Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of pedelecs sold in England in the past five years, and what steps they are taking to ensure that users can meet insurance and MOT requirements.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has made no such estimate. Pedelecs and other forms of e-cycle which do not comply with the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle regulations need to be registered, insured and taxed as a motor vehicle, and the rider will need an appropriate driving licence and will have to wear an approved motorcycle safety helmet. These are matters for the rider, and enforcement of the requirements is a matter for the police.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the distribution of electric vehicle charging points in rural areas, by (1) number per (a) area, or (b) village, (2) the number of villages that still lack any such facility, or (3) any other relevant metric.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Data on public electric vehicle charging devices in the UK, held by the Department for Transport, is sourced from the electric vehicle charging platform Zapmap. Charging devices not recorded on Zapmap are not included and the correct number of charging devices may be higher than recorded in these figures.
As of 1 October 2023, there were 3,316 public charging devices in a rural village and dispersed setting in England.
There were a further 2,676 charging devices in rural towns, with a total number of 5,992 charging devices in rural areas in England as of 1st October 2023.
No further assessment has been made.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment has been made of the natural capital destroyed so far by the construction of HS2, either by the Treasury Green Book guide or any other method.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Environmental sustainability is integral to HS2’s design, with huge efforts being made to minimise the impact of construction on biodiversity, coupled with a commitment to deliver no net loss of biodiversity on Phase One. During the consultation stage, the environmental impacts of the railway are assessed and published in detailed Environmental Statements (ES), which are prepared in line with Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations.
As construction progresses, HS2 Ltd works to ensure that the significant effects reported in the ES are not exceeded through compliance with the “Environmental Minimum Requirements," a suite of documents which includes the Environmental Memorandum and the Code of Construction Practice. HS2 Ltd is also committed to publishing annual Environmental Sustainability Progress Reports and Ancient Woodland Reports to update the public on its impacts on the natural environment and on the important work being done to avoid, mitigate and compensate for any adverse effects.
All of the documents referred to above are available on the gov.uk website.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what monitoring is currently or planned to be carried out of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons emitted from road run-off; and what assessment has been made of this pollution, and particulate pollution, from electric vehicles.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
National Highways, in collaboration with the Environment Agency, have recently undertaken further in-situ monitoring of a range of chemical determinands, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, as part of its recent Phase 2 microplastic field monitoring programme on the strategic road network. The project was completed earlier this year (2023) and the report and findings will be published on National Highways’ website shortly.
The Department commissioned a 4-year research project in February 2021 to investigate the measurement techniques, materials properties and control parameters of brake and tyre wear emissions from road vehicles. The project will also assess differences in particulate emission from tyre and brake wear in electric vehicles compared to petrol/diesel vehicles.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what in situ monitoring is currently carried out on the microplastic emissions from roads.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
National Highways is conducting a research study to understand the level of microplastic pollution in road run-off from the strategic road network. In 2021, a Phase 1 literature review was completed and published on National Highway’s website. The Phase 1 study was used to inform a Microplastics Phase 2 field monitoring programme (2022-2023), which was commissioned and carried out in partnership with the Environment Agency. National Highways will shortly be publishing the findings from Phase 2. National Highways also plans to do more expansive monitoring of microplastics to build upon the Phase 2 work in 2024-2025.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the public health impacts of recycled carbon fuels through air pollution as compared to existing fuels and other alternative fuels such as those made from biomass.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
My Department has regular meetings with representatives from across the transport fuel sector where the government’s policy approach for recycled carbon fuel (RCF) is discussed. The policy on supporting and assessing RCFs has also been the subject of two public consultations, the first in spring 2021 followed by a second on detailed proposals last summer.
As set out in the July 2021 Government response to the consultation “Targeting Net Zero, next steps for the Renewable Transport Fuels”, RCFs supplied in transport will need to meet existing petrol and diesel fuel standards. This will ensure the air quality emissions standards of RCFs will not fall below those of the fossil fuels they replace. The Department understands that the direct use of RCF derived pyrolysis oils can increase air pollutants, but these fuels will not be supported under the proposals to support RCFs.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings they have had with industry bodies about recycled carbon fuels.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
My Department has regular meetings with representatives from across the transport fuel sector where the government’s policy approach for recycled carbon fuel (RCF) is discussed. The policy on supporting and assessing RCFs has also been the subject of two public consultations, the first in spring 2021 followed by a second on detailed proposals last summer.
As set out in the July 2021 Government response to the consultation “Targeting Net Zero, next steps for the Renewable Transport Fuels”, RCFs supplied in transport will need to meet existing petrol and diesel fuel standards. This will ensure the air quality emissions standards of RCFs will not fall below those of the fossil fuels they replace. The Department understands that the direct use of RCF derived pyrolysis oils can increase air pollutants, but these fuels will not be supported under the proposals to support RCFs.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their Embracing the ocean: a Board of Trade paper, published on 10 March 2022, how they arrived at their assessment that maritime cargo volumes will treble by 2050; and what assessment they have made of how this will affect their international obligations to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and meet the biodiversity targets agreed at COP 15 in Montreal in December 2022.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The assessment made in the Board of Trade’s ‘Embracing the Ocean’ paper that maritime cargo volumes will treble by 2050 is drawn from the International Transport Forum (ITF) Discussion Paper, No. 2020/05 ‘Changing Demand for Maritime Trade’ (P. Cariou). That paper cites data from the ITF’s Transport Outlook (2019), which investigates how socio-economic changes (population, GDP trade and transport policies) affect global transport demand, including for maritime.
The Government uses UK-level evidence rather than global-level evidence when analysing how UK shipping could contribute to meeting the UK’s economy-wide net-zero target. DfT has produced forecasts of the freight traffic at UK ports, which cover the period to 2050, which have been published online. The UK port freight traffic forecasts were taken into account in the research commissioned by DfT which informed the Net Zero Strategy pathways for UK domestic and international shipping. Further details on the Net Zero Strategy pathways for UK domestic and international shipping can be found on pages 342 and 343 of the Net Zero strategy itself.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of whether the aviation sector is on track to achieve Jet Zero without the Government intervening to incentivise change.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Jet Zero Strategy commits the aviation sector to achieving net zero UK aviation emissions by 2050 – or “Jet Zero” - and sets out a clear framework for how the sector will decarbonise. Through the Strategy, we have introduced an in-sector CO2 emissions reduction trajectory from 2025 to 2050, against which we will monitor the sector’s progress on an annual basis from 2025.
As with all sectors, there is a key role for Government, alongside industry, in helping to deliver the change to end carbon emissions.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regards to the reported contaminated air incidents on British Airways flight 286 on 25 October 2016 and British Airways flight 422 on 5 August 2019, what medical follow up checks have been conducted on passengers involved; and whether passengers were informed what chemicals they were exposed to during the flight.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK is rightly proud of its excellent record of aviation safety, which is why concerns about cabin air have been investigated at length over a number of years. The Government takes any suggestions that people have suffered ill health as a result of flying very seriously.
It is not clear which AAIB recommendation is referred to. Where the AAIB makes safety recommendations, addressees are legally required to respond within 90 days giving their proposed actions and when they will be carried out, or if no action is to take place the reasons why. Responses are published on the AAIB’s website, along with their assessment of the response.