Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on his Department's rates of recycling of plastic, paper, metal and other products; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Department for Transport (DfT) has made a formal commitment to increase its rates of recycling through the Greening Government Commitments (GGCs).
The GGCs for 2016-2020, which have been extended to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, ask departments to “continue to improve our waste management by reducing the overall amount of waste generated and increasing the proportion which is recycled.”
Between 2016 and 2021 DfT has delivered on these targets, reducing the total waste generated and increasing the percentage of waste recycled year-on-year, as outlined in the table below:
| 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 |
Total Waste (tonnes) | 4,522 | 4,403 | 3,955 | 3,010 | 2,110 |
% Recycled | 46% | 48% | 50% | 64% | 65% |
A new phase of GGCs for 2021-2025 is due to be published by Defra, which will set out updated recycling targets, which the Department for Transport will commit to deliver.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of his Department's energy usage in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Information on the total energy expenditure for the Department for Transport is available in the Annual Report and Accounts here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/936346/DfT-Annual-Report-and-Accounts-2019-20-web-accessible.pdf
(a) The Department’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2020-21 will be published in mid-September.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of introducing an international vaccine passport.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
We have equipped people with the ability to prove their vaccination status using the NHS app, which is already used by some countries to allow British passengers to enter with fewer restrictions. Our intention is that later in the summer, arrivals who are fully vaccinated will not have to self-isolate when travelling from amber list countries nor take a test on day 8. We expect this to occur in phases, starting with people who have had their COVID-19 vaccine in the UK. We continue to engage with international partners bilaterally and multilaterally to shape our policy on vaccine certification.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on reform of Tonnage Tax.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
As part of the standard role of government, the Department for Transport regularly meets with colleagues in HMT to discuss a range of maritime measures including the Tonnage Tax regime
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of creating a seafarer job creation target for new UK Ratings and Officers.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Maritime 2050 strategy has made recommendations on promoting and increasing employment and training but no targets have been set.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to help ensure the safety of rail workers as covid-19 restrictions are eased.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
As COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, the safety of all rail workers and passengers continues to be our priority. We have issued comprehensive guidance to train operators on the steps they need to take to protect staff in line with Public Health England advice, as well as safer travel guidance for passengers, both of which are regularly reviewed and updated.
Operators are planning to increase service levels in line with the roadmap and the levels of demand observed on the network, alongside taking active steps to encourage social distancing and manage passenger flows with crowd management plans and ability to draw on additional staff if needed.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to support jobs in the aviation sector in (a) Newport West constituency and (b) the UK.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Government fully recognises the impact that COVID-19 is having on the aviation sector. The sector is important to the UK economy and can draw upon the unprecedented package of measures announced by the Chancellor, designed to ensure that companies of any size receive the help they need to get through this difficult time.
We have extended the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) until 30 September 2021. Furloughed employees will continue to receive 80% of their current salary until that date (up to £2,500). 52% of passenger air transport employees were furloughed using the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) as of 31 January 2021. We estimate the wider air transport sector will have received around £1 billion in support through CJRS up to the end of April 2021.
Constituents in Newport West, including in the aviation sector, have similarly benefited from this support. By 15 March 2021, 13,100 workers in Newport West had been furloughed using the CJRS.
In addition, the Department for Transport launched the Aviation Skills Retention Platform in February to support skills retention in the sector. This allows aviation sector workers who are currently out of work to register their skills, so they can be matched with relevant jobs opportunities, advice and upskilling opportunities.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK aviation sector makes a strong recovery once the domestic economy opens up as covid-19 restrictions are eased.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The report of the Global Travel Taskforce, published on 9 April, clearly sets out how, when the time is right, we will be able to restart international travel safely while managing the risk from imported cases and variants of concern. It has been created following extensive engagement with the international travel and tourism industries, and we are grateful for their valuable contributions to the development of the report’s recommendations.
The government is also currently developing a strategic framework for the recovery of the aviation sector, which will focus on how the sector can build back better to deliver a world leading aviation sector for the UK. We expect to publish this framework later this year.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of restrictions imposed on UK hauliers operating in the EU on the haulage sector since the end of the transition period.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) between the UK and the EU, UK hauliers can continue to undertake unrestricted bilateral journeys to and from the EU, and transit journeys to a non-EU country. The TCA also allows UK hauliers to undertake up to 2 additional laden journeys within the EU after a laden international journey from the UK (either cabotage or cross-trade, with a maximum of one cabotage movement – i.e. two cross-trade, or one cabotage and one cross-trade).
The Department for Transport’s assessment is that the TCA will allow for the vast majority of UK haulage operations to and from the EU to continue exactly as they did before the end of the transition period.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to a partially-sighted man being struck by a train after falling on the tracks from a platform without tactile edging, what steps he is taking to make all railway platforms in England safe for blind and partially sighted people.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
This was a tragic incident and we fully accept the recommendations in the Rail Accident Investigation Board's Report. Whenever industry installs, replaces or renews platform infrastructure they are required to install tactiles. I have asked Network Rail to work up a costed plan for a wider roll out of tactiles for stations where tactiles are not being delivered as part of an existing enhancements or renewal project.