Asked by: Tom Rutland (Labour - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to (a) encourage and (b) enable drivers who may be unable to afford a new car to switch to (a) electric vehicles and (a) more electric environmentally friendly cars.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to ensuring that the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is accessible to everyone. Many EVs on the second-hand market are now priced similarly to comparable petrol and diesel cars. Industry data on used vehicle transactions suggests there is strong and growing interest in used zero emission vehicles (ZEVs).
The Government’s Electric Car Grant (ECG) is designed to stimulate the uptake of lower cost, new ZEVs. This will, over time, increase the supply of affordable EVs into the second-hand market.
To boost consumer confidence in the longevity of used EVs, the ECG and the ZEV Mandate require manufacturers to provide a warranty of 8 years or 100,000 miles on EV batteries and a replacement battery if the original battery’s capacity falls below 70% in that period. This is significantly higher than warranties typically offered for petrol or diesel cars.
Asked by: Tom Rutland (Labour - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to promote walking and cycling.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Walking, wheeling, and cycling are convenient, sustainable ways to travel—and this government is committed to making them safe and accessible for everyone.
To support this, we’re allocating £616 million in capital funding over the next four years to help local authorities deliver high-quality active travel infrastructure. Details on revenue funding will be announced in due course, alongside a consultation on the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.
Active travel will also play a central role in our Integrated National Transport Strategy, set to be published later this year.