Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's wellness strategy is.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Department is committed to the health and wellbeing of its staff and has developed a wellbeing strategy with a ‘5 steps to improve wellbeing’ approach.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given by my Rt Hon Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Matthew Hancock) on 29 February 2016, UIN 27946 (http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&member=1604&dept=53&uin=27946).
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to protect people living in the vicinity of (a) Heathrow and (b) RAF Northolt from (i) drones and (ii) unmanned aerial vehicles.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
A cross government working group led by the Department for Transport is undertaking a detailed analysis of the range of risks posed by drones. This work is ongoing and kept under constant review. Further work is now proceeding to capture and evaluate potential mitigation measures and strategies. Initial guidance on tackling the risks has been provided to constabularies across the UK.
Work is also underway to qualify the specific level of risk posed by small drones to commercial air transport. We are talking to both the Civil Aviation Authority and airports to find technical solutions to the problems around airports, these include mandated geo-fencing or frequency jammers. The CAA has also worked with major drone manufacturers on the geo-fencing capabilities of their products, which has included providing a list of locations such as airport control zones.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on public safety of placing the regulation of (a) drones and (b) unmanned aerial vehicles within the purview of the Civil Aviation Authority.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the independent statutory authority responsible for regulating civil aircraft, including RPAS and small drones. However, the Department recognises that there are types of offenses relating to drones that are not aviation specific or pose an aviation risk and are more social, so the degree to which the CAA should be involved is currently under review.
We are currently developing a Memorandum of Understanding between the DfT, the CAA, the Home Office and Police to better establish where responsibility lies for enforcing breaches of drone related regulations
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what research his Department has undertaken on the potential of autonomous emergency braking to reduce injuries and death caused by traffic accidents.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Government has no current plans to incentivise the adoption of this technology. The Department for Transport and has not undertaken specific research regarding its potential benefits but continues to support the uptake of safer vehicles through the provision of objective advice to vehicle purchasers through its membership of Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme).
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will create incentives to increase the take-up of cars equipped with autonomous emergency braking.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Government has no current plans to incentivise the adoption of this technology. The Department for Transport and has not undertaken specific research regarding its potential benefits but continues to support the uptake of safer vehicles through the provision of objective advice to vehicle purchasers through its membership of Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme).