Baroness Randerson

The allocation of the Port Infrastructure Fund was announced on 15 December. The Port of Dover was allocated £33,000. The entirety of the £200 million in the Port Infrastructure Fund has been allocated, so no further funding is available for any port.

All allocations from the Port Infrastructure Fund (PIF) have been published by HMG online at gov.uk. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/port-infrastructure-fund-allocations/port-infrastructure-fund-successful-applicants).

The criteria for awarding grants were set out in the PIF Prospectus.

All allocations from the Port Infrastructure Fund (PIF) have been published by HMG online at gov.uk. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/port-infrastructure-fund-allocations/port-infrastructure-fund-successful-applicants).

The criteria for awarding grants were set out in the PIF Prospectus.

The Government regularly meets key representative organisations and trade associations in preparation for the end of the Transition Period. HMRC and Cabinet Office officials meet frequently with the British International Freight Association (BIFA), the most recent occasions for HMRC being an industry roundtable event on 17 September and a customs forum on 21 September. Cabinet Office have also been in discussions with BIFA regarding the Border Operating Model (BOM) on 23 September.

As the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster set out on 23 September, the Government has invited businesses to participate in user testing for the Smart Freight Service, and continues to engage regarding preparations for the end of the Transition Period.

Since the publication of the Border Operating Model in July, the Government has engaged extensively with industry to understand what more they need to be ready for the end of the Transition Period. Feedback received has been reflected in the updated Border Operating Model, due to be published shortly.

As the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster set out on 23 September, the Government has invited businesses to participate in user testing for the Smart Freight Service, and continues to engage regarding preparations for the end of the Transition Period.

Since the publication of the Border Operating Model in July, the Government has engaged extensively with industry to understand what more they need to be ready for the end of the Transition Period. Feedback received has been reflected in the updated Border Operating Model, due to be published shortly.

Government officials have been in direct contact with Local Authorities which could be directly impacted by an inland site in their area. Officials also wrote to indirectly impacted Local Authorities to inform them that there are not any imminent plans in their area for an inland site and that they will be notified should this change. We want to ensure that appropriate infrastructure is in place, not just in Newhaven and Lewes, but at other ports also.

On 12 July, the Government announced a £705 million funding package in 2020/21 for border infrastructure, staffing and IT to ensure GB border systems are fully operational when the UK takes back control of its border after the end of the transition period.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has responded to the letter and hosted a roundtable alongside the Transport Secretary, other Ministers and senior officials on 17 September.

The Government agrees with the need for public authorities, businesses and individuals to take action now to prepare for the end of the transition and have set out extensive guidance on GOV.uk/transition.

As announced on 12 June and as set out on GOV.UK, the Government will publish a Border Operating Model in July.

The OneWeb Board voted to suspend all launches from Baikonur, including the launch scheduled for 4 March, and the company are currently considering options for alternative launches. This exercise is commercially sensitive and a matter for OneWeb.

The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) contains provisions on the entry and temporary stay of natural persons for business purposes (Mode IV), similar to the EU’s best precedent reached with Canada and Japan, with some improvements.

For short-stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, UK nationals will not need a visa when travelling to and within the Schengen Area, where they are undertaking a limited range of activities such as attending meetings, tourism, cultural or sporting events. Under the TCA with the EU, business travellers do not require a work permit to carry out certain short-term business travel activities, such as attending meetings and conferences, providing after sale-services, or translation and market research services, unless otherwise stated in the agreement. Some Member States allow additional activities without the need for a visa or work permit. The types of additional activities allowed differ by Member State, and UK nationals should check relevant rules before travelling.

For those undertaking longer-term stays or providing a service under a contract, a visa and/or work permit may be required. If you are travelling to several Member States for work purposes, you may need to apply for these documents for each country. UK nationals should therefore check the rules of each country they intend to travel to ahead of time.

We have published guidance on GOV.UK for businesses to support our new trading relationship with the EU.

The examination of the application for development consent for the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power station closed on 14 October 2021 and the Examining Authority is now writing its report which will set out its conclusions and recommendations on the proposals. The Secretary of State is due to receive the Examining Authority’s report by 14 January 2022. Given the quasi-judicial role of the Secretary of State in determining the application, I cannot comment on specific matters regarding the proposed project, as this could be seen as prejudicing the decision-making process. As is the case for all applications for development consent, the Secretary of State will consider all matters that are relevant when taking his decision on the project.

The revised Terms of Reference for the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry were announced by the Government on 19 May when the Inquiry was converted to a Statutory Inquiry. Last month, the Chair of the Inquiry set out his draft Lines of Inquiry. It will be for Sir Wyn Williams, as Chair of the Inquiry, to make whatever findings or recommendations that he sees fit.

The Government agrees with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that a comprehensive and competitive charging network is essential to support the country’s transition to electric vehicles. In line with the CMA’s recommendations, an Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure Strategy will be published later this year.

The Government committed £1.3 billion to EV infrastructure at the 2020 Spending Review. This includes the £950 million Rapid Charging Fund which will ensure that every Motorway Service Area in England has the grid capacity it needs to support the growth in EV usage to 2035. The Government has allocated £275 million in extended support for chargepoint installation at homes, workplaces, and on-street locations, and a further £90 million to support the roll out of larger, on-street charging schemes and rapid hubs in England.

The impact assessment considers the costs and benefits of provisions in the Professional Qualifications Bill. The proposals in the Bill do not affect the UK qualifications or experience required to practise a profession.

The Government ran a Call for Evidence on the recognition of professional qualifications and the regulation of professions between August 2020 and October 2020, which was open to anyone with an interest in professional qualifications. We received 417 responses, of which 26 responses were from educators who provide training and higher education institutions.

Officials have met representatives from Universities UK to discuss proposals in the Professional Qualifications Bill and will continue to pursue an active programme of stakeholder engagement.

The £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio and its forerunner, the Energy Innovation Programme, seek to accelerate the commercialisation of low carbon technologies, systems and business models. These programmes include the new £60 million Low-Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 competition which is aimed at accelerating the development of a wide range of innovative low-carbon hydrogen supply solutions; and the Hy4Heat Programme, which is working to establish if it is technically possible, safe and convenient to replace natural gas (methane) with hydrogen in residential and commercial buildings. Hy4Heat has worked with Energy & Utility Skills to develop a competency framework for skills accreditation for heating engineers working with hydrogen.

We have also delivered projects such as the £20 million Industrial Fuel Switching which includes the first demonstrations of firing hydrogen at commercial fuel supply scale for the manufacture of cement and lime. Furthermore, the £10 million Green Distilleries Competition is supporting nine feasibility studies for low-carbon hydrogen-related projects. BEIS has also let a contract to the University of Cambridge to explore the atmospheric impacts of hydrogen release.

My Rt.Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan was clear on our aim for 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030 for use across the economy. The forthcoming Hydrogen Strategy will set out what is required to build a hydrogen economy fit for 2030, Carbon Budget 6 and beyond, whilst maximising economic benefits and supporting job and skills. We will also consult on priority policies, including hydrogen business models, a low carbon hydrogen standard, and the £240m Net Zero Hydrogen Fund.

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Dissolution. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. I will correspond directly with the noble Baroness.

Valuing changes in greenhouse gases, including carbon, is vital to ensure climate change impacts are taken into account when appraising and evaluating public policies and projects. Carbon values used during policy appraisal are published as part of the Green Book supplementary guidance: valuation of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions for appraisal. A summary of the current carbon values for 2030, 2040, 2050 is given in the table below (the full annual series can be found in table 3 of the attached). The Government is not intending to publish equivalent figures for each of the OECD countries.

Table 1: HMG’s Carbon Values for policy appraisal

As outlined by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in his previous answer, we are presented with a challenging financial situation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has resulted in a temporary reduction in the UK’s aid spending target from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%. This means making difficult decisions when it comes to prioritising how we spend aid money to deliver the most impactful outcomes.

BEIS delivers R&D ODA funding through a range of Executive Agencies, Research Councils, National Academies, Royal Societies and more. As a result, the Department has several distinct legal agreements with our ODA Delivery Partners; and each of these also has a range of legal relationships with their individual grant holders. We are working with each Delivery Partner to ensure that contractual terms, including relevant notice periods, are respected.

I am pleased we reached agreement to take part in Horizon Europe; it will bring huge benefits to the UK.

We are continuing to work through the details of the costs for Horizon. We will set out our plans for R&D spend in 2021/22 – including funding for Horizon Europe – in due course.

The UK plays a leading role in the development of measures driving emissions reduction in the international aviation and shipping sectors at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) while UK aviation and shipping emissions are covered by our domestic legislation. We are considering all of the CCC’s recommendations, including on International Aviation and Shipping, carefully ahead of setting the sixth carbon budget.

The Government recognises the travel sector has been particularly hard hit by covid-19, and we regularly assess impacts on such tourism businesses and are continuing to engage across Government and with relevant stakeholders.

Travel companies continue to be able to access the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme which has been extended until the end of April. On top of this and our wider economic support package, the Government has provided business rates relief and one-off grants for eligible hospitality and leisure businesses – and we have cut VAT for tourism and hospitality activities from 20% to 5% until the end of March.

Negotiations with the EU to associate to Horizon Europe, are ongoing. We are open to participation if we can agree a fair and balanced deal for the UK. If the UK associates to Horizon Europe, universities will be able to apply for funding from Horizon Europe in line with the terms of any agreement and the final regulations establishing the Horizon Europe Programme. We set out in the R&D Roadmap that if the UK does not formally associate to Horizon Europe, the Government will implement ambitious alternatives as quickly as possible from January 2021 and will address the funding gap. Alternatives to Horizon Europe, if required, will cover discovery, or ‘curiosity-led’ research, global collaborative research, and innovation.

Since February 2020, UK bus manufacturers have announced 775 job losses in total. In May, Wrightbus announced 125 job losses at its Ballymena site in Northern Ireland. In July, Alexander Dennis Limited announced 650 job losses across its sites in Falkirk, Scarborough, and Guildford.

There are more than 5,000 colliery tips in the UK and most of these, including most of those created by operations under the oversight of the National Coal Board, are now in either local authority or private ownership. The owner is responsible for ensuring the safety of the tip.

The Coal Authority owns and manages 40 disused colliery tip sites across the UK; information about their location and inspection frequency can be found on the GOV.UK website.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has issued guidance to explain to consumers and business the circumstances when refunds are due as a consequence of the disruption caused by the Covid-19 outbreak. The Government has always been clear that these refunds must be paid when asked for by the consumer.

The CMA has written to over 100 package holiday firms to remind them of their obligations to comply with consumer protection law, and has already secured refund commitments from TUI UK, Sykes Cottages, Vacation Rentals and Virgin Holidays. If the CMA finds evidence that companies are failing to comply with the law, the CMA will take appropriate enforcement action, which could include taking a firm to court if it does not address its concerns.

The Future Fund provides Government loans to UK-based companies, ranging from £125,000 to £5 million. In terms of eligibility, firms qualify for the loans as long as they are able to attract at least equal match funding from private investors, and subject to both firms and investors meeting all the requirements of the scheme. The scheme was launched for firms who are at pre-profit or pre-revenue stage, and who may be ineligible for the various COVID loan schemes, as these firms rely on equity finance rather than debt. The Future Fund does not impose additional conditions on eligible businesses.

The British Business Bank, which manages the Future Fund, has established strong due diligence processes which are built into the portal to ensure firms and investors prove their eligibility. The portal also asks for documentation from investors, firms, and their solicitors, to carry out ‘Know Your Customer’ and anti-money laundering checks, as well as general fraud checks. These measures ensure that fraudulent activity is avoided, in addition to ensuring that the funds have been allocated correctly to the applicant.

The 18-month UK Global Navigation Satellite System Programme successfully concluded its work to develop outline proposals for a conventional satellite navigation system in September. £92m was originally allocated for the UK GNSS Programme and work has concluded successfully under budget.

Work completed by the UK Space Agency so far has developed cutting edge British expertise in areas such as spacecraft and antenna design, satellite and ground control systems, systems engineering and simulation, which have wider applications across the space sector, in addition to supporting specialist UK jobs and industrial GNSS capability. The new Space Based PNT Programme will build on this work to consider newer, more innovative ideas of delivering global ‘sat nav’ and secure satellite services to meet public, government, and industry needs. SBPP will be funded from existing budgets, UKSA are feeding into the Comprehensive Spending Review, which is currently running across government.

Separately, the UK Space Agency has begun to consider plans for a national Earth Observation capability, whilst we continue to negotiate for participation in the EU’s Copernicus Earth Observation System.

The Government (announced 3 July) led a successful bid to acquire OneWeb, which develops cutting-edge satellite technology in the UK and in the US.

OneWeb has the potential to operate a global network of small satellites, known as a mega constellation, which can connect the world to broadband, and other services from space.

OneWeb aims to provide broadband to millions of people, particularly those otherwise without connectivity otherwise in remote and rural locations.

We will be able to provide more detail on how OneWeb will support the UK once Chapter 11 proceedings have been completed.

The Government has already launched an unprecedented set of financial support measures to support business and which can be accessed by travel companies, including two business interruption loan guarantee schemes, Time to Pay for tax bills, and VAT deferrals. As of 22 September, the Government has supported over £57.3bn of loans to 1,328,091 smaller businesses.

The UK’s world-class universities will continue to play a critical role in delivering local and national economic prosperity, but of course they have been hard hit by COVID-19. That is why we have announced a range of measures to support universities at this difficult time.

From the autumn, the Government will provide a package consisting of low-interest loans with long pay-back periods, supplemented by a small amount of government grants through the Sustaining University Research Expertise Fund (‘SURE’) to cover up to 80% of a university’s income losses from international students for the academic year 2020-21, up to the value of their non-publicly funded research activity.

The SURE fund aims to help sustain the research capacity of the university research base as a whole. Universities will be asked to demonstrate how they will use that funding to sustain research in areas typically funded by charities and business. Ultimately, we want critical university research capability, including charity-funded medical research, to be sustained and able to contribute to our future R&D ambitions.

The Government has made clear in its Roadmap that we aim to maintain a close and friendly relationship with our European partners and are in negotiations with the EU seeking to agree a fair and balanced deal for participation in certain EU R&D schemes, including Horizon Europe. Negotiations with the European Commission are ongoing and it is too early to make an assessment.

My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has made several Written Ministerial Statements in the House of Commons that provide an update on the UK's negotiations with the EU, including on EU Programmes. These include HCWS271 (Official Report, 8th June 2020) and HCWS346 (Official Report, 7th July 2020).

Decision-making on whether a business is eligible to access the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) is fully delegated to the accredited lenders for the scheme, and individual lending decisions remain at the discretion of these accredited lenders. Information on eligibility criteria for the CBILS can be found on the British Business Bank’s website.

Businesses from most sectors can apply for the full amount of the facility under the CBILS. The scheme is demand-led and take up by a particular sector, or in a particular region, will depend upon application rates and the assessment of those applications by lenders. The schemes are accessible across the UK and lenders have been accredited across the UK’s nations and regions.

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme is part of a comprehensive package of support for businesses, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, deferral of VAT and income tax payments, grant funding for small businesses, and more. Regular calls are held between UK Government Ministers and Ministers in the Devolved Administrations on the Covid-19 pandemic and economic impacts and responses.

The Government regularly speaks to businesses to ensure they are prepared for the end of the transition period, including Nissan.

Nissan has over 6,000 jobs at its Sunderland plant and over 7,000 staff across UK. The company has renewed its commitment to its Sunderland plant recently and is continuing to invest in this country.

We are determined to ensure that the UK continues to be one of the most competitive locations in the world for automotive and other advanced manufacturing.

The Government is aware of the consequent pressures of the coronavirus on businesses, universities, and research institutions.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is already offering no-cost extensions to all grants.

UKRI has also confirmed it?will?offer a costed extension of up to six months for those?UKRI funded PhD students?due to complete by 31 March 2021 and whose study has been impacted by the pandemic. Where a student’s doctoral research project has been repurposed towards COVID-19 related research, a costed extension to cover the time needed to adapt the research could be considered and covered in the same way as other case-by-case extensions. More information is available on the UKRI website.

We are in discussion with UKRI and wider stakeholders about what else may be required to best support the research and innovation system.

In 2018, the UK aerospace sector had an annual turnover of around £33 billion, the majority of which was generated through exports. Between 2009 and 2019, the sector had an average gross value added (GVA) of £9 billion, accounting for 5% of the UK’s total manufacturing GVA. During this period, productivity growth in the sector (measured by GVA per job) grew at a pace of over four times that of the UK economy as a whole

Vehicle manufacture is a global industry and consequently, there is no agreed approach that can be used to inform consumers of the comparative carbon footprint of the production of different vehicles. The Government does not currently have any plans to inform consumers about the comparative carbon footprint generated by different electric vehicles in their production. We expect the transition to zero emission motoring to be industry-led, supported by measures set out in our Road to Zero strategy.

In 2018, the Department for Transport developed the Transport Energy Model. This was published alongside the Road to Zero strategy to provide a clear assessment of the relative environmental impacts of different road vehicle technologies and fuels. The Model showed that UK battery electric vehicles have substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions than conventional vehicles, even when accounting for the energy mix of the electricity to charge the battery, as well as the electricity used for battery production.

Electric vehicle emission values are highly dependent on the electricity mix of the country in which the vehicle is charged, and the country in which the vehicle, battery, and other parts are manufactured. Emission values will also vary according to model type, car size, and miles driven. To obtain full environmental benefits, electric vehicles and their batteries need to be manufactured using electricity from carbon-free sources.

In 2019, registrations of battery electric vehicles were at record levels. This was almost double compared to 2018 with nearly 38,000 units sold, overtaking plug-in hybrid electric vehicle registrations for the first time, at nearly 35,000 units. There were over 2.3 million new car registrations in 2019; a decline of 2.4% compared to 2018. Falling car sales are in line with other countries in Europe, including Germany and France, as a result of global slowdown and changing consumer demand.

Government grants for plug-in vehicles are available to help reduce the upfront purchase price of electric vehicles. Drivers of ultra-low emission vehicles also receive other benefits, including lower tax rates and grants towards the installation of chargepoints. For example, all zero emission models will pay no company car tax in 2020-21 and 1% in 2021-22, before returning to the planned 2% rate in 2022-23 – a significant tax saving for employees and employers.

Local authorities may also provide additional incentives such as free parking or exemption from the congestion charge.

We stated in our Road to Zero Strategy that consumer incentives will continue to play a role beyond 2020.

Ofgem, the independent energy regulator, ensures – through the RIIO regulatory framework – that there is sufficient investment in electricity networks to deliver our net zero target and enable the transition to electric vehicles, whilst ensuring costs are kept down for consumers.

This is alongside numerous measures to prepare the electricity system for new sources of demand, including electric vehicles.

‘Smart’ charging of electric vehicles can reduce demands from EV charging at peak times to help manage grid capacity. The Government recently consulted on secondary legislation to mandate that all charge points sold or installed in the UK must be smart enabled.

In 2018, the Government established an Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce. The Taskforce has now reported and published 21 proposals for Government, industry and Ofgem on how we can ensure the energy system is ready for the mass uptake of electric vehicles. Government is actively considering these proposals.

We are regularly assessing Covid-19’s significant impact on tourism businesses. We recognise that these are extremely challenging conditions for those in the sector, including online travel agents.

Online travel agents that employ staff in the UK have been able to access the Government’s comprehensive economic support package, which includes the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme, the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme and the Bounce Back Loans scheme.

When it launches in November, the Jobs Support Scheme will help protect jobs within businesses facing lower demand due to Covid-19.

We are continuing to engage across Government and with stakeholders to assess how we can most effectively support the recovery of tourism across the UK.

The UK is no longer part of the EU, and therefore we would not expect to be included in a map representing member states.

The UK regularly shares information on our travel, border and health measures with key partners, including the European Commission, as part of our ongoing international cooperation during the Coronavirus crisis.

The Minister for Tourism discussed the recovery and lifting of travel restrictions with ministers from several European countries and the European Commission at the recent Extraordinary G20 Tourism Ministers’ Meeting on COVID-19. We will work closely with foreign governments to help the global tourism industry recover from the current crisis.

Officials in my Department are also in regular contact with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and World Travel and Tourism Council. We continue to share information about the UK’s response to COVID-19.

The Charity Commission, the registrar and regulator of charities in England and Wales, assessed the governance and management of the Garden Bridge Trust. They published a concluding report on the Garden Bridge project in April 2019 which you can find here.

In February 2019, Transport for London published a detailed breakdown of the cost of the project: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/temple-footbridge. The government has no plans to conduct any further reports.

The UK is a world-leading destination for study. According to the QS World Rankings, the UK has consistently had 4 higher education institutions in the top 10 since 2011/12. Four UK universities are currently in the world’s top 10 and 18 in the top 100, second only to the US (this data is taken from the QS World University Rankings 2021).

The government recognises that the COVID-19 outbreak will have an unparalleled impact on all elements of the global and UK economy and the higher education sector is no exception. We have been working closely with the sector to monitor the likely impacts of COVID-19 on student numbers in 2020-21 and we stand ready to support with various mitigations.

On 4 May, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced a package of measures to stabilise university admissions this autumn and to ensure sustainability in higher education at a time of unprecedented uncertainty. Temporary student number controls will be put in place for domestic and EU students for the academic year 2020/21 to ensure a fair, structured distribution of students across providers. As part of this package, a new University Research Sustainability Taskforce will focus on the sustainability of research capabilities, capacity and activities undertaken in universities and study this in the context of wider higher education operational implications and issues arising from the response to COVID-19.

The government has also pulled forward an estimated £2.6 billion worth of forecast tuition fee payments to ease cashflow pressure this autumn. It has also committed to pulling forward quality-related research funding for higher education providers in England in the current academic year by £100 million.?The measures to stabilise admissions for this autumn also serve to reduce the risk to financial sustainability across the higher education sector.

This package of measures comes on top of the unprecedented package of support for businesses already announced by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme) and a range of business loan schemes, to help pay wages, keep staff employed and support businesses whose viability is threatened by the COVID-19 outbreak. We have confirmed that providers are eligible to apply for these government support packages, including business loan support schemes, which the Office for Students estimates could be worth at least £700 million to the sector.

To support international student recruitment, both the government and the higher education sector are committed to being as flexible as possible in accommodating applicants’ current circumstances, including if they are unable to travel to the UK in time for the start of the next academic year. We will also publish a review of the International Education Strategy this autumn, which will respond to the new context and the challenges that are posed by COVID-19 across all education settings.

In addition to our response to COVID-19, the government is working alongside stakeholders to support students and the UK higher education workforce to manage the transition period. This involves working to solidify existing global relationships and establish important new global relationships as well as promoting an open and welcoming message to all international – EU and non-EU – students to wish to come to the UK to study at our world-class education institutions.

Finally, the government remains committed to international exchanges in education, both with the EU and beyond. As part of its negotiations with the EU, the government remains open to considering participation in some elements of the next Erasmus+ programme, provided that the terms are in the UK’s interests. This will be subject to our ongoing negotiations with the EU. We will, in parallel with the negotiations, continue to develop a domestic alternative to Erasmus+, to ensure we are prepared for every eventuality.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, have regular meetings with ministers from all the devolved administrations about higher education issues. These discussions have included the development of student number controls policy. The department’s officials also have regular meetings and discussions with their counterparts.

Student number controls for institutions in the devolved administrations only apply to the number of English-domiciled entrants who will be supported with their tuition fees through the Student Loans Company. The funding of English-domiciled students is not a devolved matter, and it is right and fair that this policy should apply consistently wherever they are studying in the UK.

Ministers will continue to work closely with the devolved administrations on strengthening and stabilising the higher education system following the COVID-19 outbreak.

The registration process for higher education providers is managed by the Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of higher education in England.

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the current unprecedented circumstances, the OfS has decided to suspend new registration applications. This is due to a reprioritisation of resources that enables the OfS to focus on urgent COVID-19 response work.

The OfS is responsible for deciding when to resume new registrations and will do so as soon as circumstances allow. The OfS is continuing to process applications already submitted for both registration and degree awarding powers and has offered to discuss with individual potential providers wherever there might be exceptional circumstances.

As both my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.

Higher education (HE) providers take their responsibilities seriously and are best placed to identify the needs of their student body, as well as how to develop the services needed to support it. HE providers need to consider how they support all students, particularly the most vulnerable, to achieve successful academic and professional outcomes.

Many providers will have hardship funds to support students in times of need, including emergencies. The expectation is that where any student requires additional support, providers will support them through their own hardship funds.

We have worked closely with the Office for Students to enable providers to draw upon existing funding to increase hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by COVID-19. As a result, providers will be able to use the funding, worth around £23 million per month for April and May, towards student hardship funds, including the purchase of IT equipment, and mental health support, as well as to support providers’ access and participation plans.

Students with a part-time employment contract should speak to their employer about the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has been set up to help pay staff wages and keep people in employment.

The department recognises these public services are vitally important in such a challenging time and appreciate that this is an uncertain time for all prospective students, and we want to ensure that they are not negatively impacted by disruption to the sector.

For those students receiving A-Levels this summer, results awarded will be formal results, with the same status as results awarded in any other year, and therefore students should continue to receive conditional offers from providers for all courses.

Students accepted on to teaching courses are already eligible for additional bursaries designed to support increased supply and from September this year we are introducing new grants of £5,000 for nurses, midwives and other health professionals to support increased recruitment into these professions. We are also looking at further work with Office for Students to increase capacity in the sector.

The government also contributes to the costs of higher education by providing teaching grant (T-Grant) funding to eligible higher education providers that have opted to be subject to tuition fee caps. This includes high-cost subject funding, which supplements the costs of teaching where tuition fees are insufficient to meet the entire costs of provision, such as for medicine, engineering and some nursing courses. Additional funding is being made available for the expansion of medical school places.

We are committed to supporting our world-class higher education institutions, so will continue working closely with the sector to manage the impact of coronavirus and secure the stability and sustainability of the sector at this difficult time.

The UK looks forward to continuing to welcome international and EU students in the future. They enrich UK higher education culturally, socially, and economically and are one of the reasons why our higher education sector remains world-class. The government has provided a number of reassurances for international higher education students already in the UK, as well as for those planning to study at a UK higher education provider from autumn 2020.

On 20 April, the government published bespoke guidance that brings together a number of visa concessions for international students in response to the outbreak of COVID-19. The guidance is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-tier-4-sponsors-migrants-and-short-term-students.

The visa mitigations in this guidance, which will be kept under regular review, ensure that international students can extend existing visas, engage in online learning, and switch visa categories where needed in order to start new courses in the autumn.

The visa guidance published on 20 April also recommits to the new Graduate Immigration Route which, as previously announced, will be launched in the summer of 2021. Any eligible student who graduates in the summer of 2021 or after this date will be able to apply for the Graduate Immigration Route. This includes students who have already started their courses even if, due to COVID-19, they have needed to undertake some of their learning remotely.

To address the longer-term impact of COVID-19, officials at the Department for Education and the Department for International Trade will consider how the International Education Strategy can be updated to respond to the challenges posed by COVID-19.

The government has announced a UK-wide range of support, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and various business support packages, to assist businesses whose viability is threatened by the COVID-19 outbreak. These include the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme and COVID-19 Corporate Financing Facility. If they need this support, higher education providers that meet the published criteria for the loan and financing schemes should approach their bank and begin to apply for the relevant scheme.

We are working closely with higher education providers and the regulator for the higher education sector in England, the Office for Students (OfS), to ensure that we maintain an up-to-date understanding of the financial risks and implications the COVID-19 outbreak is bringing to bear on the sector. The OfS has stated that one of its key priorities during the pandemic is to support the financial sustainability of the sector. Providers with concerns about their financial viability or sustainability have been encouraged to contact the OfS at the earliest opportunity.

The OfS has produced guidance on practical ways in which students can complete their studies whilst ensuring quality and standards are upheld during this difficult time. Providers are already making these arrangements and we are in close contact with the sector. There are some fantastic and innovative examples of high-quality distance and online learning being delivered by institutions across the UK, and the sector is already working hard to prepare learning materials for the summer and autumn terms. Students ordinarily should not expect any fee refund if they are receiving adequate online learning and support.

However, the government has made it clear that if institutions are unable to facilitate adequate online tuition then it would be unacceptable for students to be charged for any additional terms as, effectively, they would be charged twice. ?Whether an individual student is entitled to a refund of their fees will depend on specific contractual arrangements between the higher education providers and the student.

In the first instance, students should speak to their university. We expect student complaints and appeals processes to be operated flexibly, accessibly and sympathetically by institutions to resolve any concerns. Students who are not satisfied with their institution’s final response can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education to consider their complaint if their institution is based in England or Wales.

The government has announced a UK-wide range of support, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and various business support packages, to assist businesses whose viability is threatened by the COVID-19 outbreak. These include the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme and COVID-19 Corporate Financing Facility. If they need this support, higher education providers that meet the published criteria for the loan and financing schemes should approach their bank and begin to apply for the relevant scheme.

We are working closely with higher education providers and the regulator for the higher education sector in England, the Office for Students (OfS), to ensure that we maintain an up-to-date understanding of the financial risks and implications the COVID-19 outbreak is bringing to bear on the sector. The OfS has stated that one of its key priorities during the pandemic is to support the financial sustainability of the sector. Providers with concerns about their financial viability or sustainability have been encouraged to contact the OfS at the earliest opportunity.

The OfS has produced guidance on practical ways in which students can complete their studies whilst ensuring quality and standards are upheld during this difficult time. Providers are already making these arrangements and we are in close contact with the sector. There are some fantastic and innovative examples of high-quality distance and online learning being delivered by institutions across the UK, and the sector is already working hard to prepare learning materials for the summer and autumn terms. Students ordinarily should not expect any fee refund if they are receiving adequate online learning and support.

However, the government has made it clear that if institutions are unable to facilitate adequate online tuition then it would be unacceptable for students to be charged for any additional terms as, effectively, they would be charged twice. ?Whether an individual student is entitled to a refund of their fees will depend on specific contractual arrangements between the higher education providers and the student.

In the first instance, students should speak to their university. We expect student complaints and appeals processes to be operated flexibly, accessibly and sympathetically by institutions to resolve any concerns. Students who are not satisfied with their institution’s final response can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education to consider their complaint if their institution is based in England or Wales.

The UK’s approach to negotiations with the European Union, as set out in the ‘Future Relationship with the European Union’, is clear that we remain open to participation in elements of Erasmus+, on a time-limited basis, provided the terms are in the UK’s interests.

The UK’s approach to negotiations with the European Union, as set out in the ‘Future Relationship with the European Union’, is clear that we remain open to participation in elements of Erasmus+, on a time-limited basis, provided the terms are in the UK’s interests.

This government values the strong collaborative partnerships that we have across Europe in the areas of science, education, research and innovation and want to continue to support these opportunities.

The terms of the Withdrawal Agreement mean that the UK will continue to participate in EU Programmes financed by the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) until their closure. Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+ are EU programmes financed during this MFF period.

UK organisations, scientists, researchers and businesses will be able to continue in these programmes and receive EU grant funding until the end of 2020 and for the lifetime of individual projects.

We will continue to collaborate with the EU on scientific research and education and we’ve been clear that where it is in the UK’s interests, we will seek to participate in some specific EU programmes, such as Horizon Europe and Erasmus+. The Political Declaration agreed with the EU in October 2019 demonstrates a shared intent between UK and EU leaders to agree a framework that supports collaboration in science and innovation.

The shape and content of EU programmes post-2020, including Horizon Europe and Erasmus+, are currently being negotiated in the EU Institutions and have not yet been finalised. These EU programmes must be adopted by the EU before any potential formal negotiations on association could begin.

As a Member State, the UK does not contribute financially to specific programmes. Member States pay for participation in EU framework programmes through the general UK contribution to the EU Budget.

The following table indicates the amount of Horizon 2020 funding awarded to UK organisations:

[1] Data source: European Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/horizon-dashboard - accessed 14/01/2019. Accessed 14/01/2019

Please note totals of the table will not be accurate due to rounding.

With regards to Erasmus+, the most up-to-date information on funding results is held by the UK National Agency which is attached and can be found at the following link under ‘Statistics for the UK 2014-2018’: https://www.erasmusplus.org.uk/statistics.

Biodiesel is supported in the UK under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) certificate trading scheme. The scheme is subject to regular review and has been successfully supporting a UK biodiesel market for nearly 14 years. In recognition of the carbon reduction and wider environmental benefits, the scheme provides twice the level of reward for biodiesel produced from wastes as compared to biodiesel made from crop feedstocks. Consequently, biodiesel supplied under the RTFO is largely made from waste feedstocks, many of which are sourced in the UK. Biodiesel made from wastes generally delivers higher carbon savings.

The Department publishes statistics on renewable fuels supplied under the RTFO and the origin of feedstocks used to produce them. The latest verified data in the Renewable Fuel Statistics 2020 final report suggests that in 2020 1.62 billion litres of biodiesel was supplied for use in transport the UK, of which 142 million litres was produced from UK-origin feedstocks. In 2020 the most common source of biodiesel from UK feedstocks was used cooking oil, which contributed 50% of the total amount of biodiesel made from UK feedstocks. The UK currently has biodiesel production capacity of 660 million litres per year which equates to approximately 41% of biodiesel supply under the RTFO.

The RTFO scheme does not gather data on whether biodiesel is produced in the UK. According to the Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2021 published by the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, in 2020 the UK produced 558 million litres of biodiesel. In the same statistics in 2020 overall the UK consumed a total of 1,584 million litres of biodiesel.

We recognise many of the arguments made to justify changing the measure of inflation used and continue to keep our policy under review, with a long-term goal of replacing Retail Price Index (RPI), as it is phased out of use.

Any change will need to overcome specific barriers to ensure it is delivered sustainably and will require balancing against the potential impacts on passengers, taxpayers and the railway.

The Government is not aware of any issues with the employment terms and conditions at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) which are in line with the rest of the Civil Service.

The quickest and easiest way to transact with the DVLA is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.

However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. The Government understands the impact that delays in processing paper applications can have on the daily lives of individuals and the DVLA is working hard to reduce waiting times. The DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has opened new customer service centres in Swansea and Birmingham to reduce backlogs and provide future resilience. These measures are having a positive impact and customers should continue to see an improving picture in terms of waiting times for paper applications.

The DVLA also prioritised vocational licence applications to support the Government’s response to the driver shortage, and there have been no delays in straightforward applications for vocational licences, including renewals, since November 2021. The applications are being processed within normal turnaround times of five working days.

There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example if medical investigations are needed but the large majority of applicants will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here.

The Government is working with the industry to address skills issues. We are encouraging the sector to make employment more attractive through offering training, careers options and to invest in automation technology.

We are already supporting training through apprenticeships, including the level 2 Supply Chain Warehouse Operative apprenticeship and level 3 Transport and Warehouse Operations Supervisor apprenticeship.

There are currently level 3 apprenticeships for light and heavy vehicle technicians. Apprentices without level 2 English and Maths can apply for level 3 apprenticeships but will need to achieve this level prior to completion of their apprenticeship.

The status of OneWeb does not affect the Government’s research and development programme for a potential UK Space Based Augmentation System (SBAS).

The Department for Transport is considering what can be offered to Ukrainian refugees by way of free rail travel, along with other Government initiatives.

The Government is mindful of the critical role public transport plays in our daily lives and it is monitoring closely the impact of fuel prices on the transport network. My Rt Hon Friend the Chancellor recently froze fuel duty for the twelfth successive year in a row.

As requested in the National Bus Strategy, all 79 English Local Transport Authorities outside London have submitted Bus Service Improvement Plans.

Those plans are being assessed against criteria including bus priority measures and targeted fares reductions, as set out in the National Bus Strategy. We will announce details of BSIP indicative funding allocations in due course.

The Department for Transport has in place a national monitoring and evaluation programme for the e-scooter trials, which is being carried out by Arup and NatCen. This is a mixed-methods impact evaluation drawing from a wide range of data sources, including a data feed from trial e-scooter operators, survey data with e-scooter users and trial areas residents, and qualitative research with local and national stakeholders.

As part of this evaluation, we are collecting evidence on the purpose of rental e-scooter journeys and mode shift from other forms of transport. A full set of findings from this evaluation will be in the final report due to be published in later in 2022.

The Department for Transport has in place a national monitoring and evaluation programme for the e-scooter trials, which is being carried out by Arup and NatCen. This is a mixed-methods impact evaluation drawing from a wide range of data sources, including a data feed from trial e-scooter operators, survey data with e-scooter users and trial areas residents, and qualitative research with local and national stakeholders.

As part of this evaluation, we are collecting evidence on the purpose of rental e-scooter journeys and mode shift from other forms of transport. A full set of findings from this evaluation will be in the final report due to be published in later in 2022.

The 1986 United Nations Convention on Conditions for Registration of Ships set international standards for the registration of vessels in a national registry, including references to the genuine link, ownership, management, registration, accountability and the role of the flag State. The Convention was negotiated at the UN Conference on Trade and Development and for the Convention to enter into force it requires 40 signatories whose combined tonnage exceeds 25% of the world total.

As of March 2020, only 15 States had ratified or acceded to the Convention and Her Majesty’s Government sees little prospect of the Convention ever entering into force. Her Majesty’s Government does not consider that this has impacted our maritime security because the intent of the Convention has largely been met by legislative means in the United Kingdom including, but not limited to, The Merchant Shipping Act 1995, Safe Manning Regulations 1992, Ship Registration Regulations 1993, Regulations to implement The Maritime Labour Convention 2006, and Official Log Book requirements 1981.

The Secretary of State for Transport also wrote to all UK ports on 28 Feb 2022 asking them not to provide access to any Russian flagged, registered, owned, controlled, chartered, or operated vessels. Legislation has followed this and Her Majesty’s Government made specific Regulations to impose sanctions on ships with a strong Russian connection in light of the current geopolitical situation.

We have acted swiftly to hold Russia to account for its unprovoked invasion on Ukraine. The Secretary of State for Transport wrote to all UK ports on 28 February 2022 asking them not to provide access to any Russian flagged, registered, owned, controlled, chartered, or operated vessels.

Legislation has followed this and the the UK Government made regulations – THE RUSSIA (SANCTIONS) (EU EXIT) (AMENDMENT) (NO. 4) REGULATIONS 2022 – on 1 March which place into law restrictions on Russian vessels. These measures include a prohibition on the registration of ships on the UK Ship Register where they are owned, controlled, chartered or operated by a designated person or persons connected with Russia, or where they are a specified ship.

Building on the £1.9bn from Spending Review 2020, the Government has committed an additional £620m to support the transition to electric vehicles. This additional funding will support the rollout of charging infrastructure, with a particular focus on local, on-street residential charging, and targeted plug-in vehicle grants. The total funding committed by this government to vehicle grants and infrastructure is £2.5bn.

Our upcoming electric vehicle (EV) Infrastructure Strategy will soon be published, which will set out our vision to create a world-leading charging infrastructure network across the UK. Local authorities have a key role in planning and enabling the delivery of EV chargepoints to meet the needs of their local communities and areas, with particular focus on supporting those who do not have access to off-street parking. We are working closer than ever with local authorities to encourage uptake of central government funding for EV chargepoints and ensure more widespread regional and local action in this space.

The On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme is available to all UK local authorities to help provide public chargepoints for their residents. This year, £20 million is available under the scheme to ensure more local authorities and residents can benefit. We will also launch our new Local EV Infrastructure Fund (LEVI). Details of how local EV charging will be supported will be announced in due course.

Our bold and ambitious Transport Decarbonisation Plan sets out how we intend to reduce the UK’s transport emissions and forge a realistic pathway to net-zero by 2050. A key aspect of the plan is setting out the role different technologies like hydrogen fuel cells could play across all areas of transport, including HGVs, buses, rail, shipping and aviation. The Transport Decarbonisation Plan has recently been joined by the (BEIS-led) publication of the UK Hydrogen Strategy, which brings together the UK’s hydrogen story, showcasing activity to-date, and setting out an action plan for the UK’s hydrogen economy moving forward, including in the transport sector.

We are providing over £525 million funding for Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs) this Parliament. The Government announced the first areas to be awarded funding from the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme fast track in October 2021. A second group of local transport authorities will be submitting proposals to secure funding through the standard process of the scheme. Funding will be awarded to successful areas in Spring 2022. £355 million of new funding was made available for ZEBs at the Spending Review. £150 million of this new funding is for 2021-22 and has been allocated to the ZEBRA scheme, bringing the total funding for ZEBRA to £270m. The remaining funding is available over the Spending Review period.

The Government’s approach to the delivery of the ZEBs is technology neutral. Local areas have been able to apply for funding for both battery electric buses and hydrogen fuel cell buses depending on which technology is best suited to their local areas.

As of December 2021, there are fourteen publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations across the UK. Future Government support for the deployment of additional hydrogen refuelling infrastructure will be linked to specific research and development programmes, such as our pioneering  zero emission road freight trials that will demonstrate hydrogen fuel cell HGVs on UK roads. Our £23 million Hydrogen for Transport Programme (HTP) is increasing the number of publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations.

The Department is committed to encouraging new entrants to the bus driving profession. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is working with the Government to implement a number of measures to significantly boost testing availability. These measures include eliminating tests to tow a trailer; streamlining the process of securing a licence for certain vehicles; and speeding up the heavy goods vehicle driving test itself by removing the off-road manoeuvres element (reversing exercise) and allowing it to be assessed separately by the driver training industry. These changes will create an extra 50,000 tests a year.

The DVSA has also increased test availability by asking all those qualified to conduct vocational tests, but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests, and conducting out of hours testing where it can and where there is demand. The DVSA is also offering overtime and annual leave buy back to examiners as well as recruiting an additional 40 new vocational examiners across Great Britain.

My Department continues to work closely with the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT) and the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) to gather regular information. This allows us to analyse and assess, the current staffing levels and recruitment pipeline in the bus sector; informing the Department about the extent of the shortages across the country. To address the issue, the DVSA have provisioned up to 50,000 more test slots each year enabling more prospective bus drivers to take their tests. Additional measures to boost testing capacity include the ongoing recruitment of new vocational examiners, with additional Defence Driving Examiners from the MOD trained and redeployed to conduct civilian tests with the DVSA.

The Department for Transport has in place a national monitoring and evaluation programme for the e-scooter trials, commissioned to Arup in partnership with NatCen. This is a mixed-methods impact evaluation drawing from a wide range of data sources, including a direct data feed from trial e-scooter operators, survey data with e-scooter users and trial areas residents, and qualitative research with local and national stakeholders. As part of this evaluation, we are collecting evidence on miles travelled on rental e-scooters, as well as mode shift from car and public transport. Findings from the evaluation will be published in the Spring.

From the period from July 2020 to the end of December 2021, over 19.5 million miles have been travelled in total across the rental trials.

The detailed design of the e-scooter trials, including any environmental requirements, are determined by the relevant local authority. Operators are increasingly using e-vehicles and e-cargo bikes to service and maintain their fleets to reduce negative impacts.

The Department for Transport has in place a national monitoring and evaluation programme for the e-scooter trials, commissioned to Arup in partnership with NatCen. As part of this evaluation, we are collecting evidence on mode shift including from car and public transport. Findings from the evaluation will be published later in the year.

The detailed design of the e-scooter trials, including any environmental requirements, are determined by the relevant local authority. Operators are increasingly using e-vehicles and e-cargo bikes to service and maintain their fleets to reduce negative impacts.

The Department for Transport has in place a national monitoring and evaluation programme for the e-scooter trials, commissioned to Arup in partnership with NatCen. As part of this evaluation, we are collecting evidence on mode shift including from car and public transport. Findings from the evaluation will be published later in the year.

The detailed design of the e-scooter trials, including any environmental requirements, are determined by the relevant local authority. Operators are increasingly using e-vehicles and e-cargo bikes to service and maintain their fleets to reduce negative impacts.

The Department for Transport has in place a national monitoring and evaluation programme for the e-scooter trials, commissioned to Arup in partnership with NatCen. As part of this evaluation, we are collecting evidence on mode shift including from car and public transport. Findings from the evaluation will be published later in the year.

The Department takes guidance from the Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook on the effects of changes to fares on revenues. There are a number of factors which impact revenues, including most notably at the moment the pandemic’s impact on passenger travel.

National Highways website contains a page entitled ‘Our Roads’, which outlines its management of the Strategic Road Network in England, comprising over 4,300 miles of motorways and major A roads. This page outlines that National Highways does not manage all roads in England, and also directs website users to the Transport Scotland and Welsh Government websites.

Roads are a devolved matter, with roads in Scotland being managed by the Scottish Government and roads in Wales managed by the Welsh Government.

The decision to rename Highways England as National Highways was made to ensure the name accurately reflects the organisation as it focuses on delivery of the Government’s plans to maintain and enhance our most important roads, ensuring our road network is safe, reliable and efficient for everyone. The name National Highways helps provide a distinction between local roads, which are the responsibility of local authorities, and the motorways and major A roads which National Highways is responsible for.

National Highways has incurred costs of £56,461 to support the implementation of the name change as of the end of January 2022.

The Government engaged with regional stakeholders, including Leeds City Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, throughout the development of the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP).

The IRP has set out that the Government will look at the best way for HS2 trains to serve Leeds alongside development of the West Yorkshire Mass Transit System.

The Government engaged with regional stakeholders, including Leeds City Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, throughout the development of the IRP.

The Integrated Rail Plan has set out that the Government will look at the best way for HS2 trains to serve Leeds alongside development of the West Yorkshire Mass Transit System.

The Department is considering potential options for the Government owned land at the Dover Whitecliffs site which will not be required for the HMRC IBF infrastructure. No decisions have been made at this time.

The Airfield Advisory Team (AAT) are a team within the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and were set up to provide independent non-regulatory advice and support to General Aviation airfields on a range of matters affecting their operations. The team is currently comprised of 2 personnel.

The annual budget for the AAT in Financial Year 21/22 is £375,000. This funding is made available by the DfT under sections 12 and 16 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982, which permits the department to provide the CAA funding for specific activities.

GA Airfields are the critical infrastructure which supports all aviation activity in the UK by developing a skilled workforce, the safety processes to support the entire industry, and can offer the potential as a test bed for new technology before its adoption by the commercial sector.

The GA sector including its airfields contributes around £4bn to the economy and supports around 40,000 jobs, most of which are STEM roles.

The Department does not routinely collect this information. Any information that is held on fords on the local road network will be held by the relevant local authority.

The Conservation of Highways Structures standard applies to listed or designated heritage assets.

Although this standard does not apply to much of the Historical Railways Estate, National Highways does manage the structures in accordance with the best practice principles set out in the standard.

National Highways is conducting heritage assessments on each of the Historical Railways Estate structures.

Management of the Estate is kept under constant review and there is an independent quarterly audit. National Highways undertakes repairs to hundreds of structures every year including works to listed structures. Infilling and demolition is a very small proportion (less than 5%) of the work that it does.

National Highways considers environmental issues, relating to ecology and biodiversity, when considering their asset management approach at any given structure. In many cases, National Highways will incorporate ecological features into the structure as part of the scheme e.g. bat hotels. National Highways removes invasive species and leave piles of clippings from trees and shrubs for use by mammals and reptiles.

National Highways does not award individual contracts as it has overarching framework contracts in place with call off arrangements.

National Highways has not accepted prices on any preparatory works to specifically prepare for infilling activity between 21 September and 25 October .

National Highways has accepted prices to provide access for ecologists to undertake bat surveys at 12 structures and for a site investigation to be undertaken.

The pause has been applied to infill and demolition work. The only works that have occurred since have been to provide access for ecologists to undertake surveys or to remove vegetation.

National Highways removes vegetation for preventative maintenance reasons. This is something that National Highways is doing across the Historical Railways Estate. Undertaking ecological surveys is not preparatory work for infilling or demolition, it is part of the National Highways’ regular routine asset management approach.

Network Rail published its Biodiversity Action Plan in December 2020, committing to achieve biodiversity net gain by 2035, and setting out how it will manage lineside vegetation sustainably for safety, performance, the environment, and its customers and neighbours. Network Rail must balance these objectives to run a safe and reliable rail network whilst also supporting and enhancing lineside biodiversity. In some places it will be necessary to remove trees and other habitats that are not compatible with railway operations, but in other places Network Rail will establish habitats through planting and sustainable management. Following recent surveys and inspections of the estate, Network Rail is developing vegetation and habitat management plans to ensure any necessary vegetation management takes place at the best time of year. Network Rail is also developing a sustainable land use strategic framework which will consider aspects including carbon impacts to support net zero 2050.

Network Rail manages a vast estate, with an estimated six million trees, and approximately 23% woodland coverage, substantially higher than the average woodland coverage across Britain. In 2019, Network Rail pledged £1m to plant trees in communities across England over a four-year period with over 90,000 planted in the first planting season. Network Rail is also working with the Forestry Commission on a feasibility study for tree planting on land neighbouring the railway.

The Government has not cancelled either the Western Leg or Eastern Leg of HS2 Phase 2b. The Integrated Rail Plan sets out that HS2 will be built from Crewe to Manchester, and from the West Midlands to East Midlands Parkway. In addition, £100m has been provided to include work on looking at the best way to take HS2 trains to Leeds The Government will publish an updated Strategic Outline Business Case for Phase 2b Western Leg alongside the deposit of the Western Leg hybrid bill in early 2022.

The core pipeline set out in the Integrated Rail Plan, which includes completing HS2 Phases One and 2a and completing HS2 Phase 2b from Crewe to Manchester, including the link to the West Coast Main Line, will help reduce journey times between England and Scotland. Birmingham and London to Glasgow and Edinburgh could be cut by between 40 and 50 minutes compared to today. In addition, the package of upgrades to the East Coast Main Line will separately improve journey times for services to Edinburgh from London King’s Cross. Journey times could be cut by 25 minutes compared to today depending on stopping patterns. The recent Union Connectivity Review also considered the reduction of rail journey times to Scotland.

The Department takes guidance from the Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook on the effects of changes to fares on rail demand.

While fares changes do impact total passenger numbers, there are also a number of other elements involved, including most notably at the moment the pandemic’s impact on passenger travel.

The current Road Investment Strategy (RIS2) will invest £24bn in the operation, maintenance, renewal and enhancement of England’s strategic roads between 2020 and 2025 to secure safer and more reliable journeys that impact more positively on communities and places.

The Department published its Transport Decarbonisation Plan in July 2021, setting transport on the path to net zero by 2050. National Highways supports this through its own Net Zero Highways Plan which sets out how it will achieve net zero for its own operations by 2030, for road maintenance and construction by 2040, and net zero carbon travel on our roads by 2050.

A net zero Britain will still travel by road in 2050, motorways and trunk roads will continue to carry the majority of long-distance traffic, and investment in Britain’s roads supports a thriving future net zero economy.

Rail reform will deliver significant efficiency savings for government and the taxpayer in the long term. Benefits for passengers include:

• Improved services with tough new contracts focused on getting the trains running punctually and reliably;
• Improved ticketing options, providing commuters with significant savings;
• Modern digital payment methods; and
• Improved accessibility getting around stations and on and off trains.

The rail reform programme is expected to generate savings of approximately £1.5bn per year, five years post implementation. This is equivalent to 15% of the network’s pre-pandemic income.

The rail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (the ORR), ensures that Network Rail’s plans include challenging but deliverable efficiency targets. This is a central part of securing Network Rail’s funding through the Periodic Review process for each Control Period.

The ORR continuously monitors Network Rail’s delivery of efficiencies against its efficiency plans throughout each Control Period and publishes an annual assessment of Network Rail’s efficiency and financial performance, the most recent of which was published in July 2021 and can be found on the ORR’s website.

Rail was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in November 2021, rail journey numbers had recovered to approximately 70% levels of an equivalent day in the previous year.

The Department publish National Statistics on rail journeys by purpose (including commuting, business, and leisure) in the National Travel Survey. The latest data is for calendar year 2020 and show a fall in the proportion of all journeys which are for commuting (summarised in the table below). The data shows that commuting traffic has been slower to recover than leisure demand.

Transport Focus publishes results of a survey which includes breakdowns of rail journeys by purpose throughout 2021. This survey estimates that throughout November 2021, the proportion of rail journeys that are for commuting are approximately one-third. It should be noted that the sample-size is relatively small at circa 480 per week.

The government is working with the rail industry to develop a number of recovery initiatives, focused on restoring passenger confidence in travelling by rail including for commuting journeys. Including introducing flexible season tickets across England this year, tickets launched on the 21 June and became available for use on the 28 June. This is a national product, priced to provide better value and convenience for commuters travelling two to three days a week.

During the pandemic £14bn of financial support has been provided to the rail sector, while £1.5bn in emergency funding was provided to bus operators and Local Transport Authorities through the Coronavirus Bus Service Support Grant (CBSSG), which was in operation between March 2020 and August 2021. CBSSG helped ensure services remained available for those who needed them most.

We also acknowledge the need to respond to new ways of working post-pandemic. That’s why we have introduced flexible season tickets across the rail network in England this year. This is a national product, priced to provide better value and convenience for commuters travelling two to three days a week. We are working with the rail industry to develop a number of recovery initiatives, focused on restoring passenger confidence in travelling by rail.

Whilst a significant proportion of bus passengers have returned after restrictions were lifted, recognising the financial challenges faced by the sector during this transitional period, the government is providing an additional £226.5m in funding to the sector through the Bus Recovery Grant. This will help operators to continue to run a high level of service, maintain networks and attract passengers back on board.

During this parliament the Government will invest £1.2 billion of new funding to deliver improvements in bus services, fares and infrastructure in England outside London, and £525 million to deliver zero-emission buses (of which £355 million is new funding announced at the Spending Review). This is part of over £3 billion of new spend on buses over this Parliament, which represents a doubling of dedicated bus funding over this spending review period compared to Spending Review 2015.

The Government provides an annual £43 million directly to Local Authorities through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) so that they can subsidise socially necessary bus services. In addition, over £200 million of BSOG is provided directly to commercial bus operators to support bus services.

No decision has yet been taken as to when the pause to infilling work on the Historical Railways Estate might end. As advised previously, National Highways is reviewing its programme of works and seeking additional input through its ‘Stakeholder Advisory Forum’ which comprises key stakeholders, with an interest in historical railways and active travel. This body will review all future National Highways major works proposals, ensuring future schemes take account of stakeholder feedback and opportunities to repurpose and re-use structures.

No financial penalties will be incurred by National Highways if the infilling of Barcombe Bridge does not proceed.

The procurement activity for works to Barcombe Bridge commenced on 5 May 2021, before the pause was in place. National Highways took the decision to continue with the process as it was already underway and this would be more cost effective, and represent better value for money, than having to repeat the process at a later date, if required. National Highways have stated to the contractor that no work should be taken forward until further instructions are issued.

Following the announcement of a review of driving offences and penalties in 2014, the Government conducted a review of driving offences that focused on the most serious offences that involve death or injury. The results of this review are being brought forward as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.

In addition, and as part of the Government keeping the law under regular review consideration is being given to a call for evidence on part of the Road Traffic Act. The Government is not able to provide further details at this stage because they are still being worked on.

There are no plans to initiate an independent inquiry into these matters. The owners of private aircraft are not permitted to undertake operations for hire and reward. Commercial air transport operations must be operated by the holder of an Operating Licence and Air Operator Certificate (AOC). All UK AOC holders are overseen by the Civil Aviation Authority and are subject to appropriate high-level safety rules and ongoing monitoring.

Electric vehicle (EV) drivers will require a variety of a range of public charging locations and speeds of charging to meet their needs. The vast majority of EV drivers choose to charge their cars at home, overnight or increasingly at the workplace. For those without off-street parking, slower on-street chargepoints may work for them, or faster charging when they do their weekly shop, for example. Rapid and ultra-rapid charging is particularly important for those making longer journeys.

The UK is a global front-runner in supporting provision of EV charging infrastructure. The rate at which rapid chargepoints are being installed has been consistently increasing, from October 2020 to September 2021 the number of rapids in the UK increased by almost 40%.

The Government will provide over £1.3 billion to accelerate the roll out of charging infrastructure, targeting support on ultra-rapid rapid chargepoints on motorways and major A roads to dash any anxiety around long journeys, and installing more on-street chargepoints near homes and workplaces to make charging as easy as refuelling a petrol or diesel car.

We have set targets for en-route ultra-rapid charging on the Strategic Road Network, to ensure there are enough chargepoints to enable long distance journeys and committed a £950 million Rapid Charging Fund to future proof grid capacity at motorway service areas (MSAs) and major A road service areas to prepare the network for 100% uptake of zero emission cars and vans ahead of need:

• By 2023, we aim to have at least 6 high powered, open access chargepoints (150-350 kilowatt capable) at each MSA in England.
• By 2030, we are planning for there to be around 2,500 high powered chargepoints across England’s motorways and major A roads.
• By 2035, we expect the number to increase to around 6,000 high powered chargers across the network.

Our £20 million per year on-street residential charging scheme is providing much needed slower charging options near people’s homes, including for those charging overnight. In addition, our new Local EV Infrastructure Fund which will launch next year will facilitate the rollout of larger scale chargepoint infrastructure projects across England for local areas, including local rapid hubs.

Government’s forthcoming EV Infrastructure Strategy will define our vision for the continued roll-out of a world-leading charging infrastructure network across the UK. The strategy will focus on how we will unlock the chargepoint rollout needed to enable the transition from early adoption to mass market uptake of EVs.

There is only one Historical Railways Estate structure, Barcombe Bridge, where the contract/price acceptance was undertaken since the infilling and demolition programme was paused on 23 July 2021. The procurement process for minor works to this structure commenced on 5 May. Although a price of £175,838.79 was accepted on 12 August the acceptance letter clearly states that all infill activity has been paused and no works should commence until National Highways have been given confirmation to do so.

The acceptance letter also makes clear that works should not commence until the site has been checked by the ecologist and that National Highways will not pay for any works unless it has been specifically authorised in writing.

Ecological impacts and environmental considerations are taken into account as part of the planning process and National Highways continue to conduct their own ecological assessments and also ensure Natural England (and devolved partners) are involved as necessary. As a matter of course, for all major works proposals National Highways already conduct the following:

• A desktop review of the area (looking for SACs, SSSIs, conservation areas and published sightings of protected species).
• Site visit by an ecologist, including a Preliminary Ecological Assessment, where they review the structure and surrounding area to identify possible mammals, reptiles & amphibians as well as protected plant species, birds nesting & invasive species. If anything is discovered additional surveys are undertaken, and, if necessary, applications for the relevant licences are submitted.

The Stakeholder Advisory Forum includes a range of stakeholders with an interest in the Historical Railways Estate with membership kept under review as stated in its Terms of Reference.

Neither Amco Giffen nor any other supplier has been contracted to infill Barcombe Bridge on 12 August 2021 or on any other date. All infill works to Barcombe Bridge have been paused since July 2021.

The Department is running trials of rental e-scooters to assess their safety and wider impacts. Rental operators do not permit their e-scooters to be carried on public transport.

While trials are running, privately-owned e-scooters will remain illegal to use on the road, cycle lanes or pavements. They can be used on private property, with the landowner’s permission. It is for public transport operators to determine their own terms and conditions of carriage.

We are currently in negotiations for a new National Rail Contract on the Chiltern route which, if successful, will include plans for improving the environmental impact of stations and trains, including at Marylebone station.

A hybrid trial is currently underway to determine whether this is a feasible option for more environmentally friendly rolling stock on this route. Additionally, we are exploring options for procuring greener rolling stock on the route, and the environmental impact is an important factor in this process.

National Highways (formerly known as Highways England) have paused all plans to infill Barcombe Bridge. Future proposals for the structure will be considered in line with the highways authority (East Sussex County Council) and the local authority (Lewes District Council) taking into account any potential future use proposals.

All infilling work on the Historical Railways Estate, including Barcombe Bridge, has been paused. National Highways is reviewing its programme of works and seeking additional input through its newly created ‘Stakeholder Advisory Forum’ which comprises key stakeholders, with an interest in historical railways and active travel. This body will review all future National Highways maintenance proposals, ensuring future schemes take account of stakeholder feedback and opportunities to repurpose and re-use structures.

The 25 proactive actions are:

To increase efficiency in existing supply chains.

1.Temporary extension of drivers’ hours to allow short-term extra flexibility to the industry.

2. Relaxation of late-night delivery restrictions to supermarkets, food retailers, and distribution centres in England providing greater operational flexibility.

3. 4,700 HGV drivers were added to the existing visa scheme to help food industries with driver shortages during exceptional circumstances this year. Up to an additional 300 fuel drivers are also being allowed to come to the UK immediately through a separate scheme.

4. Opened consultation on increasing cabotage for foreign hauliers in the UK to make their trips more efficient.

To support and train new HGV drivers.

5. Department for Education is investing up to £10 million to create new skills bootcamps to train up to 5,000 more people to become HGV drivers.

6. New £7,000 Large Goods Vehicle Driver apprenticeships launched 1 August 2021.

7. Expansion of DWP driver training pilot delivered through Jobcentre Plus to bring job-seekers into the industry.

8. Temporary incentive payment of £3,000 for employers taking on a new apprentice until 31 January 2022.

9. Accelerated development of new Urban Driver Apprenticeship for Category C driving.

10. DfT provided grant funding to Road to Logistics (a national, not for profit, logistics training organisation) which is working with the Welsh Government and HM Prison Service to train ex-offenders to drive lorries as well as supporting the Jobcentre Plus pilot.

11. Additional Government funding for both medical and HGV licences for any adult who completes an HGV driving qualification accessed through the Adult Education Budget in academic year 2021/22.

12. DfT provided grant funding to Think Logistics which, with Career Ready, is working to attract young people to the profession.

To expand HGV driver testing capacity and improving licencing processes.

13. DVSA has increased the number of HGV vocational driving tests by 90% compared to pre-pandemic levels through measures including overtime and allocating additional employees into testing, alongside the recently introduced capacity from Defence Driving Examiners.

14. Regulatory changes on trailer towing test requirements, staging of HGV tests and reversing manoeuvres to increase the number of HGV tests following consultation and the entry into force of new legislation.

15. Recruitment campaign launched 16 August for 40 new vocational examiners.

16. The MOD is providing Defence Driving Examiners to be trained and redeployed to conduct civilian tests with the DVSA until the end of the year.

17. New legislation to allow delegated driving examiners at the three emergency services and the MOD to be able to conduct driving tests for one another.

18. DVLA operational prioritisation to process provisional HGV driving licences has reduced processing time to around five working days. Most drivers applying to renew their HGV licence can continue driving while their application is being processed.

To attracting drivers back to the sector and improving conditions.

19. Public messaging and direct letters to existing HGV licence holders not driving professionally (i.e. those who do not hold a Driver CPC card) to encourage them to consider returning to HGV driving.

20. Support for industry-led communications efforts to promote and improve the image of the sector including an industry-led proposal for Year of Logistics, the promotion of good practice and an International Road Transport Union’s driver charter.

21. A review of lorry parking and facilities.

22. Flexible support funding for job seekers and those on Universal Credit who hold an HGV licence towards the costs of obtaining Driver Certificates of Professional Competence required for most professional lorry or bus driving.

To address the interruptions to fuel supplies.

23. Extension of ADR (Dangerous Goods) licence validity for those expiring between 27 September 2021 and 31 December 2021 until 31 January 2022, providing immediate relief to the shortage of fuel drivers by permitting affected drivers to maximise their available capacity instead of being taken out of circulation for refresher training purposes.

24. Targeted communications to ADR licence holders through the Training Advisory Panel Secretariat to make ADR members aware of the extension to ADR licences validity periods and to encourage their members and all ADR driver training providers to increase their capacity for providing the full initial ADR driver training courses.

25. Military tanker drivers have been mobilised to assist in fuel deliveries.

The Department has worked with South Western Railway and Network Rail on the proposals in the consultation document. I await a report from South Western Railway and Network Rail on the outcomes of this consultation.

In my statement to the House on Monday 13 September I referred to the delegation of the reversing exercise element of the HGV driving test and, for vehicles with trailers, the uncoupling and recoupling exercise, to third parties. These parties are HGV driver training providers.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is in discussions with the training industry to understand their capacity to deliver this part of the test. They will also work with them to develop a robust and clear process by which to assess, accredit and audit any trainers who wish to assess these elements of the test.

The Secretary of State announced on 22 July 2021 that a review of the National Networks NPS would be completed no later than Spring 2023. This is the time required to complete the entire review process including the review of the NPS itself and, should any amendments to the NPS be proposed, a public consultation on the revised NPS, and its designation by Parliament.

This review will include a thorough examination of the modelling and forecasts that support the statement of need for development and the environmental, safety, resilience and local community considerations that planning decisions must consider. This review will ensure it remains fit for purpose in supporting the Government’s commitments for appropriate development of infrastructure for road, rail, and strategic rail freight interchanges.

Twenty schemes are due to start work between now and spring 2023, with 13 of them requiring development consent orders.

The Planning Act 2008 gives the Secretary of State the power to suspend an NPS in part or in whole pending a review, on the condition that the considerations in Section 11 of the Act have been met. In this case, suspension of sections in the NPS relating to carbon emissions would have the effect of removing all guidance to planning inspectors on this subject, creating significant uncertainty (including lengthening the time applications will take) and the risk of inconsistency of approach between different applications. The review of the National Networks NPS will ensure that it is fully aligned to our commitment to net zero and the Government’s other climate change commitments.

Legislation to establish Great British Railways (GBR) will be introduced when the Parliamentary timetable allows. A confirmed date will be announced in due course.

In the interim, the GBR Transition Team has been mobilised by Andrew Haines, alongside his current role as CEO of Network Rail, fulfilling the Plan for Rail’s commitment to start interim arrangements immediately. The Transition Team will be responsible for driving forward reforms and creating the railway’s new guiding mind.

There is much we can do to deliver benefits to passengers ahead of legislation.   To this end, the transition from the Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements (ERMAs, introduced in September 2020) to new National Rail Contracts is underway. These contracts will strengthen and build on existing cooperation arrangements in the ERMAs and represent a ‘bridge’ to the new Passenger Service Contracts.

The Government fully recognises business concerns around increasing energy prices and we are regularly engaging with the rail freight industry on this issue. The commercial decision to use electric or diesel traction for freight haulage is a matter for individual private sector freight operators.

We continue to support the rail freight sector strongly and recognise that rail freight remains one of the most carbon efficient ways of moving goods over long distances as on average, rail freight trains currently emit around a quarter of the CO2e emissions of HGVs per tonne km travelled.

The Government does not at this point have any plans to introduce speed limits for electric bikes. Decisions on electric scooters will be taken in the light of evidence from national trials.

E-scooters being used legally in a trial must have a maximum design speed not exceeding 15.5mph. Some trial areas have set lower maximum design speeds for electric scooters being used in the trials in their area.

An electrically assisted pedal cycle electric motor must have a maximum power output of 250 watts, and should not be able to propel the bike when it is travelling more than 15.5mph.

During the last five years the Department for Transport has provided over £5.9 billion by formula to local authorities in England, outside London, to support the maintenance of the local road network.

This funding is not ring-fenced, allowing local highway authorities to spend their allocations according to their own priorities. A breakdown by financial year is in the table below:

We have undertaken passenger forecasting in line with the Government’s Transport Appraisal Guidance, as well as station capacity analysis in line with rail industry standards. On this basis, we are confident the proposed Cambridge South station would support the continued growth and development of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and its surrounding area.

There are no current plans to infill Barcombe Bridge. All infilling and demolition work on the Historical Railways Estate, including Barcombe Bridge, has been paused while National Highways review their programme and seek additional input through the newly created Stakeholder Advisory Forum.

National Highways will fully consult the Local Planning Authority at an appropriate official level irrespective of whether or not Permitted Development Rights already exist. These discussions would be documented prior to the commencement of any proposed works.

National Highways has been engaging with Transport for the South East, Lewes and Eastbourne District Council and East Sussex County Council over the safe maintenance of the bridge. Specific engagement with Lewes and Eastbourne District Council has occurred over the past 18 months and is ongoing.

Speed limits are designed for motor vehicles, and do not apply to cyclists.

Enforcement of speed limits is for the police. Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners are operationally independent and how roads policing is undertaken, and available resources are deployed, is the responsibility of individual chief officers, taking into account the specific local circumstances.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) provides a range of advice across a number of aviation subjects and domains. The CAA’s Environmental Research and Consultancy Department already produces independent noise advice for many stakeholders and the creation of a new Environmental Panel will give access to greater levels of technical capability and transparency around that advice. Decisions about aviation noise policy will, as they always have, remain with the Government.

The industry continues to adjust service levels to anticipate changes in passenger demand, which is currently at around 60 per cent of pre-COVID journeys. Train operating companies are already providing approximately 85 per cent of pre-pandemic service levels. We are working closely with operators and Network Rail to ensure that service levels remain appropriate to expected demand, whilst prioritising the good performance passengers need, and delivering good value for the taxpayer.

The independent review of the Independent Commission on Civil Aviation Noise (ICCAN), commissioned by the Department, found that ICCAN’s functions were essential, but that other models of delivery could be considered to deliver the functions more effectively. The review took into account the circumstances of the pandemic.

Having considered other models, the Government has decided that the majority of ICCAN’s functions could be done more effectively by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). In particular, the CAA’s wider environmental and airspace responsibilities make it a more natural fit to ensure that noise advice forms part of wider considerations.

The quickest and easiest way to make an application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.

However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day and industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union has led to delays for customers. Throughout the pandemic DVLA has been working with a significantly reduced number of staff on site to ensure social distancing in line with Welsh Government requirements. The current increased demand for the DVLA’s services has also contributed to delays with paper applications.

Paper driving licence applications are currently taking between six and ten weeks to process. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example if medical investigations are needed. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found on GOV.UK.

The DVLA continues to explore opportunities to reduce turnaround times and has been developing additional new online services and recruiting additional staff. The DVLA is exploring the possibility of securing extra office space to accommodate more staff to work predominantly on driver’s medical casework and queries. This will be surge capacity accommodation and resource to help reduce backlogs while providing future resilience and business continuity.

To help address the HGV driver shortages, my department launched a consultation which ended on 7 September 2021. The proposals include streamlining the process for new drivers to gain their HGV licence and increasing lorry test appointment availability. The DVLA is also prioritising driving licence applications from HGV drivers to reduce impacts on the transport sector specifically.

The haulage industry is vital to the UK economy and the Government is committed to supporting the industry by helping to ensure that it can recruit the drivers it needs and get these drivers on the road as soon as possible.

The Blue Badge Scheme provides a national arrangement of parking concessions for people with a range of disabilities and medical conditions to enable them to park closer to the places they wish to visit.

If an individual is eligible for a badge then the carer can use it when accompanying the badge holder, carers do not need a badge in their own right. The regulations governing the Scheme do not allow carers to take advantage of the parking benefits provided under the Scheme unless the badge holder is travelling with them. The Department has no plans to amend the legislation.

The Government has made £27.504 billion available to National Highways (formerly Highways England) from 2020 to 2025 for the Strategic Road Network (SRN). Around half of this is for major infrastructure enhancement schemes, the majority of which are for enhancements to existing roads rather than building new ones.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency already recommends that drivers who need to submit a medical report with a licence application or renewal should obtain this from a doctor with access to their medical records. However, this is not compulsory and to make it a requirement may have impacts on drivers and the transport industry in terms of time and costs. When conducting medical investigations, the DVLA will write to the driver’s GP or consultant if further medical information is required. There are no plans to change the existing arrangements.

The Department for Transport approved the works at Great Musgrave after being advised by Highways England that urgent action was needed on the grounds of public safety. This urgent need to act was due to the structure of the Great Musgrave bridge being weak and liable to cause the bridge deck to fall suddenly. The bridge was deteriorating, and no weight restriction was in place, meaning it could be used by vehicles of any weight; weight restrictions on bridges are the responsibility of the Local Highway Authority. A bridge assessment completed in 1998 confirmed that the bridge had a 17-tonne capacity, but no weight restrictions by the Local Highway Authority have been implemented.

The support provided by infilling removes the risk that the bridge deck will fall and means a weight limit is no longer required and the bridge will remain safe for everyone who wishes to use it.

Alternatives to infilling any bridge are assessed on a case-by-case basis and depend on the specific structure and the requirements for access being retained.

In the case of Great Musgrave, the aspiration locally is to re-open the route for use as a heritage railway line going under the bridge; it is not expected that this location would be used for a cycling and walking route. Before a heritage railway could be established, there are land ownership issues to be resolved and a replacement river bridge over the River Eden would need to be constructed.

The potential cost of removing the infilling depends on what is done with the fill material. If the fill material is disposed of offsite the estimated cost is £30,000. If it can be re-used to form a walking path, then it is more likely to be £10,000.

Removing the infill would then require appropriate protection and strengthening work for the bridge, which is dependent on the required use. For a heritage railway to be established under the bridge, not only would the bridge need strengthening, but excavation works would likely be required to ensure there is sufficient clearance.

The infill was carried after written confirmation from the Local Planning Authority was received that the works are classed as Permitted Development. Despite this, Highways England has agreed with the Local Planning Authority to submit formal retrospective planning application at the appropriate time.

The infill material will be covered with soil and seeded with grass and have the appearance of a grass embankment when completed; this will be similar in appearance to other projects, such as those at Tadcaster and Lochaber.

The Masonry Arch Repair and Strengthening (MARS) system is one of a range of treatments which is considered for the delivery of our maintenance of the Historical Railway Estate (HRE). It is a system that is suitable for strengthening and reinforcing masonry arches. However, given the type of structures that comprise the HRE, it can only be considered for a small number of arched structures. It should be noted that MARS is just one proprietary system and other systems are used where appropriate to undertake repairs on the HRE, examples include Shankend viaduct and Queensbury Tunnel.

It was considered as a treatment at Great Musgrave. However, Highways England’s assessment found that while initial costs were estimated to be lower than infilling (approximately £100,000 for MARS versus £125,000 for infilling), it would take longer to install MARS. Using the MARS system would also require much more follow up maintenance resulting in additional future costs. Those costs are estimated to be ongoing maintenance every 20 years costing approximately £15,000, major refurbishment every 60 years costing approximately £100,000, plus costs for detailed examinations every 6 years costing approximately £1,500. These additional costs do not apply for infilling, representing better value for money.

The carbon cost of the MARS system is difficult to estimate and compare. The steel used in the MARS system would have to be manufactured and transported to site, most of which usually comes from outside of the United Kingdom. The carbon costs would be far greater than sourcing fill material from a local quarry, although it is accepted that this carbon cost comparison does not take account of the fact that infilling might prevent use for cycling and walking unless an alternative route were provided.

At certain sites Highways England (HE) has partially infilled and provided an access for either active travel or heritage railways, for example three bridges in Cumbia on the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith branch for a heritage railway and in North Ayrshire on Route 73 of the National Cycle Network. Infilling whilst maintaining access is approximately 50% more expensive than infilling alone and requires ongoing maintenance and inspection costs. Where HE has completed this type of work it is on structures with existing or committed active travel routes.

In response to residents’ concerns, the Department commissioned a detailed lighting survey. This confirmed that site lighting is within recommended levels. However, the survey identified several potential improvements which are being implemented as a priority. These include checking and reducing luminance levels, installing baffles, and checking the angle of lighting. In addition, lighting in the north west and south east parking areas – which are not currently in use- has been switched off. The Department is exploring additional lighting controls providing dimming options tailored to operational activity, and the height of the columns. These improvements will be considered alongside the need to maintain a safe level of lighting for the site to operate 24/7.

The Department for Transport has commissioned surveys on travel behaviour, attitudes and social impacts of COVID-19. These surveys are part of the Department’s All Change? study and include questions on perceptions of face covering use on public transport, public transport confidence and travel intentions. Reports of findings are published on gov.uk.

The Government have always been clear that Heathrow expansion remains a private sector project which must meet strict criteria on air quality, noise and climate change, as well as being privately financed, affordable, and delivered in the best interest of consumers.

The Government will soon be consulting on our ambitious plans to decarbonise aviation in the run up to COP26, setting out how the sector will achieve ‘jet zero’ by 2050.

Engagement has continued with local representative on White Cliffs. Some specific meetings have been cancelled or postponed, due, for instance, to the normal rules on public engagements in a pre-election period.

Activities on the White Cliffs project have, in any case, slowed down because of a Cabinet Office-led review of the Inland Border Facilities in Kent to ensure that modelling and costings were fully explored for any option. We delayed holding a further meeting until there was a substantive update to provide to stakeholders with.

The Department for Transport is aware of concerns raised about the level of lighting at Sevington IBF and has acted to minimise disturbance by turning off the lights in one of the contingency parking areas in the south-east of the site. The Department will be switching off the lighting in the second contingency parking area in the north-west of the site by the end of June. Additionally, we have commissioned a detailed lighting survey to better understand the issue. Once concluded, we will evaluate the findings and recommendations from the survey, and we’ll share an action plan with the immediate affected residents.

The Sevington site operates on a 24/7 basis with lighting required throughout the night to ensure the site operates safely.

There is no intention to reduce the physical size of the facility, but the business-as-usual operational capacity of the site will reduce. As part of this, the Department will be suspending the use of the two overflow areas from 1^st July. However, these areas remain available for contingency traffic management measures should they be required by the Kent Resilience Forum.

The labour shortages in the sector are longstanding.

We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions and Jobcentre Plus to ensure that jobseekers can find employment or training in the industry as quickly as possible.

We are also working with the Department for Education in supporting the logistics sector make the most of the opportunities provided through the apprenticeship levy.

There is a range of Government backed apprenticeships, delivered by training providers and manufacturers, encouraging training of technicians and mechanics to work on heavy goods vehicles.

The Government has made no specific assessment of the particular study referred to but takes all relevant information into account in its policy decisions.

We will be shortly consulting on a Net Zero Aviation Strategy which will set out the steps to reach net zero carbon emissions from aviation by 2050. The consultation will also consider non-CO₂ emissions and highlight the uncertainty that currently exists regarding the impact that non-CO₂ emissions, and contrails specifically, could have on the climate. We recognise that more work will need to be done to address this uncertainty and will continue to ensure that the latest scientific understanding of aviation non-CO₂ effects is used to inform our policy.

The availability of construction materials and the price of commodities is regularly reviewed by HS2 Ltd and DfT. Their latest assessments do not predict an impact on the cost and schedule ranges as published in the March 2021 Parliamentary Report.

The government is committed to bringing forward vital sector-wide reforms and commissioned Keith Williams to carry out the first root and branch review of the rail industry in a generation. The Williams Rail Review was in its final stages at the outbreak of Covid-19 and was then extended to ensure that its conclusions were appropriate in the light of the ongoing pandemic. The reforms are as important as ever and the government intends on publishing a White Paper with details of its plans for rail reform soon.

On 2 January 2020 we launched a single leg pricing trial on LNER routes from London to Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh. Due to the pandemic, passenger numbers fell to 5% of usual demand. Once demand recovers and further data is collected, the trial will be evaluated and those findings used to inform the development of wider plans for improving fares.

Highways England manages the Historical Railways Estate on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport and has been in touch with all the local authorities affected, to advise them of its plans, and to see if they have any use for the structures. Highways England is pausing works where local authorities have raised queries about the works, and where there is credible interest for possible re-purposing and transfer of ownership of the assets.

The Department has also asked Highways England to consult with the relevant local authorities concerning the retention, where practicable, of access for pedestrians and cyclists. Highways England continues to work with local authorities and other groups to protect routes for active travel or future rail use. Indeed, several structures are being transferred this year to assist with this.

We signalled our intention to manage an exit from the plug-in car grant in our Road to Zero Strategy, published in 2018, and transition to support through other measures. As the market has developed, we have changed our criteria to focus the plug-in car grant on vehicles, which have the greatest impact on reducing carbon emissions.

In March 2020, the Government extended the plug-in vehicle grant schemes for another three years to 2022/23. For cars, the grant rate is being reduced from £3,000 to £2,500 per car, allowing the funding to last longer and make it available to 20% more drivers, with the cap reducing from £50,000 to £35,000.  The increasing choice of new vehicles, growing demand from customers and the rapidly rising number of chargepoints, means we are today, re-focusing our vehicle grants on the more affordable zero emission vehicles – where most consumers will be looking and where taxpayers’ money will make more of a difference.

Although the market is at an early stage, demand for zero emission vans increased substantially in 2020, with increased interest from commercial fleets. We expect this trend to continue as more models are brought to market and supply increases. Since the grant scheme was launched in 2012, it has since supported over 15,000 electric vans and HGVs across the UK. There are now more than 20 models eligible for the grant and this continues to increase.

The Government has pledged a £2.8 billion package of measures to support industry and consumers to make the switch to cleaner vehicles including £1.3 billion for charging infrastructure, £582 million for vehicle grants and up to £1 billion to help secure the transformation of the automotive sector by developing and embedding the next generation of automotive technologies in the UK. We keep our policies and grant rates under review and will monitor the market closely, to ensure the grant remains an effective incentive and good value for money for the taxpayer.

The National Bus Strategy for England was published on Monday 15 March.

As set out in Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution and the Spending Review 2020 Government will invest £120 million in 2021-22 to start the delivery of the 4,000 zero emission buses announced by the Prime Minister last year.

Together with existing funding for the All-Electric Bus Town or City Government funding could support the purchase of 800 zero emission buses and the infrastructure needed to support them.

Further details on how the £120 million funding will be distributed will be announced in the spring.

The Government is committed to supporting the development and uptake of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) in the UK. SAF supply is currently rewarded under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), and £20m has been made available to support the development of SAF and HGV fuel projects under the Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition.

In addition, as set out in the Prime Minister’s Ten-Point Plan speech to Build Back Greener, the Government has announced measures designed to support SAF further; these include £15m for a new SAF industry competition, £3m to set up a SAF clearing house and a commitment to consult on a SAF blending mandate.

Work has already begun to explore how a mandate may work in practice and it is expected that a consultation will be published later this year. In addition, we are continuing to analyse the need for further demand-side measures and business models that address price risk.

The new UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) does not place any restriction on air services between points in the UK and points in the EU. Therefore, UK airlines can operate all-cargo services without limitation between the UK and the EU.

We continue to develop and deliver rail enhancement schemes under the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline, using the significant funding provided to the railway. We have confirmed that we intend to publish this in a new Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline Update and will do so as soon as possible.

We intend to publish the IRP this spring

Work on the publication is nearing completion and it is expected to be released shortly.

Government is considering the Civil Aviation Authority’s enforcement powers to strengthen consumer protections. The Competition and Markets Authority are reviewing airlines’ handling of refunds to consumers during the pandemic.

The Government is keeping under review the scope and timing of any future reforms in this policy area. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a number of challenges, and we will work with the regulator and industry to learn lessons and make changes that are pragmatic and deliverable.

As announced on 22 February 2021, as part of the roadmap for the phased lifting of restrictions in England, the Secretary of State for Transport will now lead a successor to the Global Travel Taskforce to develop a framework that can facilitate greater international travel when the time is right, while still managing the risk from imported cases and variants.

In addition, the Government is developing a strategic framework on the recovery of the aviation sector, in response to the impact presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Government has recently confirmed that the consultation on aviation tax reform, announced at Budget 2020, will be published in Spring 2021.

The 2019 consultation on the Future of Aviation took place before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to the impact presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government is developing a new forward looking strategic framework which will focus on the recovery of the aviation sector. It will explore the return to growth of the aviation sector, which will include consideration of workforce and skills, regional connectivity, noise, innovation and regulation, and consumer issues. We will also consider climate change and decarbonisation. We aim to publish this framework later this year.

The Government will publish a White Paper with details on the Government's plans for rail reform in due course.

The Government is committed to decarbonisation, including delivering a net-zero carbon railway. The case for the electrification of East West Rail is being considered, which includes consideration of full electrification along the whole route, as well as options for partial electrification using battery-electric hybrid rolling stock, or hydrogen traction.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has information on the capacity of Dover and Eurotunnel to process lorries and commercial vehicles. However, these estimates are provided by transport operators on a commercially confidential basis. DfT, therefore, does not have permission to share this information.

The safety of staff is the top priority for the Department for Transport and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

Extensive safety measures have been put in place across the DVLA’s sites, in accordance with all relevant Welsh government advice. These include reconfiguring all sites, dividing floors into zones with no mixing of staff between zones, enhanced cleaning, social distancing, and the leasing of an additional building space, which is now in use.

The DVLA has implemented all recommendations from the local environmental health team and Public Health Wales and continues to work closely with these partners.

Ministers and officials, working with other Government Departments, have engaged extensively with Eurostar since March 2020 in relation to their financial situation.

Commercially sensitive discussions are ongoing with both Eurostar and the French Government to consider all commercial financing options available to the company, which include drawing on existing support schemes where eligible and appropriate. As these discussions are ongoing, it would not be appropriate to say any more at this stage.

On 25 January 2021, the Secretary of State held a meeting with Highways England to discuss progress on the Smart Motorway Safety Evidence Stocktake and Action Plan. He has asked for a report setting out progress in delivering the 18-point Action Plan and identifying actions that can be delivered early by 12 March 2021, so any accelerated works can be rapidly put in place.

Between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2020, 686 single track miles of railway was electrified in England and Wales. The data on cost per mile for this electrification is held by Network Rail and needs to be verified, which will take some time. The Department will write to the Noble Lady with the cost per mile figure when the verification process has concluded.

As set out in the Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution and the Spending Review 2020 the Government will invest £120 million in 2021-22 to start the delivery of the 4,000 zero emission buses announced by the Prime Minister last year.

Together with existing funding for the All Electric Bus Town or City, Government funding could support the purchase of 800 zero emission buses and the infrastructure needed to support them.

The Department is considering all funding mechanisms in delivering the first of the 4,000 zero emission buses and the infrastructure needed to support them.

Further details on how funding will be distributed will be announced in the spring.

As set out in the Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution and the Spending Review 2020 the Government will invest £120 million in 2021-22 to start the delivery of the 4,000 zero emission buses announced by the Prime Minister last year.

Together with existing funding for the All Electric Bus Town or City, Government funding could support the purchase of 800 zero emission buses and the infrastructure needed to support them.

The Department is considering all funding mechanisms in delivering the first of the 4,000 zero emission buses and the infrastructure needed to support them.

Further details on how funding will be distributed will be announced in the spring.

Since the start of the pandemic, the Government has announced a range of measures available to support UK businesses, including coach operators, such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

On 5 January, the Chancellor announced a further £500 million of Additional Restrictions Grant funding for businesses that are not legally required to close, but which are nonetheless experiencing a severe impact on their business due to the national lockdown. Coach companies could be eligible for this package and are encouraged to contact their local authorities for more information.

Since September 2020, the Department for Education has provided more than £97 million for local transport authorities to procure additional, dedicated school and college transport capacity, including coaches. The Government has announced allocations for the first Spring half term, and these allocations will remain in place, with service levels adjusted based on local need. The Department for Education is talking to Local Transport Authorities about funding requirements for the rest of the Spring term, helping to inform future decisions on allocations.

The Government understands that the challenges created by the pandemic will have limited operators’ ability to invest in zero emission vehicles. The Government will continue to work closely with representatives from the coach sector to respond to ongoing issues caused by Covid-19 and, in the long-term, build towards a green recovery.

As set out in the Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution and the Spending Review 2020 the Government will invest £120 million in 2021-22 to start the delivery of the 4,000 zero emission buses announced by the Prime Minister last year.

Together with existing funding for the All Electric Bus Town or City, Government funding could support the purchase of 800 zero emission buses and the infrastructure needed to support them.

The Department is considering all funding mechanisms in delivering the first of the 4,000 zero emission buses and the infrastructure needed to support them.

Further details on how funding will be distributed will be announced in the spring.

The Government is committed to levelling up every part of this country, including the North. This is reflected in the recent Spending Review, which included funding for key transport infrastructure projects and programmes in the North. The most recent allocation of core funding to Transport for the North will enable the organisation to continue to play a valuable role in delivering its statutory functions of developing a transport strategy for the region and helping the Department with prioritisation and bringing strength of partnership among members to speak to the Government with one voice. The Department will continue to work with TfN to achieve our shared ambition of world-class transport infrastructure in the region.

TfN was allocated up to £150 million at the 2015 Spending Review to support its Integrated and Smart Travel programme, with this multi-year funding allocation expiring at the end of the current financial year. TfN has utilised around £24 million to enable the roll-out of smart ticketing across the north. We are now considering how best to deliver the rollout of smart ticketing to improve passenger services across the region. Transport funding for future years will be a matter for the next Spending Review.

The Government is committed to levelling up every part of this country, including the North. This is reflected in the recent Spending Review, which included funding for key transport infrastructure projects and programmes in the North. The most recent allocation of core funding to Transport for the North will enable the organisation to continue to play a valuable role in delivering its statutory functions of developing a transport strategy for the region and helping the Department with prioritisation and bringing strength of partnership among members to speak to the Government with one voice. The Department will continue to work with TfN to achieve our shared ambition of world-class transport infrastructure in the region.

TfN was allocated up to £150 million at the 2015 Spending Review to support its Integrated and Smart Travel programme, with this multi-year funding allocation expiring at the end of the current financial year. TfN has utilised around £24 million to enable the roll-out of smart ticketing across the north. We are now considering how best to deliver the rollout of smart ticketing to improve passenger services across the region. Transport funding for future years will be a matter for the next Spending Review.

On 8 August, the Government announced rolling funding of up to £27.3 million a week to support bus services until a time when funding is no longer needed. Government does not have defined conditions for winding down the funding, but instead will continue to work with bus operators and local authorities to review when it is appropriate to end the funding.

The Government has provided separate funding packages for Bus and Light Rail services.

On 8 August, the Government announced funding at up to £27.3 million per week to support the bus sector through the Covid-19 Bus Services Support Grant (CBSSG) Restart scheme, until a time when the funding is no longer needed.

On 22 October, the Government announced up to £67.8 million of funding for light rail services in Manchester, Tyne and Wear, Sheffield, West Midlands, Nottingham and Blackpool. This includes up to £35.4 million for light rail services for the 12 weeks from 27 October and a further indicative allocation of up to £32.4 million for the 11 weeks thereafter.

Providing separate funding packages for Bus and Light Rail services has allowed the Government to respond to the specific needs of transport operators in terms of supporting essential journeys throughout the pandemic. The allocation of CBSSG funding reflects the structure of the bus market and ensures that both Local Transport Authorities and operators have the funding they need to support up to 100% of pre-pandemic service levels, where it is safe and appropriate to do so.

The Government wants to open up international travel in a responsible and safe manner as set out in the recommendations of the Global Travel Taskforce Report, and we will continue to be guided by the science including whether COVID-19 vaccines could be used to facilitate international travel in future. We are working with partner countries on a range of issues to ensure an internationally recognised approach to enable travel.

The Government has made available an unprecedented package of financial support to all sectors of the economy. The Government has been engaging closely with Eurostar since the outbreak of Covid-19 to monitor its ongoing impact, as well as supporting the company to access available support to address Eurostar’s needs, such as the coronavirus job retention scheme. It will continue to do so.

With respect to track access charges specifically, the Government does not have the ability to adjust Eurostar’s UK track access charges, as these are set by HS1 Ltd in accordance with the HS1 regulatory framework. It has also not provided specific financial support to Eurostar to address the costs of track access. However, the Government continues to work closely with both Eurostar and HS1 to support the sustainability of the HS1 system.

Highways England is developing a nationally-targeted campaign to increase road user confidence on All Lane Running (ALR) motorways, including what to do in the event of a breakdown in a live lane. The campaign concept has been tested on a number of audiences. Stakeholders in the recovery and insurance industries have been engaged throughout the process and have helped to shape the campaign.

Highways England is now in the production phase of the campaign, which will launch in January 2021. The campaign will be seen widely across the country including on TV, social media and national radio to ensure maximum reach amongst the target audience.

The Spending Review confirmed that the Government will continue to support the railway, investing in ambitious improvements to modernise our railway.

In terms of impacts on individual schemes, it remains the case that no schemes have been cancelled nor formal investment decisions taken as a result of the Spending Review. We are currently working with Network Rail and Ministers to agree a new baseline for the portfolio that fits with the new funding envelope.

Following the outcome of discussions between the Department for Transport and Her Majesty's Treasury, we are working closely with industry to develop a solution that offers better value and convenience for those who work flexibly. We will provide further details in due course.

There have been no discussions with HMT on single leg pricing proposals since 1 July. On 2 January 2020 we launched a single leg pricing trial on LNER routes from London to Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh. Once demand recovers the trial will be evaluated and those findings used to inform the development of wider plans for improving fares.

Following the one-year Spending Review settlement, £300 million has been allocated in 2021-22 to provide any ongoing COVID-19 support that may be required, while progressing bus reforms to deliver better services for customers. More information on how this will be spent will be released in due course.

This funding is in addition to funding paid directly to Local Authorities through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) and BSOG provided directly to commercial bus operators (this totalled over £200 million in the current financial year).

Travel Concession Authorities have been given the funding to pay bus operators at pre-COVID levels for this financial year. We are working closely with Travel Concession Authorities and operators on plans for the next financial year.

Following the announcement at the end of October of further national restrictions, the Department for Transport took the decision to delay the publication of the National Bus Strategy until early 2021.

The Government is confident in the robustness of the regulatory emissions test procedures for plug-in hybrids. However, we acknowledge that real-world emissions of plug-in hybrids can vary according to usage profiles and the findings of the report by Transport and Environment are being carefully considered.

The Department for Transport’s Market Surveillance Unit conducts its own impartial testing of vehicle emissions, including of plug-in hybrid vehicles in real-world conditions, and analysis of these results will inform our view of whether any future improvements to regulatory emissions tests are required.

The Department has made no such assessment. Rail is a comparatively green mode of transport, accounting for ten per cent of all miles travelled in the UK but less than 1.4% of UK transport greenhouse gas emissions, and the railway is continuing to become greener as we decarbonise the network. At the same time, we are working hard to decarbonise our aviation sector. The Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution included funding to support aviation fuels and zero emission aviation, and earlier this year the Transport and Business Secretaries launched the Jet Zero Council to accelerate action.

During the Covid-19 response, the Government has provided unprecedented financial support that has been made available to all sectors of the economy.

On 24 November, the Department announced a financial support scheme to support eligible commercial airport and ground handling businesses by reducing cash burn, enabling businesses to unlock shareholder and lender support. Eligible businesses will be able to apply to the scheme from early 2021. Further details will be published shortly.

The Government has been engaging closely with Eurostar since the outbreak of Covid-19 earlier this year to monitor its ongoing impact and support the company to access available support to address its particular needs, where appropriate, and will continue to do so.

To help stop the spread of coronavirus and save lives it is vital that compulsory basic training (CBT) instructors respect the national restrictions in England, reduce day-to-day contact with others, and not carry out rider training until the Government’s national restrictions end on Thursday 3 December.

The DVSA estimates that 10,000 – 12,000 learner riders may be affected by the suspension of training during the current national restrictions.

The Government is committed to delivering at least 4,000 zero emission buses. Further details, including how funding will be distributed, will be announced after the Spending Review has concluded.

The haulier handbook is only one part of a wider package the Government has put in place to help and guide hauliers, which also includes the rollout of 45 Information and Advice Sites and a multimillion pound information campaign, running across the UK and Europe.

We are progressing work on the handbook at pace, and plan to publish it to coincide with this month’s full opening of the Information and Advice Sites.

The handbook explains complex procedures that hauliers and drivers will need to follow. We have worked with stakeholders to make it as clear as possible. Both Logistics UK and RHA have reviewed drafts of the handbook and tested the content with their members. This has lengthened the development time of the handbook, but it will help ensure that the document meets the needs of hauliers and drivers.

Much of the DfT element of this content has been available separately on GOV.UK for some time; as such hauliers have not had to wait for the handbook to get the DfT information.

We keep all our guidance under constant review, so we can improve it based on feedback from users.

The Haulier Handbook will be available in 14 languages including, Welsh, Romanian, Polish, Dutch, Bulgarian, French and Spanish.

This matter is an area of devolved competence and therefore the responsibility of the Welsh Government. The Department for Transport is engaging with officials in Wales and the other Devolved Administrations on traffic management and border readiness plans to share thinking and offer support as required.

The Government is committed to delivering at least 4,000 zero emission buses. As part of work to deliver on this commitment the Government is considering how best to provide support for the infrastructure associated with zero emission buses. Further details will be announced after the Spending Review has concluded.

The Department for Transport welcomes the work Shoreham Port is undertaking to deliver both air quality improvements and decarbonisation, as well as the Port’s wider work on renewable energy and adoption of ECO Port status. The efforts being made in Shoreham underline that practical steps can be taken to reduce emissions from ports today.

The Department has highlighted the need to decarbonise our ports in line with our Net Zero 2050 commitment in the 2019 Clean Maritime Plan, and we intend to build on this work for both ports and shipping in the forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan, which we expect to publish in Spring 2021.

The Department has been clear that airlines and travel agents should not deny consumers their legal right to a refund, if it is requested and this should be done in a timely manner.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) undertook a review of the refund policies of all UK airlines, as well as a number of international airlines that operate flights to and from the UK. The CAA has utilised this review to influence airlines to change their processes and practices in order to improve performance in providing refunds. The CAA’s actions have led to an improved quality of service and performance from most airlines. The CAA continues to work with carriers on the issue of refunds, while recognising the challenges businesses are facing.

The Department engages with a number of airlines on a variety of issues; however whether an airline operates a flight or not is ultimately a commercial decision.

The Government has been clear that where a flight has been cancelled consumers are entitled to a refund and that refund must be paid. The Department and the regulator are working with industry on the policy and practices of airlines with respect to consumer refunds.

The CAA has full powers to legally enforce compliance of the airline obligations to refund customers for cancelled flights. The Government will review the CAA’s powers in due course to ensure they are fit for purpose for the sector in the future.

To monitor the use of the transport system during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Department publishes ‘Transport use by mode: Great Britain’ on a weekly basis. This includes an estimate of the change in traffic on Great Britain’s roads. The table below provides (1) the daily estimates for the first two weeks of October 2020. The figures are presented as a percentage of the road traffic on the same day of the week in the first week of February 2020. (2) Equivalent figures are not available for 2019.

The Office for National Statistics publishes ‘Coronavirus and the social impacts on Great Britain’ on a weekly basis. The second table below presents the statistics on the percentage of working adults by location of work for the first weeks of October 2020.

Table A: Road traffic use as a percentage of the equivalent day in the first week of February 2020: Great Britain¹

Source: DfT Transport use by mode, Great Britain

1. Although daily data is being reported, direct comparisons of change should not be made between weekdays and weekends/bank holidays. For road traffic there is a different profile on weekend days compared to weekdays.

Table B: Proportion of working adults¹ in Great Britain by location of work

Source: ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, Great Britain

1. Base population for percentage: working adults. The working adult population is those that said they had a paid job, either as an employee or self-employed; or they did any casual work for payment; or they did any unpaid or voluntary work in the previous week.

2. Caution should be used when interpreting the furlough response categories as this is not a labour force survey. Official estimates on the levels of furloughing are available in 'Coronavirus and the latest indicators for the UK economy and society'.

3. The main reasons for respondents neither working from home nor travelling to work (other) in the past 7 days include temporary closure of business or workplace, on annual leave or sick leave, variable hours, being on maternity or paternity leave or being unable to work because of caring responsibilities.

4. Percentages may not sum to 100 because of rounding.

In 2016 the Government set ambitions through the Transport Infrastructure Skills Strategy to increase apprenticeships in road and rail client bodies to help address skills shortages in the transport sector and ensure that the transport sector has the capacity and capability to deliver planned investment. The target to create 30000 apprenticeships was deliberately set at an ambitious level to encourage bold action from industry. Whilst the target was not met, significant progress has been made during this time to embed apprenticeships as the recognised way of getting skilled individuals into the transport industry. It is a mark of the growing recognition for apprenticeships that the number of apprenticeships has grown steadily since this target was set.

The Department is committed to ensuring that the transport industry continues to support the creation of high quality apprenticeships, and in the recent Strategic Transport Apprenticeship Taskforce (STAT) annual report, we committed to updating the Transport Infrastructure Skills Strategy in early 2021 to reflect current challenges and priorities. We recognise that this is more important than ever in this challenging economic climate.

We will continue to work with the Department for Education to ensure that its Adult Education policy and FE reform proposals reflect the needs of the transport industry, and that employers are able to continue to take on apprentices to deliver our ambitious plans to build the transport infrastructure of the future.

We will also support transport employers to take advantage of broader training and employment offers, particularly those that support young people into employment opportunities that may lead to apprenticeships, such as DWP’s Kickstart scheme.

We will continue to work with industry partners on schemes such as Engineering UK’s Code of Practice, to ensure that transport apprenticeships and careers are available and accessible to people from a diverse range of backgrounds.

We are exploring what more can be done through contractual and procurement levers to encourage the supply chain to continue to invest in apprentices and other skills and training initiatives.

The Department for Transport (DfT) consists of a Central Department and 4 Executive Agencies.

The DfT as a whole has 1,860 vehicles in total consisting of:

• 156 ultra low emission vehicles (ULEV) of which:

o 22 are Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV); and

o 134 are plug in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) or mild hybrid;

• 43 petrol vehicles;
• 1,326 diesel vehicles; and
• 335 motorbikes/ specialist LCV.

Please see the table below for the full breakdown of vehicles by Agency and type (please note the Government Car Service operates under the central department).

The Mayor of London is responsible for air quality in the capital and has reserve powers under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 to reflect this.

The Mayor carries out monitoring of air quality in London and London has its own air quality monitoring network (the London Air Quality Network) which is run by Imperial College and contains more detailed monitoring than any carried out at a national level.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra) national air quality monitoring network provides continuous measurements of a range of pollutants across the UK. This network includes five roadside sites in London and the data is made available online on Defra’s UK-Air website.

We know that air pollution is a major public health risk and poses the single greatest environmental risk to human health, which my Department is addressing through its Clean Air Strategy and the UK plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations.

Defra have not carried out any specific assessment on the health impacts of air quality in London over the last 3 months.

The Government agreed a further finance package for TfL of up to £1.7bn to ensure the continuation of essential services.

This deal is clear that while the national tax payer will continue to fund free travel to school for children who qualify under national legislation, if the Mayor wishes to maintain free travel for all under 18’s, over and above the English baseline, he must raise the money to pay for this.

The Government is committed to bringing forward vital sector-wide reforms and commissioned Keith Williams to carry out the first root and branch review of the rail industry in a generation. The Review was in its final stages at the outbreak of COVID-19. The Government views the purpose of the reforms as important as ever, but further work needs to be done now to reflect the impact of COVID-19 on the sector and we continue to examine a range of options to reform the railways. The Government will publish a White Paper with details on the Government's plans for rail reform once the course of the pandemic becomes clearer.

During the initial outbreak of COVID-19, training of new drivers was halted. Subsequently, train driver training agreements have been made with the train drivers’ trade union ASLEF and the train operating companies to enable training to re-start in a COVID secure way. This agreement covers both in-cab practical training of new drivers and the on-going training of existing drivers for route and traction control training purposes. The Department is not directly involved in assessing these procedures at it is a matter for the employers and the recognised trade unions to discuss and agree.

The Government and the rail industry revised the train timetable to ensure passengers received a regular and reliable service throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We took early action to stabilise the industry, which enabled the continued operation of critical passenger and freight services. From 7 September, the railway has been operating at 91 per cent of its pre-pandemic capacity, providing frequent and reliable trains for passengers. Rail operators continue to assess local demand regularly and deliver the services passengers need. We will continue to work closely with industry to make sure we strike the right balance between running the maximum levels of service that can be resourced reliably and protecting taxpayers’ best interests.

The conditions that apply to refunds requested for cancelled or delayed train journeys have not changed and continue to be as described in the National Rail Conditions of Travel (NRCoT), which sets out the general terms and conditions for rail tickets sold in Great Britain. The NRCoT is a rail industry owned document but any changes must be approved by the Secretary of State.

As per condition 30.1 of the NRCoT, if a train on which a passenger is scheduled to travel is cancelled, delayed, or the reservation will not be honoured, and they decide not to travel, they may return the unused ticket to the original retailer or train company from whom it was purchased, where they will be given a full refund with no administration fee being charged.

‘UK Aviation Forecasts 2017’ is still our latest forecast. Its aim is to provide a strategic longer-term, instead of short-term, view on demand growth over the next few decades.

The current level of uncertainty makes the production of a new long-term forecast unfeasible at present. For the shorter term, we are proactivity monitoring the current/evolving situation and engaging regularly with the industry on their forecasts and will consider updates to the long term model when it is practical to do so.

Observed UK aviation passenger and Air Transport Movement demand is based primarily on data from the Civil Aviation Authority. The forecast of this demand is determined by key drivers, such as GDP and fares, and the estimated relationships between such drivers and passenger demand. Detailed information can be found in the published UK Aviation Forecasts 2017 on DfT’s website.

The operation of flights is a commercial decision for individual airlines and the department does not monitor this. Where a consumer has cancelled a booking, their right to a refund will depend on the contract in place with the airline or travel provider. The Government keeps consumer rights under constant review and has encouraged industry to act fairly, particularly during this current crisis.

Government has considered the recommendations of the Airline Insolvency Review to identify the reforms needed to ensure a strong level of consumer protection and value for money for the taxpayer.

The Government is also mindful of the need to consider the challenges faced by the aviation sector as a result of COVID-19. We are keeping under review the scope and timing of any future reforms in this policy area.

The aviation sector is a private industry and these are commercial decisions for individual airlines. There are currently no specific requirements for all travel companies to have a trust account in place for refunds.

The CAA has full powers to legally enforce compliance of the airline obligations to refund customers for cancelled flights. HMG will review the CAA powers in due course to ensure they are fit for purpose for the sector in the future.

The Department has been clear that airlines and travel agents should not deny consumers their legal right to a refund, if it is requested and this should be done in a timely manner. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) undertook a review of the refund policies of all UK airlines, as well as a number of international airlines that operate flights to and from the UK. The CAA has utilised this review to influence airlines to change their processes and practices in order to improve performance in providing refunds. The CAA’s actions have led to an improved quality of service and performance from most airlines. The CAA continues to work with carriers to drive down waiting times, but balancing the support businesses need during this unprecedented situation.

Hospitality venues in airports, maritime ports, the Eurotunnel terminal, Motorway Service Areas and catering facilities onboard transport services are exempt from the 22:00-05:00 hospitality closure restriction. These venues, however, cannot sell alcohol during this curfew period, but alcohol can continue to be sold to passengers seated on an aircraft at any time. Additional restrictions apply to hospitality venues in areas where the Local COVID Alert Level is Very High. The aforementioned venues are not exempt from these restrictions.

The Department recognises that Railcard holders have been unable to use their cards while travel restrictions were in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We took immediate action at the outbreak of the pandemic to support passengers and the rail industry by keeping the services people depend on running, protecting jobs, delivering refunds and removing charges for cancellations. To date, over £480m has been refunded for people whose travel plans unexpectedly changed due to the pandemic. Fares revenues fell to less than 5% of pre-Covid levels in the Spring and are still at just 30% of previous levels. Looking to the post-COVID-19 recovery, we need to build a rail network which is fit for the future. In this context we must ensure the demands placed on taxpayers are fair and balanced and that Government focuses its investment on maintaining services, to enable social distancing and support our economic recovery. I recognise that the emergency situation has meant that railcard holders have not been able to benefit to the fullest extent over recent months. However, many passengers are able to recover the cost of their railcard in a single trip. Having carefully considered the situation, we can confirm that railcards will remain non-refundable and will not be extended.

The specific details and the financial value of each aspect of the £343 million railways package for Wales, announced on 21 August, is as follows:

The Government recognises the impact of Flybe’s collapse and the subsequent impact of COVID-19 on regional airports, regional economies and connectivity across the UK.

The Government remains committed to supporting regional connectivity across all transport modes, as well as the importance of maintaining a thriving competitive aviation sector in the UK to deliver connectivity. Regional air connectivity will form a key strand of our aviation recovery plan which we aim to publish this Autumn.

On the Strategic Road Network (SRN) which is managed by Highways England, there is one structure which has a signed weight restriction, but this applies only to lanes 2 and 3. Lane 1 is unrestricted for vehicles complying with the Construction and Use Regulations. Highways England also has responsibility for most road carrying bridges crossing the SRN. Of these bridges, 84 have been identified as currently having a signed weight restriction. On the local highway network, it is a matter for each local highway authority to assess its bridge stock and the Department does not hold this information.

Between 2015/16 and 2019/20, the Department allocated £4,825 million by formula to local authorities in England, outside London, for the maintenance of their entire local road network, including bridges. Over the same period, the Department also allocated £75.4 million to local authorities through the highways maintenance challenge fund for 20 bridge maintenance projects. In addition, £892.7 million was spent on bridge repairs on the SRN.

The spend in each year is shown in the table below:

In 2020/21, the Department is allocating £876 million by formula to local authorities in England, outside London, for the maintenance of their entire local road network including bridges. During 2020/21, the Department has also allocated £31.9 million through the Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund to nine bridge maintenance projects.

Future funding decisions for local highways maintenance, including bridges, will be made as part of the current Spending Review.

There is also a proposed bridge maintenance project for the Tame Valley Viaduct in Birmingham in the local authority Majors scheme pipeline, a £93.5 million scheme. This is subject to full approval and the forecast funding profile is detailed in the table below:

£millions

The planned funding for bridge repairs on the SRN, for the current financial year and the four remaining years of the current Road Investment Strategy period is shown in the table below. Funding levels for 2025/26 will be subject to future Road Investment Strategies.

£millions

On the Strategic Road Network (SRN) which is managed by Highways England, there is one structure which has a signed weight restriction, but this applies only to lanes 2 and 3. Lane 1 is unrestricted for vehicles complying with the Construction and Use Regulations. Highways England also has responsibility for most road carrying bridges crossing the SRN. Of these bridges, 84 have been identified as currently having a signed weight restriction. On the local highway network, it is a matter for each local highway authority to assess its bridge stock and the Department does not hold this information.

Between 2015/16 and 2019/20, the Department allocated £4,825 million by formula to local authorities in England, outside London, for the maintenance of their entire local road network, including bridges. Over the same period, the Department also allocated £75.4 million to local authorities through the highways maintenance challenge fund for 20 bridge maintenance projects. In addition, £892.7 million was spent on bridge repairs on the SRN.

The spend in each year is shown in the table below:

In 2020/21, the Department is allocating £876 million by formula to local authorities in England, outside London, for the maintenance of their entire local road network including bridges. During 2020/21, the Department has also allocated £31.9 million through the Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund to nine bridge maintenance projects.

Future funding decisions for local highways maintenance, including bridges, will be made as part of the current Spending Review.

There is also a proposed bridge maintenance project for the Tame Valley Viaduct in Birmingham in the local authority Majors scheme pipeline, a £93.5 million scheme. This is subject to full approval and the forecast funding profile is detailed in the table below:

£millions

The planned funding for bridge repairs on the SRN, for the current financial year and the four remaining years of the current Road Investment Strategy period is shown in the table below. Funding levels for 2025/26 will be subject to future Road Investment Strategies.

£millions

On the Strategic Road Network (SRN) which is managed by Highways England, there is one structure which has a signed weight restriction, but this applies only to lanes 2 and 3. Lane 1 is unrestricted for vehicles complying with the Construction and Use Regulations. Highways England also has responsibility for most road carrying bridges crossing the SRN. Of these bridges, 84 have been identified as currently having a signed weight restriction. On the local highway network, it is a matter for each local highway authority to assess its bridge stock and the Department does not hold this information.

Between 2015/16 and 2019/20, the Department allocated £4,825 million by formula to local authorities in England, outside London, for the maintenance of their entire local road network, including bridges. Over the same period, the Department also allocated £75.4 million to local authorities through the highways maintenance challenge fund for 20 bridge maintenance projects. In addition, £892.7 million was spent on bridge repairs on the SRN.

The spend in each year is shown in the table below:

In 2020/21, the Department is allocating £876 million by formula to local authorities in England, outside London, for the maintenance of their entire local road network including bridges. During 2020/21, the Department has also allocated £31.9 million through the Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund to nine bridge maintenance projects.

Future funding decisions for local highways maintenance, including bridges, will be made as part of the current Spending Review.

There is also a proposed bridge maintenance project for the Tame Valley Viaduct in Birmingham in the local authority Majors scheme pipeline, a £93.5 million scheme. This is subject to full approval and the forecast funding profile is detailed in the table below:

£millions

The planned funding for bridge repairs on the SRN, for the current financial year and the four remaining years of the current Road Investment Strategy period is shown in the table below. Funding levels for 2025/26 will be subject to future Road Investment Strategies.

£millions

The Department has not made an assessment of the risks of travel by public transport or car. The Department publishes statistics on casualty numbers and rates by modes of travel in the annual Transport Statistics Great Britain publication. Comparing risks between transport modes is not straightforward as the types of journeys people make with each mode are different, so a simple comparison of casualty numbers or rate (casualties per billion passenger miles) may not be a fair one.

Our current advice on the use of public transport is available in our guidance on gov.uk. We advise people to help control coronavirus and travel safely by walking and cycling, if they can. Where this is not possible, they should use public transport or drive. We also advise passengers to observe social contact rules, wash or sanitise their hands regularly, maintain social distancing and avoid the busiest routes and times.

On 14 September, the European Commission published their intention to extend the current airport slot waiver for the 2020/2021 winter season, until 27 March 2021.

The Government wants to make sure that Londoners can move around the capital easily, on public transport, through active travel and on our roads. As part of that, the Government want to see the Hammersmith Bridge opened as soon as safely possible, so that – at a minimum – people can cycle and walk across the bridge and in time return the bridge to full use.

To help find a speedy resolution to the situation, the Government has established a Taskforce. This Taskforce includes representatives from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, to help determine the most appropriate next steps.

The Government has supported operators in establishing contingency measures, now in place, to secure the continuation of critical services through the Channel Tunnel regardless of the outcome of negotiations between the UK and the EU.

As agreed by the UK and the EU as part of the Political Declaration in October 2019, the Government is engaging with France to establish bilateral agreements to further support the continuation of services through the Channel Tunnel and to provide long term certainty for operators. The Government has been clear, however, that any bilateral agreements must fully respect the UK’s status as an independent sovereign nation and this will guide our approach to negotiations.

Bilateral discussions between UK and French officials are expected to continue over the coming months and the Government will provide updates on these in due course.

Crossrail Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London.

In August 2018, Crossrail Limited (CRL) announced a delay to the opening of the Elizabeth line which was originally due to open in December 2018, stating that services would launch in autumn 2019. CRL stated that the reasons for this delay was due to more time being needed by contractors to complete fit-out activity in the central tunnels and the development of railway systems software, and that testing had started but further time was required to complete the full range of integrated tests.

In April 2019, CRL announced their revised schedule which identified a six-month window for delivery of the central section, with a midpoint at the end of 2020. CRL stated that the reasons for this delay was due to the complexity of the remaining work and the level of risk and uncertainty remaining in the development and testing of the train and signalling systems.

In November 2019, CRL announced that the Elizabeth line would open “as soon as practically possible in 2021” stating that further time was needed to complete software development for the signalling and train systems and the safety approvals process for the railway.

In January 2020, CRL announced that it planned to open the central section of the railway in summer 2021 and the full Elizabeth line by mid-2022, citing challenges with completing the software development and the safety assurance processes preventing it from meeting its previously planned opening window.

In August 2020, CRL announced that the central section between Paddington and Abbey Wood would not be ready to open until the first half of 2022 and that following the opening of the central section, full services across the Elizabeth line from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east will be introduced. CRL stated that the schedule delay was due to lower than planned productivity in the final completion and handover of the shafts and portals, revisions to the schedule assumptions for the completion of the new stations and the impacts of Covid-19 had placed significant constraints on ongoing work and productivity due to the reduced numbers that can work on site to meet strict social distancing requirements.

In December 2018, the Government approved a £2.15bn funding package whereby the Department for Transport would provide a loan of £1.3bn to the Greater London Authority (GLA) and a loan of £750m to Transport for London (TfL) to finance the remaining costs of the project. The GLA also provided a £100m cash contribution.

In August 2020, CRL announced that the cost to complete the Crossrail project could be up to £1.1bn above the funding package agreed in December 2018.

The Regulations which established Transport for the North as a statutory transport body in 2018 require them to provide advice to the Secretary of State about the exercise of transport functions in its area. In addition, they are required to prepare a transport strategy, may co-ordinate transport activity across the area and make further proposals to the Secretary of State on their role and functions.

Transport for the North delivered its Strategic Transport Plan for the North in February 2019. They have provided advice to the Secretary of State on a range of transport matters, including the Roads Investment Strategy, Major Route Network priorities and the Transpennine Route Upgrade.

The Department momentarily paused all non-essential official-led engagement with the aviation sector ahead of Parliament returning, taking the opportunity to review how we engage with industry, both in terms of sharing information and for giving industry the opportunity to feedback as policy develops. Engagement has now restarted, with the Secretary of State having personally spoken to numerous stakeholders.

A revised Expert Steering Group, as well as other forums for engagement have now resumed and we remain committed to an open dialogue with the sector.

The public consultation for the legalisation of skywriting and skytyping aerial activities took place between 16 and 29 March 2020. The consultation document was published online at GOV.UK and respondents could submit their views via email or post to the Department for Transport. The Department received a total of 93 responses from members of the public, trade bodies, registered companies, and other respondents. 20% of the responses supported the legalisation of skytyping and skywriting.

The Department acknowledges some of the concerns raised on the environmental impacts but believes on balance these impacts should be minimal or can be mitigated against – as set out in the consultation document. Skytyping and skywriting activities can only take place in very specific zero wind and fine weather conditions. As such, there is not expected to be a significant volume of these activities, so any impact on emissions is deemed to be minimal.

As part of its net zero ambition, the Government is supporting the development of sustainable aviation fuels and other environmentally friendly technology.

A statutory instrument was laid on 17 April 2020 amending the Civil Aviation (Aerial Advertising) Regulations 1995, which concluded in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords on 11 June 2020. Skytyping recently featured as part of the VE 75 commemorations.

As the Secretary of State set out in the House on 7 September, there is a tension between bringing in to force regulations at pace which are designed to protect the health of the public and allowing travellers and operators the chance to consider incoming regulations. Our current approach, a Thursday announcement followed by the regulations coming into force on a Saturday tries to straddle those concerns. It is also an approach that has been agreed across the four nations, and takes on board operational considerations at the border. However, we reserve the right to bring regulations in to force quicker if their strong public health rationale to do so.

As we have consistently made clear, COVID-19 has profoundly changed the nature of international travel, and those who chose to travel should do so with their eyes open. It is right that we prioritise the health of the public.

The public consultation for the legalisation of skywriting and skytyping aerial activities took place between 16 and 29 March 2020. The consultation document was published online at GOV.UK and respondents could submit their views via email or post to the Department for Transport. The Department received a total of 93 responses from members of the public, trade bodies, registered companies, and other respondents. 20% of the responses supported the legalisation of skytyping and skywriting.

The Department acknowledges some of the concerns raised on the environmental impacts but believes on balance these impacts should be minimal or can be mitigated against – as set out in the consultation document. Skytyping and skywriting activities can only take place in very specific zero wind and fine weather conditions. As such, there is not expected to be a significant volume of these activities, so any impact on emissions is deemed to be minimal.

As part of its net zero ambition, the Government is supporting the development of sustainable aviation fuels and other environmentally friendly technology.

A statutory instrument was laid on 17 April 2020 amending the Civil Aviation (Aerial Advertising) Regulations 1995, which concluded in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords on 11 June 2020. Skytyping recently featured as part of the VE 75 commemorations.

We have been clear that the safety of transport workers is a top priority, and employers must take appropriate measures to protect all staff in line with the recommendations we have set out in the Safer Transport guidance, to ensure their workplaces are Covid-19 secure. This includes making sensible workplace adjustments, for example introducing screens, providing hand sanitiser, and reducing capacity onboard services in line with social distancing requirements.

Officials are engaging with HMT on the future of emergency funding for the bus and light rail sectors, as a matter of the highest priority. The department will be in contact with operators as soon as we are in a position to update them.

The Department continues to work closely with transport authorities and operators to understand the risks and ongoing issues in the bus and coach industry and how these can be addressed, so that public transport services can adapt to any ‘new normal’ that emerges from the COVID-19 outbreak and work towards a sustainable long-term recovery.

The Department is engaging with HMT on the future of emergency funding for the bus and light rail sectors as a matter of the highest priority. My department will be in contact with operators as soon as we are in a position to update them.

We are continuing to engage with the coach sector to understand what the ongoing risks and issues are, and how these could be addressed.

The “A27 East of Lewes Off-line Study” represents an early stage of work to evaluate the need or otherwise for an enhancement of the A27 off the existing line of route. The study uses three different alignments for modelling purposes only. Development of specific route options and a detailed assessment of their benefits and costs, including environmental impacts, would follow at a later stage of work.

The return of pupils to education settings in September will be a considerable challenge for public transport capacity while maintaining social distancing. The Department is working with the Department for Education as a matter of urgency to explore options to increase capacity to ensure students can get to school or college in September.

Solutions must be locally-led with authorities working closely with transport operators, and the Government will do what we can to support local authorities. The Government is therefore supporting local authorities with travel demand management, and we will continue to provide financial support for bus services in September in order to boost the amount of local transport capacity available.

The Department for Transport is aware of the difference between the maximum age for commercial pilots and the state pension age, and of the financial impact this could have on some people. The government is determined to ensure equal employment opportunities are available to all, regardless of age. The Department is working with the CAA to explore whether there is a safety case for increasing the maximum age for commercial pilots and is also considering the approach that other regulators are taking in Europe on this issue.

The Department for Transport is aware of the difference between the maximum age for commercial pilots and the state pension age, and of the financial impact this could have on some people. The Government is determined to ensure equal employment opportunities are available to all, regardless of age. The Department is working with the CAA to explore whether there is a safety case for increasing the maximum age for commercial pilots and is also considering the approach that other regulators are taking in Europe on this issue.

The Department continues to work closely with transport authorities and operators to understand the risks and ongoing issues in the bus and coach industry and how these can be addressed, so that public transport services can adapt to any ‘new normal’ that emerges from the COVID-19 outbreak and work towards a sustainable long-term recovery.

Government’s new spending to date due to COVID-19 is £3.473 billion. This includes funding brought forward from 2020-21. £2.8 billion has been spent on rail franchised operators, £84 million on buses outside London and £42 million on walking and cycling. Light rail has been allocated £29 million. It is important to note that the spend on buses, walking and cycling only reflects spend to date, and significant further sums will be spent as bus services continue to ramp up and local authorities roll out active travel schemes.

Transport for London has received £547 million. Other funding, including roads and coaches, has come from existing budgets. Government does not hold data for COVID-19 funding per passenger.

The Department for Transport launched a campaign in May, with the objective of providing clear communications to avoid public transport unless the journey is essential and no other option (i.e. walking, cycling or driving) is available. The Department worked with operators across the transport network who amplified the message. The cost of the May and June activity, which had a primary message advising people to avoid to public transport, was £245k. This activity alone had reached more than 15 million people by 3 July 2020.

At the start of the campaign, the 2m social distancing rule meant public transport was running at 10% of capacity. To enable key workers to access the network safely, the department encouraged those who could avoid travel altogether, or use an alternative mode, to do so. Overcrowding has remained a risk as lockdown restrictions have been lifted and sectors have reopened, so managing demand to protect those who cannot work from home or travel in another way has remained a priority. The campaign to date has helped to prevent such overcrowding by providing clear and consistent advice to the public.

However, ‘avoid travel’ was just one message in a suite communicated to the public, and shared with our partners to disseminate. The campaign has also informed passengers about the steps they can take to protect themselves and others should they need to use the network. Materials and messages have been updated and added regularly to reflect the evolving policy and guidance positions, including, for example, the move to mandatory use of face coverings.

The campaign is therefore not clearly split between advising people to avoid public transport and encouraging them to resume using it. It has, and will continue to, communicate a range of messages to different audiences and will shift over time to reflect the latest advice to the public. Our priority must be the safety of passengers, but when we are able to welcome more people back to the network, we will use the same channels and mechanisms utilised to date. This is an ongoing issue and further spending on communications will be a part of that.

Transport was also a key element of the Stay Alert campaign run by Cabinet Office, with an estimated £2.35 million invested up to 12 July 2020, accounting for 19% of Stay Alert investment. Cabinet Office have worked closely with stakeholders such as TfL who have provided free access to poster sites and Network Rail who have provided 30,000 48 sheet and 96 sheet advertising slots per week.

Our safer transport guidance and safer aviation guidance provide advice to help transport organisations and the aviation industry manage the risks of coronavirus. This includes suggested measures for how they can provide safer workplaces and services for workers and passengers, including mitigations where social distancing is not possible or more difficult to manage. The measures suggested are intended as a guide, not as a prescriptive set of requirements. Transport organisations and the aviation industry will need to carry out their own risk assessments.

Both sets of guidance have been developed in collaboration with industry, Public Health England, and relevant health and safety regulators. The risk control measures suggested in both reflect the nature of the settings for which they are intended. Aviation settings differ in several key ways from buses and other modes of public transport, particularly the higher level of control inherent in aviation settings. In comparison, bus and other land transport services operate in less controlled environments with a greater degree of passenger autonomy.

Within the cruise sector we have repatriated 1,209 British national seafarers since 16 April. There are 471 British nationals remaining on cruise vessels globally but these are essential staff.

We continue to work with industry and the unions to get better overall data for British seafarers on other types of vessels.

Highways England’s “A27 East of Lewes Off-line Study” strategic outline business case, published in response to a Freedom of Information request represents the early work done to date to consider a new route for the A27 between Lewes and Polegate. The second Road Investment Strategy, published in March, commissioned Highways England to develop proposals for this route for possible delivery after 2025. This work is expected to explore potential options and their benefits and costs, including environmental impacts, as appropriate.

Highways England’s “A27 East of Lewes Off-line Study” strategic outline business case, published in response to a Freedom of Information request represents the early work done to date to consider a new route for the A27 between Lewes and Polegate. The second Road Investment Strategy, published in March, commissioned Highways England to develop proposals for this route for possible delivery after 2025. This work is expected to explore potential options and their benefits and costs, including environmental impacts, as appropriate.

We do not expect stringent enforcement immediately from 15 June and have seen high levels of compliance since the launch. We expect to see a gradual ramp-up of enforcement, supported by a significant Government communications campaign over the coming months.

It will be up to operators to decide the best way to enforce these changes, and we are working closely with them to help implement their plans. We are also working closely with Transport for London and the police, including the British Transport Police, are able to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice as set out in the Regulations.