Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of aviation induced cloudiness on the environment.
Answered by Robert Courts
There is significant uncertainty about the impact of aviation on “cloudiness” - more usually referred to as ‘contrails’ - which can lead to both warming and cooling, though the net effect is expected to be warming.
We are working closely with the academic community to understand non-CO2 impacts of aviation better, along with potential mitigation methods to ensure that future policy development is based on the latest available climate science.
Through the Jet Zero Consultation, we sought views on our approach to decarbonising aviation and on how to address non-CO2 impacts. We are carefully considering the consultation responses which will inform the final Jet Zero Strategy, due to be published later this year.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to remove travel restrictions for people who have been fully vaccinated against covid-19.
Answered by Robert Courts
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. They will still be required to take a test on Day 2. We expect this to occur in phases, starting with people who have had their COVID-19 vaccine in the UK.
Public health remains our priority and we are taking a cautious approach as we set out our resumption on international travel. We have not made any changes for Green or Red countries in the June checkpoint review. Formal reviews will take place at checkpoints no later than 31 July and 1 October 2021 to take account of the domestic and international health picture, and to see whether current measures can be eased.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to (a) prevent overbooking and (b) ensure safe social distancing on national rail services following the easing of covid-19 restrictions.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
Government has published safer transport guidance for operators which sets out measures to assess and address the risks of coronavirus for passengers and staff. In line with this, all train operators are expected to carry out their own risk assessments on the most appropriate action to take.
Risk assessments are expected, where possible, to enable social distancing of 2 metres or 1 metre with risk mitigations, taking account of factors such as the design of different types of rolling stock. Some operators of long-distance services have limited ridership by selling only a set number of seats and requiring reservations. In addition, train operators have increased services levels as we move through the roadmap to provide additional capacity as demand increases. Operators are also providing information on how busy services are likely to be so that passengers can plan ahead and use quieter services where possible.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's consultation of October 2020, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen the law on using a mobile phone while operating a vehicle.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Between October 2020 and January 2021, the Department consulted on a proposal to broaden the offence of using a hand-held mobile phone while driving so that it captures standalone mode functions (such as searching for music stored on the phone) as well as the interactive communication functions that are covered now. We are currently analysing the responses and intend to publish a government response in the summer.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he next plans to review (a) the red list of travel ban countries and (b) Portugal’s inclusion on that list.
Answered by Robert Courts
The government announced on 15 March that Portugal (including Madeira and the Azores) and Mauritius would be removed from the red list and Ethiopia, Oman, Somalia and Qatar added to the red list, with the changes coming into force at 4am on 19 March. The decision to remove Portugal was made following a review of data and evidence that showed Portugal had put steps in place to mitigate the risk of variants of concern, including genomic surveillance, which indicates the risks of importing a variant of concern has reduced.
The decision to add or remove countries from the red list are made 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 COVID-19 variants of concern identified in those countries. These are intended to be temporary measures and the government keeps data for countries and territories under regular review.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to prohibit adults from using e-scooters on pavements.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
It is illegal to use an e-scooter on the public highway – including pavements - anywhere outside of a government endorsed e-scooter trial area. Enforcement is a matter for the police. Within trial areas e-scooters must not be used on pavements and following feedback at the start of the trials we have asked operators to use geo-fencing to help tackle pavement riding and other anti-social behaviour. We have also asked local areas and operators to ensure that users are made fully aware of the rules and that trials are launched and managed in a controlled way.
Local authorities run the trials and are able to control how the trials run in their areas. This includes limiting the number e-scooters that are available, prohibiting them from some areas, and specifying where they should be parked or docked. E-scooter operators can also use their technology to minimise the impacts of e-scooters and make sure they are used legally.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the extension of the Ultra Low Emissions Zone in London in 2021, whether his Department plans to offer financial support to people who have replaced their older diesel vehicles for a model that meets emission standards.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The expanded Ultra Low Emission Zone is being introduced by the Mayor of London in line with his responsibility for tackling pollution levels in the capital, and the Mayor is able to provide support schemes for the cost of upgrading to compliant vehicles if he chooses. The Government already helps motorists with the cost of switching through a tax regime that rewards drivers who choose cleaner vehicles, including favourable benefit in kind tax rates for zero emission vehicles out to 2025. All zero emission cars are also exempt from vehicle excise duty. Government grants continue to be available to help reduce the up-front purchase price of plug in vehicles and help consumers take advantage of cheaper running costs compared to a petrol or diesel equivalent. To support industry and consumers make the transition to zero emission vehicles, the Government is investing £1.3 billion to accelerate the roll out of charging infrastructure and £582 million for plug in vehicle grants.