key policy to decarbonise jet fuel. It obligates the supply of an increasing amount of SAF in the overall UK aviation fuel mix; starting at 2% in 2025, reaching 10% in 2030 and 22% in 2040.
The Government has considered feedstock availability and SAF technology readiness in setting targets which are both ambitious and deliverable. To support delivery of the Mandate’s targets, we are taking actions to grow supply of SAF. We are providing £135m to support 13 UK SAF projects through the Advanced Fuels Fund and have allocated an additional £63m of funding to March 2026.
The Government has also committed to introduce an industry-funded revenue certainty mechanism.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to encourage the aviation industry to use more sustainable aviation fuel.
Answered by Mike Kane
The SAF Mandate – which came into effect at the start of this year - is the UK’s key policy to decarbonise jet fuel. It obligates the supply of an increasing amount of SAF in the overall UK aviation fuel mix; starting at 2% in 2025, reaching 10% in 2030 and 22% in 2040.
We are also taking steps to grow a UK SAF industry. The Advanced fuels Fund (AFF) provides grants to support SAF projects looking to develop large scale production facilities in the UK. We have extended the AFF for a further year to March 2026, with an extra £63m of funding.
The Government has also committed to introduce an industry-funded revenue certainty mechanism. On 29 January 2025, we published our response to the SAF Revenue Certainty Mechanism consultation, confirming that we are proceeding with the guaranteed strike price model.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing levels of production of sustainable aviation fuel in Runcorn and Helsby constituency on the environment.
Answered by Mike Kane
The Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate – which came into effect at the start of this year - could deliver up to 6.3 megatonnes of carbon savings per year by 2040. A supply of UK-produced SAF can help deliver those savings.
In England, SAF production facilities require an environmental permit from the Environment Agency in order to operate. The Environment Agency will only grant a permit if it is satisfied that the process would not give rise to any significant pollution of the environment or harm to human health.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the proportion of flights (a) to and (b) from the UK that use sustainable fuel.
Answered by Mike Kane
I refer the Hon. Member to the Answer given on 5 February 2025 to PQ UIN 26884.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the number of passenger flights in the UK using sustainable aviation fuel in 2023-24.
Answered by Mike Kane
The Department does not require, and has no plans to require, data from commercial operators on the number of passenger flights using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). It has set ambitious but realistic targets for SAF supply through a SAF mandate scheme introduced on 1 January 2025 and against which progress is being measured.
The uptake of SAF was previously supported through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme. In 2023 97 million litres of SAF was supplied under the RTFO, the equivalent of 0.7% of all jet fuel supplied in the UK that year. Progress towards targets set through the SAF mandate will similarly be reported in the Department’s renewable fuels statistics.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the expansion of Heathrow Airport on (a) noise pollution, (b) air quality and (c) carbon targets.
Answered by Mike Kane
The Government has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer.
Once proposals have been received, the government will review the Airports National Policy Statement, which provides the basis for decision making on granting development consent for a new runway at Heathrow.
The government has been clear that any airport expansion proposals need to demonstrate that they contribute to economic growth, can be delivered in line with the UK’s legally binding commitments on carbon and meet strict environmental requirements on air quality and noise pollution.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consultation she has undertaken with local communities on Heathrow airport expansion.
Answered by Mike Kane
The Government has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer.
Once proposals have been received, the government will review the Airports National Policy Statement in line with the requirements of the Planning Act 2008, and in doing so the Secretary of State will comply with any statutory requirements relating to consultation and publicity.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of peer age passenger restrictions for newly qualified drivers aged under 21.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Whilst we are not considering Graduated Driver Licensing, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic collisions on our roads, and we are exploring options to tackle the root causes of this without unfairly penalising young drivers.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an economic and environmental impact assessment of the potential impact of making temporary the (a) 38.4 and (b) 44 tonne weight limits on volumetric concrete mobile plants.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department ran a call for evidence from October to December 2023 seeking views on three potential options on weight limits for Volumetric Concrete Mixers (VCMs). Evidence was provided to the Department on both the pros and cons of allowing VCMs to continue to operate at higher weights. The Department has reviewed the evidence provided and will publish its findings shortly. Any potential changes to the current policy position on VCM weight limits will need to consider the implications for road safety, infrastructure, the environment, and maintaining fair competition in the market.