Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to tackle delays at DVLA offices in issuing licences.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA) online services are the quickest and easiest way to renew a driving licence. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their driving licence within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application for a driving licence. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day which must be dealt with in person. Ongoing industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union is leading to delays for customers who make paper applications.
Currently, paper driving licence applications are likely to take six to ten weeks to process. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example, if medical investigations are needed. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here.
The DVLA has reconfigured its accommodation to safely maximise the number of staff on site and is working hard to process applications as quickly as possible. The DVLA has accelerated the development of additional online services to reduce the number of paper applications and supported their take up through a publicity campaign. Further digital service enhancements are underway. The DVLA has also leased an additional building to accommodate more operational staff.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including Serbia on the covid-19 green list for travel.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The traffic light system categorises countries based on risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of COVID-19. The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of countries and territories. Decisions on Red, Amber or Green List assignment and associated border measures are taken by Ministers, who take into account the JBC risk assessments, alongside wider public health factors.
Serbia has been on the Amber list since 17 May 2021. Changes to the country lists are implemented every three weeks, unless concerning evidence means we need to act faster to protect public health.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
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 suppliers of covid-19 testing under the Test to Release scheme to introduce a concessionary price.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Test to Release (TTR) scheme is a voluntary, opt-in system allowing eligible people the opportunity to leave self-isolation early if they receive a negative result following a Day 5 test. Most travel is undertaken by choice and TTR is not a mandatory requirement. Those who do not wish to opt into this voluntary scheme are able to self-isolate for the full 10 days.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on the Government’s 2019 commitment for every newly installed rapid and higher charging points for electric vehicles to provide pay as you go payment facilities.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government welcomes the progress that has been made to date in providing contactless payment at rapid and high-powered chargers. However, over half of these devices do not provide pay-as-you-go facility. In May, the Transport Secretary announced that the Government will consult on measures to improve the consumer experience when using public chargepoints. This includes exploring measures such as requiring rapid chargepoints to offer contactless payment, improving chargepoint reliability and transparency on pricing and giving drivers better access to information about the chargepoints available for their journey.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many charging network providers for electric vehicles charge annual or monthly fees for people to use public chargers.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government does not keep a record of the charging mechanisms of different charging network providers. No assessment has been made of the effect of annual or monthly fees for using public charging points on their uptake.
Under the Alternative Fuels and Infrastructure Regulations 2017 all public chargepoints are required to provide ad hoc access. This means that all public chargepoints can be accessed without electric vehicle drivers needing to enter into a contract or register with a charging network.
In May the Transport Secretary announced that the Government will consult on measures to improve the consumer experience when using public chargepoints. This includes measures such as requiring rapid chargepoints to offer contactless payment, improving chargepoint reliability and transparency on pricing and giving drivers better access to information about the chargepoints available for their journey.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether new 7kW to 22kW charging points for electric vehicles are including within the Government’s commitment to ensure all newly installed rapid and higher charging points provide pay as you go payment facilities.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government welcomes the progress that has been made to date at providing contactless payment at rapid and high-powered chargers. Rapid and high-powered chargepoints (50 kW+) are vital to facilitate longer journeys, which is why it is important that electric vehicle drivers can use the simplest payment method to obtain the fastest charge to continue their journey.
In May the Transport Secretary announced that the Government will consult on measures to improve the consumer experience when using public chargepoints. This includes exploring measures such as requiring rapid chargepoints to offer contactless payment, improving chargepoint reliability and transparency on pricing and giving drivers better access to information about the chargepoints available for their journey.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of annual or monthly fees for using public charging points on their uptake.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government does not keep a record of the charging mechanisms of different charging network providers. No assessment has been made of the effect of annual or monthly fees for using public charging points on their uptake.
Under the Alternative Fuels and Infrastructure Regulations 2017 all public chargepoints are required to provide ad hoc access. This means that all public chargepoints can be accessed without electric vehicle drivers needing to enter into a contract or register with a charging network.
In May the Transport Secretary announced that the Government will consult on measures to improve the consumer experience when using public chargepoints. This includes measures such as requiring rapid chargepoints to offer contactless payment, improving chargepoint reliability and transparency on pricing and giving drivers better access to information about the chargepoints available for their journey.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on standardising electric vehicle charging portals.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulations 2017, which came into effect in the UK in October 2017, set out harmonised technical standards for vehicle recharging in the UK. All publicly accessible?chargepoints?that can be used for standard or fast alternative current (AC) charging (3.7kW-22kW) and that have either been deployed or renewed since 17 November 2017 must, at a minimum, offer a ‘Type 2’ recharging?connector. For rapid charging devices, publicly accessible?chargepoints?must, at a minimum, offer a ‘Type 2’ recharging?connector?if using AC, or the ‘Combo 2’ combined charging system (CCS) if using direct current (DC). These are minimum requirements, therefore the?chargepoint?may also offer recharging?connectors using other technical standards, providing that they also offer recharging?connectors that meet the standards above.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of new electric vehicle and higher powered charge points provide pay as you go payment facilities.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government welcomes the progress that has been made to date in providing contactless payment at rapid and high-powered chargers. However, over half of these devices do not provide pay-as-you-go facility. In May, the Transport Secretary announced that the Government will consult on measures to improve the consumer experience when using public chargepoints. This includes exploring measures such as requiring rapid chargepoints to offer contactless payment, improving chargepoint reliability and transparency on pricing and giving drivers better access to information about the chargepoints available for their journey.