Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2021 to Question 164339 on Driving Licences: Reciprocal Arrangements, what recent progress he has made on a UK-France reciprocal agreement.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Government is committed to establishing reciprocal arrangements with France with the minimum of bureaucracy. The Government has secured interim arrangements with the French authorities which will allow UK licence holders to continue to use their valid UK licence until 1 January 2022. We are working closely with the French government to finalise a permanent arrangement, which we expect to be concluded soon. The Government commits to providing an update as soon as possible.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the absence of a UK-France reciprocal agreement on driving licences, what plans he has to support UK citizens living in France whose licences have recently expired, or are due to expire soon.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Government is committed to establishing reciprocal arrangements with France with the minimum of bureaucracy. The Government has secured interim arrangements with the French authorities which will allow UK licence holders to continue to use their valid UK licence until 1 January 2022. These interim arrangements do not extend to UK licences that have expired. We are working closely with the French government to find a solution for those with expired licences as well as to finalise a permanent arrangement. The Government commits to providing an update as soon as possible.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that older high octane fuel will continue to be available in Northern Ireland alongside E5 and E10 fuel after 1 July 2021 in relation to the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The roll out of E10 petrol in the standard 95-octane petrol grade in September 2021 will be preceded by legislation requiring that E5 remains available in the higher 97-octane petrol grade. In line with our obligations under the Northern Ireland Protocol we will notify the European Commission of our intention in advance.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria his Department uses for assessing which countries should be placed on the red list travel ban during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Robert Courts
The decision to introduce travel bans for countries on the red list is in direct response to scientific and medical data, which represents an increased risk to UK public health and an increased risk of community transmission of the new COVID-19 variants identified in other countries. These are intended to be temporary measures and the government keeps data for countries and territories under constant review.
The government has made it consistently clear that it will take decisive action to contain the virus, including adding further countries to the red list if the public health risk of people returning from a particular country without self-isolating becomes too high.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of TravelUp proposals to (a) utilise trusts to protect customers' funds and (b) bring forward an airline insolvency Bill.
Answered by Robert Courts
The Department has been clear that airlines and travel agents should not deny consumers their legal right to a refund if it is requested, and that the refund should be processed in a timely manner. COVID-19 has highlighted a number of challenges, and we will be working with the regulator and industry to learn lessons and make changes that are pragmatic and sensible.
Airline insolvency is a highly complex and technical policy area. The Government has considered the recommendations of the Airline Insolvency Review to identify the reforms needed to ensure a strong level of consumer protection and value for money for the taxpayer.
The Government is also mindful of the need to consider the challenges faced by the aviation sector as a result of COVID-19. We are keeping under review the scope and timing of any future reforms in this policy area.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 May 2020 to Question 39784, what the timescale is for the release of Government funding to support key freight routes between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Freight is currently flowing effectively into and across the UK, and the measures we have announced will support this to continue. Starting from 11 May, sixteen routes have been designated as Public Service Obligation routes for a period of up to nine weeks.
Three of those routes – Cairnryan-Larne, Cairnryan-Belfast and Heysham-Warrenpoint – are between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. These routes will receive an estimated £5.5 million. The Northern Ireland Executive will contribute 40% of the funding on these routes.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support logistics networks between the UK and Ireland during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
On 24 April we announced a package of funding to support the movement of critical goods on freight routes between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Up to £17m of funding will be available to support up to 5 routes over the next 2 months, with the Northern Ireland Executive contributing 40%.
Furthermore, the Governments of Ireland, France and the United Kingdom have committed to supporting the continued movement of freight. Both the Irish and French governments have introduced measures to support freight movements, as we have.
These measures are in addition to the unprecedented support provided to UK companies in all sectors worth £350 billion.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the collapse of Flybe, what steps he is taking to ensure that available slots between London area airports and Belfast are not replaced by flights to other routes.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Her Majesty’s Government recognises that airports are vital for local economies, providing domestic and global connectivity, employment opportunities, and a hub for local transport. We have been working closely with airports and airlines to encourage them to act quickly to fill routes which are vital for local communities and businesses, including those in Belfast.
A review of Regional Air Connectivity was recently announced to ensure all nations and regions of the UK have the domestic transport connections local communities rely on. Her Majesty’s Government plays no part in, and through regulations is legally prevented from intervening in, the airport slot allocation process. Whilst there is no role for Government to play in this matter, it is in the interest of UK consumers that all airport slots are used efficiently.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the public purse has been of assessing the viability of a bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland to date; and how much funding has been allocated to that work.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The government is committed to upgrading our infrastructure, and we are looking at a range of options to level up the country and support growth and productivity in every region. We will set out more details on our plans to increase investment in infrastructure later this year.