Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the devolved administrations on the level of potential disruption to UK supply chains over the Christmas 2021 period as a result of the heavy goods vehicle driver shortage.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Ministers and officials engage regularly with representatives of the devolved administrations on a wide range of topics including the availability of HGV drivers. Most recently, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Transport, Baroness Vere of Norbiton met with Ministers from the devolved administrations to discuss the HGV driver shortage on 9 December 2021.
The Government has implemented 32 specific interventions to date to help alleviate the existing HGV driver shortages. Recent assessments by industry bodies suggest that the shortfall in drivers is starting to ease.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a financial support package for the aviation sector in the context of further covid-19 travel restrictions.
Answered by Robert Courts
The Government recognises the challenging times facing the international travel sectors due to COVID-19. Additional temporary testing measures introduced in response to the Omicron variant remain in place to help prevent additional cases of Omicron from entering the UK, while supporting domestic measures to tackle the spread of the variant in the UK. The Government recognises the impact these temporary health measures have on the travel and aviation industry, and they will be reviewed again in the first week of January.
Since the start of the pandemic, we estimate that the air transport sector (airlines, airport and related services) will have benefitted from around £8bn of government support.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of people in Newport West constituency who have yet to receive refunds for flights cancelled during the pandemic.
Answered by Robert Courts
The data requested for the number of individuals due to receive refunds for flights is not centrally recorded by the Department for Transport.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority reviewed airline compliance on refunds and worked collaboratively to improve performance on consumer obligations, over the summer of 2020. The majority of airlines now pay refunds within seven days. During the pandemic Government made clear, including through the publication of the Passenger COVID-19 Charter, that everyone should be as flexible as possible during whilst travelling during the pandemic, and the industry has responded with flexibility.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether electric scooters are required to have lights.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government is running trials of rental e-scooters to assess their safety and wider impacts. We require trial e-scooters to meet minimum standards of design, through administrative vehicle orders (VSOs) issued by the Secretary of State under s.44 and s.63 of the Road Traffic Act. The VSO includes an obligatory requirement for e-scooters to have front and rear lights and an optional requirement for indicators and brake lights.
While trials are running, privately-owned e-scooters remain illegal.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2021 to Question 75126 on UN Climate Conference 2021: Government, how many Ministers in his Department travelled to COP26 by airplane.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
No Ministers from the Department travelled to COP 26 by airplane.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of Ryanair's plans to reduce fares in Winter 2021 on the Government's progress to meet its net zero target.
Answered by Robert Courts
The UK has a legal obligation to achieve net zero across the whole economy by 2050 and the aviation sector will need to meet this target irrespective of any changes to fares.
In July we published our Jet Zero Consultation which set out our vision for the aviation sector to reach net zero by 2050, through the rapid development of technologies in a way that maintains the benefits of air travel and maximises the opportunities that decarbonisation can bring for the UK.
In the consultation we proposed setting a net zero trajectory from 2025 to 2050 with interim targets for the sector, and consulted on reviewing progress on the sector’s progress and updating the strategy where necessary, every five years.
Officials are currently considering consultation responses, with an aim to publish the final Jet Zero Strategy in early 2022.
As commercial operators, airlines select their routes and set their fare structures according to market demand and other factors. As an airline licensed to operate commercial flights in the UK, Ryanair do not require individual permissions from the Government to operate specific routes and make their own decisions about ticket prices and therefore it would be inappropriate for the Government to intervene.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department’s recent funding agreement with Transport for London required the Mayor of London to extend the Ultra Low Emission Zone.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL). The decision to expand the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) was made by the Mayor in June 2018.
The Government has provided over £4bn to keep London’s transport system moving through the pandemic. These funding agreements move TfL towards a financially sustainable future in a way that is fair to national taxpayers. The latest TfL funding deal did not require the Mayor to implement the expanded ULEZ. It was however clear that any change to the Mayor’s existing plans would have to be paid for without recourse to Government funding.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to ensure the uptake of electric cars and vans is in line with the Climate Change Committee’s recommendations.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Government is going further and faster to decarbonise transport by phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, and, from 2035, all new cars and vans must be zero emissions at the tailpipe.
As recommended by the Committee for Climate Change, and in order to deliver these phases out dates, Government announced in the Net Zero Strategy that it will introduce a zero emission vehicle mandate, setting targets for a percentage of manufacturers' new car and van sales to be zero emission each year from 2024.
Government grants for plug in vehicles continue to be available to help reduce the up-front purchase price of electric cars, vans, trucks, motorbikes and taxis. There are also grants available to support the installation of chargepoints at homes, workplaces, on residential streets and along motorways and major A roads. Building on the £1.9bn from Spending Review 2020, the Government has recently committed an additional £620m to support the transition to electric vehicles. The additional funding will support the rollout of charging infrastructure, with a particular focus on local on street residential charging, and targeted plug-in vehicle grants.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the level of economic development that investing in maritime decarbonisation may provide to the UK’s coastal communities.
Answered by Robert Courts
The Department has made no assessment of the level of economic development that Government funding for maritime decarbonisation may provide to the UK’s coastal communities. However, in 2019, alongside the Clean Maritime Plan, the Department published an assessment which identified that low and zero emissions shipping could result in potential economic benefits to the UK of around £360-£510 million per year by the middle of the century.
Maritime UK has published its views that investment in maritime decarbonisation could in future create jobs in all four nations of the United Kingdom, particularly in coastal communities with a tradition of maritime economic activity, including shipbuilding.
Industry research estimates that in 2017 the UK maritime sector as a whole directly supported more than 220,000 jobs for UK employees.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential economic contribution to coastal communities of investment in maritime decarbonisation.
Answered by Robert Courts
The Department has made no assessment of the potential effect on coastal communities of providing Government funding for maritime decarbonisation. However, in 2019, alongside the Clean Maritime Plan, the Department published an assessment which identified that low and zero emissions shipping could result in potential economic benefits to the UK of around £360-£510 million per year by the middle of the century.
Maritime UK has published its views that investment in maritime decarbonisation could in future create jobs in all four nations of the United Kingdom, particularly in coastal communities with a tradition of maritime economic activity, including shipbuilding.
Industry research estimates that in 2017 the UK maritime sector as a whole directly supported more than 220,000 jobs for UK employees.