Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government remains on track to achieve its walking and cycling targets.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Government’s aims, objectives and targets for walking and cycling are set out in the statutory 2017 Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy. The Department will be reporting to Parliament later this year on the progress that has been made towards meeting each of these, once the latest official statistics on rates of cycling and walking are published in the summer.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of local authorities franchising of bus services.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Bus Services Act 2017 introduced new bus franchising powers for local authorities as well as providing other tools such as Enhanced Partnerships to improve bus services.
Officials have met with a number of interested local authorities to help them understand the opportunities in the Act to improve bus services in their area. It is up to individual local authorities to decide what powers in the act to use and the Department has published guidance and continues to provide advice when requested to those that are taking plans forward.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the feasibility of all domestic flights being made by electric aircraft by 2040.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Hybrid and fully-electric aircraft have the potential to transform aviation. Whilst no specific assessment of this nature has been made, the Government has committed £155m to support a new era of cleaner and greener aviation.
This includes £125m of Government funding for the Future Flight Industrial Strategy Challenge to support the next generation of electric planes and autonomous aircraft, alongside support for projects such as the joint Rolls Royce, Airbus and Siemens E-Fan X, a hybrid-electric flight demonstrator.
Our consultation on Aviation 2050, the Government’s long-term vision for aviation, sought views on how to address the environmental challenges and the role that new technology and innovation can play in sustainable growth for aviation. We will publish the White Paper later in 2019.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the 25 Year Environment Plan, whether his Department plans to provide additional support for the development of sustainable aviation fuels.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The 25 Year Environment Plan noted that the Government would explore different infrastructure options for managing residual waste, including the production of biofuels for transport and emerging innovative technologies.
Under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), biofuels reported as being made from waste have risen from 12 per cent of total biofuel supply in the first year of the obligation 2008/09 to 66 per cent in 2017/18.
Building on that success the Government introduced changes to the RTFO last year which extended eligibility for rewards under the RTFO to aviation fuels. We are also making available up to £20 million of matched capital funding to projects that will produce low carbon waste-based fuels to be used in aeroplanes and lorries through the Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition.
The Department is also discussing with industry whether fuels produced from non-biogenic wastes, including those that are difficult to recycle, should be supported under the RTFO.
The Government’s new aviation strategy, Aviation 2050 – The future of UK aviation, will be published later this year. Through consultation on that Strategy the Government is considering further policies it can put in place to assist the long-term uptake of sustainable alternative fuels in this sector.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 airlines to publish emission output estimates to (a) transparency and (b) aircraft efficiency.
Answered by Michael Ellis
In December 2018 the Government published a green paper on its new aviation strategy, ‘Aviation 2050 – The future of UK aviation’. This included proposals for tackling aviation’s carbon emissions, taking into account the UK’s domestic and international obligations.
One of the potential carbon abatement measures consulted on in the green paper is to ask airports to publish league tables of the environmental efficiency of airport and airline operations.
The public consultation on the green paper closed on 20 June 2019, and the department will now consider the responses and assess the merits of the potential carbon abatement measures to determine which will be taken forward. The final Aviation 2050 strategy will present a clear approach to carbon abatement and ensure that aviation contributes its fair share to action on climate change. It is due to be published later this year.
Aggregate airline emissions are already published at a European level through the EU Emission Trading System (ETS). Reporting coverage will be expanded under the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) which includes all airline emissions on international routes. The first emissions data for CORSIA will be available during 2020.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps is he taking to ensure a uniform method for electric car drivers to access public charging points.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Our vision is to have one of the best electric vehicle infrastructure networks in the world. This means current and prospective electric vehicle drivers are able to easily locate and access charging infrastructure that is affordable, reliable and secure. A better consumer experience of using public chargepoints is central to this vision. The Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulations requires that all public chargepoints provide ad-hoc access which means EV drivers can charge at any chargepoint without having to enter into a contract with an infrastructure operator nor be in the possession of multiple RFID cards. The Automated and Electric Vehicles Act goes further by providing the government with a range of powers to improve the charging experience for current and future including the powers to specify a uniform method of payment. The Government continues to monitor market developments closely. If the market fails to continue to deliver further improvements across the entire network or takes too long, the Government is prepared to intervene using the powers in the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act to ensure a good deal for consumers.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that the wellbeing of a ship's crew is linked to ship safety and included in international regulations.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The International Labour Organisation’s Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC), which the UK ratified in 2013, provides a global framework for decent living and working conditions for seafarers. The MLC has been amended three times since then to provide measures
For financial support for seafarers abandoned by shipowners;
To protect seafarers against bullying and harassment; and
To ensure that employment protection remains in place throughout the period of captivity for seafarers held captive in cases of piracy or armed robbery.
The UK continues to take an active role in the international Committee which keeps the MLC under review and will support practical measures to improve the wellbeing of seafarers.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is expecting to publish new guidance for shipowners and for seafarers on wellbeing issues later this year.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) cities and (b) towns include under represented groups when planning cycling infrastructure in England and Wales.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Government’s plans to promote cycling and walking are set out in the statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, published in April 2017. The Strategy’s ambition is to make cycling and walking the natural choice for shorter journeys, or as part of a longer journey. The Strategy includes a commitment to monitor the uptake of cycling by age, gender, ethnicity and mobility.
The Department for Transport recognises that the take-up of cycling is lower among some groups than others. For some under-represented groups, concerns about safety are a major barrier to taking up cycling. In November 2018 the Department published a full response to the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy safety review, which included a detailed list of actions to make cycling safer and hence more attractive to those who are not regular cyclists.
It is for Local Authorities to plan their cycling infrastructure (and to take account of their Public-Sector Equality Duty in doing so) and Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans are an effective way of identifying infrastructure and routes with the greatest potential for increasing levels of cycling and walking, often by focusing on areas with under-represented groups.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to reduce emissions of (a) sulphur dioxide, (b) nitrogen oxides and (c) particulate matter in the shipping industry.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Government has taken a leading role at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to both secure improvements in UK air quality, and to ensure that the IMO’s global requirements for marine fuel enter into force later this year.
On 1 January 2020 the IMO’s global 0.5% limit on sulphur in marine fuel will enter into force, the UK has played a significant role in both supporting this limit, and working with industry to develop guidance to ensure it enters into force effectively.
On 1 Jan 2021, following work undertaken at IMO by the UK and neighbouring states, the North Sea and English Channel will become a Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) Emissions Control Area, applying the highest levels of NOx controls available under international maritime law.
The Government is also active at the IMO in an ongoing work programme to quantify and ultimately regulate emissions of black carbon (a major constituent of particulate matter) from international shipping.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing government support to subsidise bus services in Staffordshire.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
£250m of Bus Services Operators Grant (BSOG) payments have been made to bus companies and local authorities.
Bus operators in Staffordshire were paid a total of £1,016,186 BSOG in 2018-19 to help meet some of their fuel costs in running local bus services.
Staffordshire County Council received a total of £174,967 in BSOG during 2018-19 to support subsidised local bus services.
BSOG spend figures are published on Gov.uk and can be found via this link https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bus-services-grants-and-funding#bsog-spend
The Government will consider whether to make any changes to BSOG as part of the forthcoming spending review.