Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to measure its carbon footprint.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Greenhouse gas emissions are published annually in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Reports.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether a senior manager in his Department has been given the portfolio for leading on departmental sustainability.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Director for Corporate Finance and Property has been given the portfolio for leading on the direct environmental impacts associated with the Department’s operational activities (i.e. running the office and non-office estate). Departmental Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) are responsible for managing sustainability within their own organisations on behalf of DfT.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has implemented a training programme to provide civil servants with skills to support its transition to net zero.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In September 2021, the department launched its Carbon Literacy training programme to build capability within DfT staff to enable the delivery of Net Zero. The training is accredited by the Carbon Literacy Project (a charitable organisation) and it reflects the department’s commitment to establish a sustainable low carbon culture that will support the transition to Net Zero.
DfT is also now a corporate partner of Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) - the largest professional body for environmental practitioners in the UK and worldwide to equip DfT staff with resources and skills to further support them in their transition to Net Zero.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has published a plan setting out the steps it plans to take to transition to net zero emissions.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
In July 2021 we published the Transport Decarbonisation Plan – the first such Plan in the world – which sets the transport sector on the path to net zero by 2050.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the level of financial support available to local authorities to install new cycling infrastructure.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
There is an unprecedented £2 billion of investment in cycling and walking over the rest of this Parliament. Ministers and officials from this Department have regular discussions with their counterparts in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and other Government Departments to ensure that their programmes are fully aligned with the Government’s cycling and walking aims. The Government will continue to make funding available to local transport authorities through a wide range of funding streams, including some administered by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total floor area of his departmental estate was in each year from 2010-11 to 2020-21.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Below is a table containing the Department’s estate size year-by-year from 2010-11.
Year | Estate Size (square metres) | Comments |
2020-21 | 699,669 (NIA) or 931,286 (GIA) | Inflated due to inclusion of NR, LCR and HS2. |
2019-20 | 565,082 NIA | Central Estate |
2018-19 | 566,893 NIA | Central Estate |
2017-18 | 568,458 NIA | Central Estate |
2016-17 | 567,903 NIA | Central Estate |
2015-16 | 508,938 NIA | Central Estate |
2014-15 | 571,769 NIA | Central Estate |
2013-14 | 581,422 NIA | Mandated Estate |
2012-13 | 611,029 NIA | Mandated Estate. Report collated by calendar year instead of financial year. |
2011-12 | 583,518 NIA | Mandated Estate. Report collated by calendar year instead of financial year. |
2010-11 | 590,145 NIA | Mandated Estate. Report collated by calendar year instead of financial year. |
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what records relating to staff working times are kept by his Department under Regulation 9 of the Working Time Regulations 1998; and how long those records are kept for.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Most DfT staff are recorded on payroll as being required to work a standard FTE week of 37 hours, well within the maximum hours permitted by the regulations. Standard DfT contracts do not require staff to work at night.
When staff are required to work unsocial hours or additional hours (overtime), this is reflected in their pay and is likewise recorded through payroll data, which is retained for a minimum of seven years.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the compliance of his Department's staff working from home with the Working Time Regulations 1998.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The department’s assessment is that staff working from home continue to comply with working time regulations just as they did while working in DfT workplaces. Home and hybrid working offer staff greater autonomy over working time and location, but we will continue to remind staff of their obligation to comply with the regulations (e.g. taking breaks, using annual leave allowances).
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support Luton Airport’s plan to promote rail travel to its terminal through a new Luton Airport Express on the East Midlands Line.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Officials are currently involved in collaborative discussions with East Midlands Railway, Govia Thameslink Railway and Luton Airport, covering issues such as service branding, marketing and communications to promote rail travel to Luton Airport and take advantage of the introduction of the Luton Airport DART.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is working with rail operators to promote the fast service from St Pancras International to Luton Airport Parkway when the DART launches in 2022.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Officials are currently involved in collaborative discussions with East Midlands Railway, Govia Thameslink Railway and Luton Airport, covering issues such as service branding, marketing and communications to promote rail travel to Luton Airport and take advantage of the introduction of the Luton Airport DART.