Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to engage with tier 2 suppliers developing new hydrogen technology for the aviation sector.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Department for Business and Trade is investing £685m through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme to co-fund the development of zero-carbon and ultra-efficient aircraft technology and cross-cutting enablers. This includes collaborative R&D projects to develop new hydrogen technologies.
We are funding the ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network Phase 0 project to explore the operating model for open access facilities to accelerate the development of liquid hydrogen aircraft technologies and capabilities.
As part of the Jet Zero Council, a Zero Emission Flight Delivery Group is advising on how government and industry can work together to accelerate the adoption of zero emission flight.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Aerospace Technology Institute Fly Zero project, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the use of hydrogen in long haul aviation.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The conclusions made by the FlyZero project were used to inform the Government’s Jet Zero Strategy, which was published in July 2022, and sets out the Government’s approach to achieving net zero 2050 for UK aviation. The use of hydrogen is considered in the Zero Emission Flight chapter of the Strategy.
The Strategy anticipates that hydrogen will be first deployed in short haul aviation with recognised uncertainty on the potential for and timing of its scaling up for use in long haul. As with all measures in the Jet Zero Strategy the Government keeps the evidence base under regular review and any changes will be reflected in future updates to the Strategy.
Building on the recommendations of the FlyZero project, the Government, through the Department for Business and Trade, are funding the initial phase of a Hydrogen Capability Network. This project aims to define the operating model for open-access facilities designed to accelerate the development of liquid hydrogen aircraft technologies, capabilities, and skills in the UK.
The Government continues its work with industry and academia through the Jet Zero Council to drive the delivery of new technologies and innovative ways to cut aviation emissions. In 2022 a Delivery Group of the Council was established on Zero Emission Flight, which considers the use of hydrogen in meeting net zero aviation by 2050.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to support UK SMEs developing innovative decarbonisation technologies in the aviation sector other than through the Aerospace Technology Institute.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is responsible for aerospace manufacturing, however the Department for Transport (DfT) is supporting UK SMEs to develop technology for use at airports to support the decarbonisation of the aviation sector.
In October, DfT announced the latest round of Transport Research and Innovation Grant (TRIG) funding which includes £450,000 for up to 10 projects that either facilitate the development of airport ground infrastructure for zero emission aircraft or support airport operations in their transition to zero emission. TRIG is open to UK registered SMEs, large companies and universities.
The Government also works with industry and academia through the Jet Zero Council, co-chaired by the Secretaries of State for Transport, Business and Trade and Energy Security and Net Zero, to drive the delivery of new technologies and innovative ways to cut aviation emissions.
Asked by: Baroness Barker (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 13 July (HL8900), which HIV specialists were consulted as part of the RAF evidence review into pilots and air traffic controllers living with HIV.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Royal Air Force consulted a range of primary and secondary care physicians during the development of the Aviation Medical policy relating to HIV for the Aircrew Profession. This included specialists in HIV, Infectious Diseases, Occupational Medicine, Aerospace Medicine, Aviation Psychiatry and Psychology and General Medicine as well as several General Practitioners with advanced training in Aviation Medicine.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to meet their ambition for aviation energy efficiency to increase by 2 per cent per year; and what assessment they have made of the reasons why the current level of improvements to aviation energy efficiency is below the ambition at 1.4 per cent per year.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In July 2022, the Government published the Jet Zero Strategy, setting out our approach to achieving net zero aviation by 2050.
The Strategy set out an emissions reduction trajectory and committed to the ‘high ambition’ scenario, which included an average annual fuel efficiency improvement of 2% per annum between 2025 and 2050. Whilst the average annual improvement figure is 2%, we expect the pace of progress to vary by year depending on technological development and adoption.
The Government is supporting the development of new low and zero-carbon emission aircraft technology through the Aerospace Technology Institute with £685m of funding over three years. The Government published a Call for Evidence for airport operations in England to be zero emission by 2040 in February 2023, and is supporting airspace modernisation by providing £9.2m of funding between 2020-2023.
In July 2023 we published the Jet Zero Strategy One Year On document which sets out the progress and achievements since July 2022 and the key challenges ahead in meeting Jet Zero. We have committed to reviewing progress against our emissions reduction trajectory annually from 2025 and to with a full review of the Strategy every 5 years.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the findings in the S&P Global/CIPS UK Manufacturing PMI survey, published on 1 September, which found that manufacturing industry has experienced "slower market conditions" and "declining new order intakes", what steps they are taking to provide support to that industry.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government is ensuring the UK remains the best place to establish and grow a manufacturing business. The UK has the 8th largest global manufacturing economy and we are and will continue to be a major manufacturing nation.[1]
We are investing in the sectors future through the Advanced Propulsion Centre, the Aerospace Technology Initiative, and Made Smarter, the manufacturing digitalisation programme. This month we announced a further £50 million for automotive research projects.
We remain one of the World’s manufacturing nations, with Jaguar Land Rover, building the UKs first gigafactory, and Stellantis, Nissan, Boeing and most recently BWM announcing significant commitments to UK based manufacturing.
Our plan for Advanced Manufacturing will continue to target and augment our support.
[1] https://unctad.org/statistics
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the export control criteria used by the UK Trade and Investment Office following reports that it approved a partnership between the University of Cambridge and a subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned military technology company that does an estimated 60 per cent of its business with the Chinese military, which reportedly involved the appointment of a former Chinese Communist Party politician to the university's partnership programme.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) is responsible for licensing the export and transfer of controlled goods and technology, including where this occurs through academic collaboration. The ECJU has no record of having granted an export licence for the University of Cambridge with the Beijing Institute of Aerospace Control Devices.
HM Government is committed to maintaining a robust and transparent export control regime. The Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, introduced in 2021, continue to provide a thorough risk assessment framework for assessing all export licence applications, including those relating to academic collaboration.
If the ECJU were presented with credible evidence of a breach of export controls, we would take these allegations seriously. We will not support collaborations which compromise our national security.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to reduce emissions from the aviation sector.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has introduced several fiscal measures to reduce emissions from the aviation sector. The aviation sector is subject to a carbon price via the Emissions Trading Scheme, meaning that airline operators must pay for each tonne of carbon that they emit. Some airline operators in the scheme receive free allowances which reduces their exposure to the carbon price. Following a consultation last year, the UK ETS Authority has announced its decision to phase out free allocation for domestic aviation by 2026.
Air Passenger Duty (APD) is the principal tax on the aviation sector. It is expected to raise £3.8 billion in 2023-24 and the primary objective of the tax is to ensure that airlines make a fair contribution to the public finances. The banding structure for distance ensures that those who travel furthest, and thus have a greater impact on the environment, incur a greater tax liability.
Further, the Government has committed £685 million to the Aerospace Technology Institute over this Spending Review period to help drive the development of more carbon efficient and zero-emission aircraft. At the Spending Review the Government also guaranteed funding for the Aerospace Technology Institute to 2031. Plus, £165 million has been allocated to directly support the production of more sustainable aviation fuels in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the (1) development, and (2) adoption, of electric aviation technologies in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The development and adoption of electric aircraft is considered within the government’s Jet Zero Strategy. On 20 July 2023, DfT published a Jet Zero Strategy One Year On document which highlights the progress and achievements that have been made since the launch of the Strategy, and the next steps to deliver net zero aviation by 2050.
As noted in the Jet Zero Strategy the government is investing a record £685 million over three years into R&D in the UK aerospace sector through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) programme. In February the Department for Business and Trade announced £113 million of co-investment with industry in three Rolls-Royce led projects on hydrogen and Vertical Aerospace work on battery-electric aircraft.
The government works with industry and academia through the Jet Zero Council to drive the delivery of new technologies and innovative ways to cut aviation emissions. In 2022 a Delivery Group of the Council was established on Zero Emission Flight which considers electric aviation.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had discussions with (a) British Airways and (b) other airlines on the potential for electric aviation.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The adoption of zero emission flight, including electric aviation, is considered at the Government and industry forum the Jet Zero Council (JZC) including its Zero Emissions Flight Delivery Group. The JZC is co-chaired by the Secretaries of State for Transport, Business and Trade and Energy Security and Net Zero with industry members including British Airways.
The Government is investing a record £685 million over three years into R&D in the UK aerospace sector through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) programme. In February the Department for Business and Trade announced £113 million of co-investment with industry in three Rolls-Royce-led projects on hydrogen and Vertical Aerospace work on battery-electric aircraft.