Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2024 to Question 21868 on Buses: Carbon Emissions, how many and what proportion of the buses allocated funding under the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme 1 (a) are on the road in each local transport authority and (b) (i) have been and (ii) will be manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government has invested £410m into the Zero Emission Bus programmes since 2020, which has funded over 2,200 buses across England.
The Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) 1 programme was launched in 2021 and awarded £270m funding to 16 local transport authorities (LTAs) in England (outside of London).
ZEBs produced and sold in the UK are supported by a global supply chain; the below table outlines bus manufacturer’s location. The numbers in this table are not official statistics: they are based on the latest information available and are therefore indicative and subject to change.
ZEBRA 1 | ||
Local Transport Authority | Number of buses on the road | Bus manufacturer & Location |
Blackpool Council | 0 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority | 30 | Volvo (Sweden) |
City of York Council | 53 | Wrightbus (UK) |
Greater Manchester Combined Authority | 0 | Volvo (Sweden) |
Hertfordshire County Council | 0 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
Kent County Council | 0 | Volvo (Sweden) |
Leicester City Council | 116 | 110 – Wrightbus (UK) |
Norfolk County Council | 68 | Wrightbus (UK) |
North Yorkshire County Council | 0 | EvoBus/Mercedes (Germany) Alexander Dennis Ltd (UK) |
Nottingham City Council | 24 | Pelican/Yutong (UK/China) |
Oxfordshire County Council | 56 | Wrightbus (UK) |
Portsmouth City Council & Hampshire County Council | 62 | Wrightbus (UK) |
South Yorkshire Combined Authority | 27 | 4 – Alexander Dennis Ltd (UK) |
Warrington Borough Council | 105 | Volvo (Sweden) |
West Midlands Combined Authority | 124 | Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator. |
West Yorkshire Combined Authority | 146 | 131 – Wrightbus (UK) |
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many zero-emission buses have been allocated funding under the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme 1 as of 15 April 2024; and how many and what proportion of those buses (a) have been ordered and (b) are on the road as of that date.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government provided £270 million to Local Transport Authorities under the ZEBRA 1 programme. This funded 1,314 buses,1,053 have been ordered of which 313 are already on our roads across England.
More recently, the Government announced ZEBRA 2, with a further £142.8 million to Local Transport Authorities. This will help LTAs to purchase more zero emission buses, going further in our commitment to reduce carbon emissions in the transport sector whilst improving service quality for users.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2024 to Question 16992 on Parking: Pedestrian Areas, if his Department will publish its response to that consultation before the end of this Parliament.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Pavement Parking is a complex issue. The Department is considering the consultation findings in order to reach the best outcome for all road users. We want to take the right step for communities and ensure that local authorities have appropriate and effective tools at their disposal and will make an announcement in due course.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many zero emission buses had been allocated Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas funding as of 6 February 2024; and how many of those buses (a) have been ordered and (b) are on the road as of that date.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The following table presents information on the number of zero emission buses funded through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas 1 (ZEBRA 1) programme by local transport authority. The numbers in this table are not official statistics: they are based on the latest information available and are therefore indicative and subject to change.
ZEBRA 1 funding was awarded in March 2022 for local transport authorities except Oxfordshire who received funding in December 2022.
Local Transport Authority | Number of buses funded | Number of buses ordered | Number of buses in service |
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority | 30 | 30 | 30 |
Kent County Council | 33 | 33 | 0 |
Leicester City Council | 116 | 116 | 74 |
Warrington Borough Council | 105 | 105 | 0 |
South Yorkshire Combined Authority | 27 | 27 | 0 |
Norfolk County Council | 70 | 70 | 26 |
North Yorkshire County Council | 39 | 39 | 0 |
Portsmouth City Council & Hampshire County Council | 62 | 62 | 0 |
Blackpool Council | 90 | 0 | 0 |
Nottingham City Council | 68 | 48 | 0 |
Greater Manchester Combined Authority | 170 | 170 | 0 |
Hertfordshire County Council | 27 | 0 | 0 |
West Midlands Combined Authority | 124 | 0 | 0 |
City of York Council | 53 | 53 | 27 |
West Yorkshire Combined Authority | 136 | 119 | 0 |
Oxfordshire County Council | 159 | 159 | 9 |
| 1,309 | 1,031 | 166 |
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of laser attacks on airborne emergency service vehicles; and what assessment he has made of the impact of such attacks on those vehicles.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Whilst information on this is tracked through Mandatory Occurrence Forms, along with a range of other information, data on the specific number of incidences is not publicly released. However, I can say that in terms of a high-level trend, the current rate of laser incidents encountered by emergency service helicopters is similar to that of 2019 and 2020.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what research his Department has commissioned into pavement parking (a) for the consultation entitled Managing pavement parking, which closed on 22 November 2020, and (b) beyond the scope of this consultation.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There were over 15,000 responses to the consultation. The Department has been giving careful consideration to the findings. The Department is working through the options and the opportunities for taking matters forward and will publish a formal response as soon as this process is concluded.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing Bus Service Improvement Plan funding to be used for light rail systems in areas where funding has been awarded.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
BSIP and BSIP+ funding is intended to be used by LTAs to support the aims of the National Bus Strategy to make buses more frequent, more reliable, easier to understand and use, better co-ordinated and cheaper. It can also be used to support and protect existing bus services that would otherwise be at risk. It should not be used to support other modes, including light rail systems, where it is not clear that the primary benefits accrue to buses.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many buses funded through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme (a) have been ordered and (b) are on the road.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) 1 scheme provided funding to 16 local transport authorities in England outside London. The scheme will fund up to 1,300 zero emission buses, though this is subject to change as projects are progressed by local transport authorities. Of the buses funded, an estimated 984 have been ordered and 137 are on the road.
Overall, since February 2020, an estimated 4,200 zero emission buses have been funded across the UK, this includes buses funded by ZEBRA 1.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department is making on introducing national minimum standards for taxi and private hire vehicles.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has taken action to support taxi and private hire vehicle licensing authorities in England to use their existing powers to set consistent licensing standards. The Government published the Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards in 2020, statutory guidance, which focus on safeguarding standards to protect children and vulnerable adults, although the measures benefit all passengers. On 17 November 2023 the Government issued updated Best Practice Guidance, following consultation, which seeks to drive consistency on licensing issues outside of the scope of the statutory guidance and maintaining high standards of safety and accessibility.
The Government remains committed to legislating for national minimum standards when Parliamentary time allows. The guidance already issued would be a natural starting point when setting future legislation.
Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Future Mobility Zones Fund.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department has made no assessment of the effectiveness of the Future Mobility Zones Fund. An external evaluation of Future Transport Zones (as the zones were renamed) has been commissioned and is still in progress.