Baroness Randerson

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.

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.

The Government meets regularly with representatives from the Road Haulage Association to discuss a number of issues of importance to the logistics sector, at both official and Ministerial level.

DfT is committed to ensuring that every transport worker who requires testing has access. We are engaging closely with stakeholders and DHSC to ensure that a robust testing process is in place for transport workers, whilst recognising that priority needs to be given to patient care, front-line healthcare staff and social care workers. COVID-19 antigen testing is currently available through home delivery kits, regional test sites, satellite sites and mobile testing centres throughout the country.

The PACTS report was an evaluation of academic work to establish if enforcement had an impact on road casualty numbers.

In the Refreshed Road Safety Statement in July 2019 we announced the most comprehensive review of roads policing and this reflects our commitment to continuing to reduce the numbers of people killed and seriously injured on our roads.

We will also shortly be launching a Call for Evidence to help us further investigate the link between enforcement, collisions, congestion and crime – helping make our roads safer for everyone.

On 23 May, we announced a further £254 million in funding for buses as part of the Government’s efforts to help increase bus services as quickly as possible. This will allow people travelling to hospitals, supermarkets or their place of work to get to their destination safely and quickly, whilst helping ensure social distancing can be observed. Bus operators?who hold a permit under section 22 of?the Transport Act 1985 are eligible for this new funding.

Operators will be able to claim for reasonable personal protective equipment and safe operation costs, such as hand sanitiser, cleaning vehicles, and installing barriers and screens.

The Department is giving thought to the role these powers could play in helping councils to deliver their transport recovery plans. No decisions have yet been taken.

The Government recognises that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a fundamental change in working patterns and that this could have long-term effects on commuter behaviour. As we move from lockdown to recovery, it is important that we get the balance right in the short and medium term between managing demand and ensuring that we provide better value for money for passengers going forward. The Department is working with industry to explore already available options for flexible commuters and what steps could be taken quickly to make these as useful and convenient for passengers as possible.

The Department for Transport has engaged regularly with cruise, ports and ferry stakeholders on the requirement to provide information to international passengers, sharing guidance and responding to queries. Throughout the Covid-19 outbreak, the Maritime Minister has engaged with the shipping, ports and cruise sector on fortnightly calls on a range of topics including lockdown, PPE and border measures which include the 14-day quarantine. Following the Home Secretary’s announcement, the Department has worked with the Home Office and engaged through the cross-modal and modal-specific Border Specific Implementation Group with associations and operators. An exemption has been secured for seafarers (defined in section 313 of the Merchant Shipping Act) to the quarantine element of the proposed measures. In addition, officials have engaged on border measures, including the proposed quarantine measures, restart and recovery discussions with stakeholders and additionally on daily calls with Short Straits operators.

The Department has similarly engaged with the aviation sector on this issue and will continue to do so in the coming weeks. This includes working with senior representatives from the aviation industry as part of the Aviation Restart and Recovery Expert Steering Group. This group serves as the working group for the International Aviation Taskforce – one of five sectoral taskforces announced by the Government on 13 May to support the development of guidelines for safely reopening businesses. The Aviation Minister has also carried out fortnightly calls with the sector on a range of topics, as well as bilateral conversations.

Her Majesty’s Government is legally prevented from intervening in the slot allocation process. However, we welcome the response taken by the European Commission and the UK’s independent slot coordinator to temporarily relax the 80:20 slot usage rules, and will continue to engage across the sector on this matter. We want airport landing and take-off slots to be used as efficiently as possible for the benefit of UK consumers and are carefully considering the role of the slot system in rebuilding a competitive aviation sector.

We are monitoring train operators’ processing times closely to ensure that refunds are paid as quickly as possible. Train operators have allocated additional resources to process the unprecedented number of refund requests, so the majority are being paid within the industry standard processing time of one month. We have asked train operators to provide accurate estimates on their websites of the expected claim processing time, so passengers know when they will receive their refund and are reassured that the time taken to process their claim will not affect the amount refunded.

The Department has no plans to put in place a system where a refund that is due is offset against the cost of purchasing a new season ticket; however since 17 March over 120,000 season ticket holders have received refunds totalling over £190 million in response to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

In accordance with section 195(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1988, the Department consulted with a selection of representative organisations including the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and the Independent Garage Association. The analysis of the effect of these regulations is ongoing.

The Department for Transport is in regular conversation with UK airlines and wider membership bodies. We are working closely with the sector, the regulator and consumer groups to help ensure airlines deliver on their commitments.

The Government recognises the challenges businesses are experiencing regarding refunds for cancelled holidays and flights. Airlines are working hard to answer the high call volumes and to process large volumes of refunds.

The Government appreciates the frustration consumers may be experiencing. We have been clear that where a consumer has asked for a refund, that refund must be paid.

E-scooter trials will include only rental scooters. This allows trials to take place in a controlled manner while we assess their safety and other impacts. There are a wide range of e-scooters available, built to differing standards. Limiting trials to rental scooters ensures that only approved scooters are used, and that they can meet legal requirements. It will also improve the quality of the evidence we gather, that will inform whether e-scooters should be fully legalised. We are working with local authorities to enable trials to begin soon.

The aviation sector is important to the UK economy and the Government recognises the challenging times it is facing as a result of COVID-19.

The Department for Transport has kept an open dialogue with the aviation sector and put in place regular structured engagement on both Ministerial and official level. Recent discussions have included the impact of the proposed 14 day quarantine period. In addition, the International Aviation Taskforce has been established which aims to:

• ensure that COVID-19 secure guidelines are developed in line with the phased approach and public health directions, building on the existing guidance and providing intelligence and sector-specific expert input;

• agree and ensure alignment of all relevant sectoral guidance; and

• provide key sector stakeholders direct access to Ministers to shape the guidance.

Our transport systems are critical to support the restart of the wider economy and we continue to work closely with the aviation sector on these restart plans and the longer-term recovery of the sector.

The department has been working closely with transport operators and local partners to explore options for restoring public transport services. Is it clear that restoring services is challenging, for example due to the need to bring drivers out of furlough and equipment back online, and will therefore take time. We are working to ensure that services are ramped up over the coming weeks and are grateful for the work of transport workers and for their support.

The guidance we published for the travelling public is clear that journeys on public transport should only be made if they are essential, and then only if walking, cycling or driving is not an option. Peak times should be avoided if at all possible – we look to employers to support their staff to travel outside the peaks.

The Department for Transport is working with airlines, airports and unions to understand the impact that COVID-19 is having on the sector and its workers.

The Chancellor has set out unprecedented support for workers of airline companies. Measures such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme are being used across the aviation industry to protect the sector against the Covid-19 economic crisis.

These measures, alongside other Government support measures such as Coronavirus Large Business Loan Interruption Scheme and the CCFF, are helping airlines of all sizes get through this crisis and beyond. The Chancellor has noted that under exceptional circumstances bespoke support could be provided to airlines.

We have been clear the safety of transport workers must remain a top priority, and employers must protect their staff in line with Public Health England advice. On the 12 May, the Government published guidance for transport operators to help keep their staff safe, including how social distancing rules should be interpreted to do this. This guidance will be kept up-to-date as restrictions on travel change.

In the tragic circumstances where workers die with Covid-19, our thoughts are with their families and loved ones and employers should ensure they are appropriately recognised. The Government is working with the industry to ensure that all workers and the travelling public stay safe during this very difficult time.

We have been clear the safety of transport workers must remain a top priority, and employers must protect their staff in line with Public Health England advice. On the 12 May, the Government published guidance for transport operators to help keep their staff safe, including how social distancing rules should be interpreted to do this. This guidance will be kept up-to-date as restrictions on travel change.

In the tragic circumstances where workers die with Covid-19, our thoughts are with their families and loved ones and employers should ensure they are appropriately recognised. The Government is working with the industry to ensure that all workers and the travelling public stay safe during this very difficult time.

The Government recognises that walking and cycling have great potential as a means of enabling people to move around safely while maintaining social distancing. Active travel can help to relieve pressures on public transport as well as delivering health benefits and reducing motor-vehicle congestion.

On 9 May, the Government announced a £2bn package of funding for cycling and walking. This includes £250m which will encourage cycling to work and school through the provision of pop-up bike lanes with protected space for cycling, safer junctions as well as vouchers for cycle repairs and greater provision for bike fixing facilities. Further details on the allocation of this funding will be announced in due course.

This will build on the Government’s investment of almost £3 million into the Walk to School programme since 2015 which aims to increase the number of children walking to school. For the schools involved in this programme in 2017-18, walking to school rates increased across all schools by 30 per cent, rising from 59.5 per cent at baseline to 77.2 per cent at follow up.

In addition, the Conservative Manifesto made the commitment to extend Bikeability cycling proficiency training to every child in the country.

The Department cannot comment on the commercial or financial matters of private companies.

The Transport Secretary, Aviation Minister and Department officials are in regular contact with the aviation sector, ensuring that the Government is kept fully aware of the latest developments with all firms and to understand where additional policy measures could address specific industry issues.

We recognise the impact of British Airways announcement will be very distressing news for BA employees and their families, and we stand ready to support them. The aviation sector is essential to the UK economy, and firms can draw upon the unprecedented package of measures, including schemes to raise capital, flexibilities with tax bills, and financial support for employees.

If airlines find themselves in trouble as a result of coronavirus and have exhausted the measures already available to them, the Transport Secretary is clear that the Government is prepared to enter discussions with individual companies seeking bespoke support as a last resort.

The Transport Secretary, Aviation Minister and DfT officials are in regular contact with the aviation sector, ensuring that the Government is kept fully aware of the latest developments with all firms and to understand where additional policy measures could address specific industry issues.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from cars, including SUVs, is a key priority for the Government’s forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan. There are three primary measures to achieve this:

(i) regulation that requires manufacturers to reduce the average CO₂ emissions of new vehicles registered in the UK;

(ii) speeding up the transition to zero emission vehicles. The Department is investing around £2.5 billion in grants for plug-in vehicles and funding to support the roll out of improved charge point infrastructure, as well as consulting on bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans from 2040 to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible;

(iii) making public transport and active travel the natural first choice for our daily activities.

The Government wants the consumer experience of electric vehicle charging to be straightforward and hassle free. In July 2019 the Department challenged industry to provide debit and credit card payment at all newly installed rapid chargepoints by spring of this year, and to develop a roaming solution across the charging network, allowing electric vehicle drivers to use any public chargepoint through a single payment method. While the industry has responded with the majority of new rapid chargepoints offering contactless payment, further action is necessary to ensure drivers can access all public chargepoints with ease. The Department will therefore consult later this year on a range of measures aimed at making charging electric vehicles just as easy as filling up a traditional petrol or diesel car, including ease of payment.

Transport, including buses, has a significant role to play in the economy reaching net zero. In “Decarbonising Transport: Setting the Challenge”, published in March, the Department noted there are no current Government targets set for buses in this respect. The forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan will set out how we will tackle transport emissions and get all road vehicles to ultimately be zero-emission.

Targeted screening measures were initially carried out at UK airports for inbound passengers during the containment phase of the pandemic when the aim was to prevent the virus coming in to the UK. Whilst there is community transmission within the UK, the role played by imported cases is less significant and so our focus in the current delay phase has not been on screening measures at the border.

Airlines and airports have implemented additional measures in response to COVID-19 in line with advice from Public Health England (PHE), Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and the Chief Medical Officer, as well as following their existing internal protocols on preventing the spread of infectious diseases.

In time, the aviation sector will begin to restart and recover, and we are exploring measures that could be deployed in the aviation sector to ensure the public can be confident that flying is a safe and healthy way of travelling. Any changes to our approach will be led by advice from SAGE and the Chief Medical Officer.

The Department continues to monitor the situation and is in contact with the Association of British Insurers about measures to help drivers. Although this is ultimately a commercial decision for insurers we welcome and encourage companies to take steps to support customers during this difficult time.

The Government announced on 24 April 2020 that it would be supporting light rail systems in Sheffield, Manchester, West Midlands, Nottingham, and Tyne and Wear. The Department for Transport has now announced a package worth nearly £30 mllion to allow these essential services to continue.

Ministers and officials at the Department for Transport hold regular meetings with Transport for London to discuss the financial impacts of COVID-19 and will continue to do so as the outbreak continues.

Railcards are sold and managed by the Rail Delivery Group on behalf on the rail industry, and proposals for amendments to existing policies are for the Rail Delivery Group to bring forward. The Rail Delivery Group and the Department are considering the position on Railcards in light of the current COVID-19 related travel restrictions.

The Department has worked with the rail industry to introduce temporary policy changes to standardise procedures and terms and conditions on ticket refunds across all the Department’s franchised operators. This is in the context of the exceptional circumstances and Government advice to avoid unnecessary travel. For example, we have made Advance tickets held on 23 March refundable with no administration fee and have implemented processes to improve the passenger experience of claiming refunds. These include that passengers can now claim refunds online; they have eight weeks to apply rather than the usual four; and can backdate their season ticket refund to 17 March or when their ticket was last used, whichever is later.

At this time, the Department is focused on protecting the public transport services that key workers rely upon to get to and from work and we have taken decisive action to financially support rail operators to ensure services can continue to operate. No changes to pricing of fares or ticketing systems were implemented as part of the Emergency Measures Agreements.

The Government announced on 24 April 2020 that it would be supporting light rail systems in Sheffield, Manchester, West Midlands, Nottingham, and Tyne and Wear. The Department for Transport has now announced a package worth nearly £30 mllion to allow these essential services to continue.

Ministers and officials at the Department for Transport hold regular meetings with Transport for London to discuss the financial impacts of COVID-19 and will continue to do so as the outbreak continues.

On 7 April the Government published Public Health England’s guidance regarding social distancing measures in the workplace. On 11 April, the Transport Secretary wrote to all bus operators asking them to follow this guidance and implement measures recommended in it if they had not already done so. We continue working closely with the transport sector on the measures that are being put in place to protect staff.

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) are updating their advice currently.

Electrification will play a significant role in our programme to decarbonise the railway. Network Rail’s ongoing work developing the Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy will inform decisions about whether electrification or new technologies are the right option for all parts of the network where diesel trains currently run.

In deciding which schemes to take forward at each stage of the decarbonisation programme, the Department will consider the environmental impact as well as factors such as affordability; readiness of a scheme to proceed; deliverability; the disruption that might be experienced by passengers or freight operators during works; and availability of suitable rolling stock.

Each pilot has a legal responsibility to make sure they can safely and legally operate each flight they make. If pilots fail to comply they are flying illegally and can be subject to prosecution. Where the CAA has evidence that pilots are flying without the correct licences and ratings they will take appropriate action which can include prosecuting the offenders.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) made a recommendation that “the Civil Aviation Authority ensure that the system in place to meet the requirements of EASA Part ARA. GEN.220 is effective in maintaining accurate and up-to-date records related to personnel licences, certificates and ratings”. This was not designed to stop a pilot who chooses to operate outside the privileges of their licence, and it will not do so. Such requirements (to check licences etc) already exist for properly constituted operations in accordance with commercial regulations (with an Air Operators Certificate). The AAIB recommendation was intended to ensure that routine changes to a pilot’s licence (such as new ratings) are reflected accurately against the CAA’s record for that pilot. Pilots of private flights do not have their credentials checked every time they go flying, as such a system would be disproportionate to the risks associated with the activity.

The CAA conducts awareness campaigns with the aim of highlighting to the consumer the dangers of illegal operations, and what to look for when chartering an aircraft to ensure the flight is legal. One such campaign, called "Legal to Fly", is currently underway. So far this has seen the CAA distribute awareness material aimed at prospective passengers to over 200 UK airfields and commercial operators. This will be followed by a wider campaign aimed at the general travelling public that may seek to use small charter flights.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) listed 729 American registered aircraft as resident in the UK on 17 July 2019. This includes business aviation and private non-commercial operators. The Business aviation owners will be regulated in accordance with the Commercial Air Transport rules.

The UK CAA conducts Aircraft Continuing Airworthiness Monitoring (ACAM) surveys each year and American registered and other non-UK registered aircraft are included in those samples.

The CAA is actively studying the recommendations from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch and will take whatever action is necessary. A programme to update its licensing administration system is currently underway. At no time have any issues with these systems affected its ability to accurately process and issue licences.

The Department for Transport and the CAA keep all existing legislation under constant review, in order to maintain the UK's high standards of aviation safety. Cost-sharing was not applicable to the accident involving Emiliano Sala, although the Air Accidents Investigation Branch report refers to the practice in a more general context. American registered aircraft are subject to US cost-sharing rules which apply the ‘common purpose’ principle. There was no common purpose between the pilot and passenger on the accident flight, and so cost-sharing was not applicable.

The operation of non-UK registered aircraft in the UK is permitted under regulations made by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

The government commissioned an independent review into the UK approach to general aviation (GA) safety. This report is currently out for consultation, and can be viewed on the CAA’s website. While it looks at GA safety in the round, it found that traditionally the two main reasons why people may register aircraft on the US register are the ability to use a US Federal Aviation Administration Pilot Instrument Rating, and a sometimes-different approach to maintenance requirements.

These reasons are becoming less significant with the development of the new European Basic Instrument Rating to provide greater and easier access to Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flying and the introduction of a new Part M Light maintenance regime for private non-commercial aircraft.

Full findings on the use of N-Registered aircraft in the UK GA sector are available at Appendix C-2 5.0 of the aforementioned review.

The strategic scope for East West Rail is currently being developed. EWR Co. are considering provision for freight, ensuring the route will support existing freight, and are currently undertaking a study to understand potential freight use.

The Prime Minister has been clear that our future relationship with the EU must not entail any application of EU law in the UK or CJEU jurisdiction, or indeed laws and regulations made by the EU Commission (as was the case with EASA). Continued UK participation in the EASA system would have been inconsistent with this approach. We want to agree a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) with the EU to minimise regulatory burdens for industry.

The UK has the third largest aviation network in the world and the biggest in Europe, with direct flights to more than 370 international destinations in some 100 countries. Air travel is important for both the UK and the EU in connecting people and businesses, facilitating tourism and trade. Aviation and aerospace are critical industries to both the UK and the EU and we have a common interest in ensuring that they can continue to thrive.

The Civil Aviation Authority currently oversees most aspects of civil aviation safety in the UK. After the transition period the CAA will take on some additional functions from EASA and will continue to ensure that the UK has world-leading safety standards.

The CAA has been preparing for the possibility of leaving the EASA system since the EU referendum in 2016, including recruiting new staff across the organisation. The CAA will continue to refine these plans over the coming months, and may require additional resources.

There has been regular and open engagement with the aviation and aerospace industries on this subject.

The EU made it clear in its public mandate (25 February) that it is willing to negotiate regulatory cooperation on aviation safety but its mandate does not provide for UK participation in EASA. In the UK’s published negotiating position (27 February) the UK has made it clear that it is also willing to negotiate regulatory cooperation with the EU through a BASA and that EASA participation is not an option. That both the UK and EU are seeking regulatory cooperation on aviation safety, increases the likelihood of concluding these negotiations before the end of 2020 and provides certainty to industry.

The Aviation Week interview with the Secretary of State for Transport on the subject of EASA participation was published on 6 March 2020.

The UK does not make direct contributions to EASA. EASA activities are funded mainly through contributions from charges to industry and the remainder through contributions from the EU and participating states.

Most EASA staff are employed directly by EASA and based in Cologne and it is the decision for UK nationals employed by EASA whether they remain within the agency. The CAA has previously had a small number of secondees working in EASA but these individuals have all now returned.

The Prime Minister has been clear that our future relationship with the EU must not entail any application of EU law in the UK or CJEU jurisdiction, or indeed laws and regulations made by the EU Commission (as was the case with EASA). Continued UK participation in the EASA system would have been inconsistent with this approach. We want to agree a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) with the EU to minimise regulatory burdens for industry.

The UK has the third largest aviation network in the world and the biggest in Europe, with direct flights to more than 370 international destinations in some 100 countries. Air travel is important for both the UK and the EU in connecting people and businesses, facilitating tourism and trade. Aviation and aerospace are critical industries to both the UK and the EU and we have a common interest in ensuring that they can continue to thrive.

The Civil Aviation Authority currently oversees most aspects of civil aviation safety in the UK. After the transition period the CAA will take on some additional functions from EASA and will continue to ensure that the UK has world-leading safety standards.

The CAA has been preparing for the possibility of leaving the EASA system since the EU referendum in 2016, including recruiting new staff across the organisation. The CAA will continue to refine these plans over the coming months, and may require additional resources.

There has been regular and open engagement with the aviation and aerospace industries on this subject.

The EU made it clear in its public mandate (25 February) that it is willing to negotiate regulatory cooperation on aviation safety but its mandate does not provide for UK participation in EASA. In the UK’s published negotiating position (27 February) the UK has made it clear that it is also willing to negotiate regulatory cooperation with the EU through a BASA and that EASA participation is not an option. That both the UK and EU are seeking regulatory cooperation on aviation safety, increases the likelihood of concluding these negotiations before the end of 2020 and provides certainty to industry.

The Aviation Week interview with the Secretary of State for Transport on the subject of EASA participation was published on 6 March 2020.

The UK does not make direct contributions to EASA. EASA activities are funded mainly through contributions from charges to industry and the remainder through contributions from the EU and participating states.

Most EASA staff are employed directly by EASA and based in Cologne and it is the decision for UK nationals employed by EASA whether they remain within the agency. The CAA has previously had a small number of secondees working in EASA but these individuals have all now returned.

The Prime Minister has been clear that our future relationship with the EU must not entail any application of EU law in the UK or CJEU jurisdiction, or indeed laws and regulations made by the EU Commission (as was the case with EASA). Continued UK participation in the EASA system would have been inconsistent with this approach. We want to agree a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) with the EU to minimise regulatory burdens for industry.

The UK has the third largest aviation network in the world and the biggest in Europe, with direct flights to more than 370 international destinations in some 100 countries. Air travel is important for both the UK and the EU in connecting people and businesses, facilitating tourism and trade. Aviation and aerospace are critical industries to both the UK and the EU and we have a common interest in ensuring that they can continue to thrive.

The Civil Aviation Authority currently oversees most aspects of civil aviation safety in the UK. After the transition period the CAA will take on some additional functions from EASA and will continue to ensure that the UK has world-leading safety standards.

The CAA has been preparing for the possibility of leaving the EASA system since the EU referendum in 2016, including recruiting new staff across the organisation. The CAA will continue to refine these plans over the coming months, and may require additional resources.

There has been regular and open engagement with the aviation and aerospace industries on this subject.

The EU made it clear in its public mandate (25 February) that it is willing to negotiate regulatory cooperation on aviation safety but its mandate does not provide for UK participation in EASA. In the UK’s published negotiating position (27 February) the UK has made it clear that it is also willing to negotiate regulatory cooperation with the EU through a BASA and that EASA participation is not an option. That both the UK and EU are seeking regulatory cooperation on aviation safety, increases the likelihood of concluding these negotiations before the end of 2020 and provides certainty to industry.

The Aviation Week interview with the Secretary of State for Transport on the subject of EASA participation was published on 6 March 2020.

The UK does not make direct contributions to EASA. EASA activities are funded mainly through contributions from charges to industry and the remainder through contributions from the EU and participating states.

Most EASA staff are employed directly by EASA and based in Cologne and it is the decision for UK nationals employed by EASA whether they remain within the agency. The CAA has previously had a small number of secondees working in EASA but these individuals have all now returned.

The Prime Minister has been clear that our future relationship with the EU must not entail any application of EU law in the UK or CJEU jurisdiction, or indeed laws and regulations made by the EU Commission (as was the case with EASA). Continued UK participation in the EASA system would have been inconsistent with this approach. We want to agree a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) with the EU to minimise regulatory burdens for industry.

The UK has the third largest aviation network in the world and the biggest in Europe, with direct flights to more than 370 international destinations in some 100 countries. Air travel is important for both the UK and the EU in connecting people and businesses, facilitating tourism and trade. Aviation and aerospace are critical industries to both the UK and the EU and we have a common interest in ensuring that they can continue to thrive.

The Civil Aviation Authority currently oversees most aspects of civil aviation safety in the UK. After the transition period the CAA will take on some additional functions from EASA and will continue to ensure that the UK has world-leading safety standards.

The CAA has been preparing for the possibility of leaving the EASA system since the EU referendum in 2016, including recruiting new staff across the organisation. The CAA will continue to refine these plans over the coming months, and may require additional resources.

There has been regular and open engagement with the aviation and aerospace industries on this subject.

The EU made it clear in its public mandate (25 February) that it is willing to negotiate regulatory cooperation on aviation safety but its mandate does not provide for UK participation in EASA. In the UK’s published negotiating position (27 February) the UK has made it clear that it is also willing to negotiate regulatory cooperation with the EU through a BASA and that EASA participation is not an option. That both the UK and EU are seeking regulatory cooperation on aviation safety, increases the likelihood of concluding these negotiations before the end of 2020 and provides certainty to industry.

The Aviation Week interview with the Secretary of State for Transport on the subject of EASA participation was published on 6 March 2020.

The UK does not make direct contributions to EASA. EASA activities are funded mainly through contributions from charges to industry and the remainder through contributions from the EU and participating states.

Most EASA staff are employed directly by EASA and based in Cologne and it is the decision for UK nationals employed by EASA whether they remain within the agency. The CAA has previously had a small number of secondees working in EASA but these individuals have all now returned.

The Prime Minister has been clear that our future relationship with the EU must not entail any application of EU law in the UK or CJEU jurisdiction, or indeed laws and regulations made by the EU Commission (as was the case with EASA). Continued UK participation in the EASA system would have been inconsistent with this approach. We want to agree a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) with the EU to minimise regulatory burdens for industry.

The UK has the third largest aviation network in the world and the biggest in Europe, with direct flights to more than 370 international destinations in some 100 countries. Air travel is important for both the UK and the EU in connecting people and businesses, facilitating tourism and trade. Aviation and aerospace are critical industries to both the UK and the EU and we have a common interest in ensuring that they can continue to thrive.

The Civil Aviation Authority currently oversees most aspects of civil aviation safety in the UK. After the transition period the CAA will take on some additional functions from EASA and will continue to ensure that the UK has world-leading safety standards.

The CAA has been preparing for the possibility of leaving the EASA system since the EU referendum in 2016, including recruiting new staff across the organisation. The CAA will continue to refine these plans over the coming months, and may require additional resources.

There has been regular and open engagement with the aviation and aerospace industries on this subject.

The EU made it clear in its public mandate (25 February) that it is willing to negotiate regulatory cooperation on aviation safety but its mandate does not provide for UK participation in EASA. In the UK’s published negotiating position (27 February) the UK has made it clear that it is also willing to negotiate regulatory cooperation with the EU through a BASA and that EASA participation is not an option. That both the UK and EU are seeking regulatory cooperation on aviation safety, increases the likelihood of concluding these negotiations before the end of 2020 and provides certainty to industry.

The Aviation Week interview with the Secretary of State for Transport on the subject of EASA participation was published on 6 March 2020.

The UK does not make direct contributions to EASA. EASA activities are funded mainly through contributions from charges to industry and the remainder through contributions from the EU and participating states.

Most EASA staff are employed directly by EASA and based in Cologne and it is the decision for UK nationals employed by EASA whether they remain within the agency. The CAA has previously had a small number of secondees working in EASA but these individuals have all now returned.

The airspace and noise issues surrounding Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) were considered in the Department’s Airspace Policy consultation in 2017. The outcome of this work was the Air Navigation Guidance 2017 which is reflected in the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) airspace change process. The guidance for this process sets out the level of consultation required for airspace change proposals. The guidance also requires airspace change sponsors to have regard to the statutory purpose of AONBs when developing proposals.

The government has not conducted an assessment of aircraft noise over the Shropshire Hills AONB. Any airspace changes affecting the Shropshire Hills AONB would need to follow the CAA’s airspace change process.

Chargepoints at Motorway Service Areas (MSAs) are installed by commercial operators. The Government is aware of the importance of ensuring chargepoint provision across the Strategic Road Network (SRN) to support the uptake of electric vehicles and to combat range anxiety. Highways England has committed £15m to ensure that there are chargepoints (rapid where possible) every 20 miles on 95% of the SRN by the end of 2020.

Last year, work commenced to review the provision of rapid and higher-powered charge points along England’s SRN and we aim to report on this in Spring 2020.

We will be engaging with stakeholders, including network companies, to ensure that increasing demand can be accommodated, whilst minimising the impact on businesses, workers and consumers across the UK, building on the significant demand and supply side measures in place.

The electricity market is already set up to promote investment in generation capacity to meet demand; for example, the Contracts for Difference scheme facilitates significant investment in low-carbon generation. This complements numerous measures to ensure a smarter, more flexible energy system, increasing the efficiency of the electricity system to prepare for electric vehicles (EVs).

‘Smart’ charging of EVs (at off-peak times) can reduce demand from EV charging at peak times; the Government has taken powers in the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act to mandate that all charge points sold or installed in the UK must be smart enabled and we have recently consulted on secondary regulations. The Government has also invested £30 million to support vehicle-to-grid technology, where the storage capability of EV batteries provides electricity back to the grid.

Ofgem, the independent energy regulator, is developing its next set of energy network price controls to incentivise network companies to be ready for the future needs of the energy system, including the required capacity to support EVs. Ofgem has a performance-based framework to set price controls, the RIIO (Revenue=Incentives+Innovation+Outputs). Ofgem uses price controls to determine the revenues companies recover, investment they make and performance standards they must deliver. Ofgem’s next RIIO framework will ensure companies make the case for investment needed to support decarbonisation. As part of the RIIO process, Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) forecast the likely uptake of EVs, in order to shape investment plans for reinforcing the network. The regime allows DNOs to seek approval from Ofgem for increased funding, should load growth be significantly higher than anticipated during the price control period.

The latest National Grid Future Energy Scenarios report was published last year and sets out the impacts of electric vehicles (EVs) on the electricity system. The electricity market is already set up to promote investment in generation capacity to meet demand; for example, the Contracts for Difference scheme facilitates significant investment in low-carbon generation.

In February this year, the Government launched a consultation on bringing forward an end to the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans from 2040. The responses to the consultation will inform our analysis and research, to consider any future grid demand scenarios.

The Government will continue to engage with stakeholders at all stages of the electricity system, including Distribution Network Operators, to ensure they are able to fulfil required capacity. Existing mechanisms help to ensure that network and generating capacity will stay in step with growing EV demand, and our work on the smart charging of EVs, at off-peak times, can reduce demand from EV charging at peak times.

Vehicle manufacture is a global industry and there is no agreed harmonised approach that can be used to inform consumers of the comparative carbon footprint of the production of different vehicles. The Government does not have any current 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 and supported by the measures set out in the Road to Zero strategy.

In 2018, the Department for Transport developed the Transport Energy Model, published alongside the Road to Zero strategy, to provide a clear assessment of the relative environmental impacts of different road vehicle technologies and fuels. This showed that battery electric vehicles in the UK have substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions than conventional vehicles, even when taking into account the energy mix of the electricity to charge the battery and the electricity used for battery production. This largely agrees with full life cycle analyses (which also account for greenhouse gas emissions from vehicle manufacture) from independent sources.

Emission values are highly dependent on the electricity mix of the country in which the vehicle is charged, and the country(/ies) in which the vehicle, battery and other parts are manufactured. They 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.

The UK’s £274 million Faraday Battery Challenge is taking steps to ensure the batteries used in electric vehicles are sustainable. This includes research into greenhouse gas emissions over the lifecycle of a battery, from raw materials to end-of-life.

By 2050, as the electric grid decarbonises and we further establish UK electric vehicle and battery manufacturing, we expect battery electric vehicles produced and driven in the UK to reach near zero greenhouse gas emissions.

We have not made an assessment of the case for a standardised formula for assessing vehicle carbon footprint.

However, the Government has carried out a relative assessment, in terms of air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, of different fuel and powertrain options based on outputs from the Transport Energy Model, which was published alongside the Road to Zero strategy in 2018. The modelling makes clear that, even with the current electricity grid emissions, battery electric vehicles are estimated to have greenhouse gas emissions 66% lower than a petrol car and 60% lower than a diesel car. Between now and 2050 we project that grid emissions will fall by around 90%, with total emissions from electric vehicles falling in parallel.

As well as considering the greenhouse gas emissions from energy production, we have also considered the emissions from battery production. As battery production is an energy intensive process we would also expect these emissions to fall over the period to 2050. We are clear that battery electric vehicles have substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions than conventional vehicles even when taking into account the electricity source and electricity used for battery production.

The organisations engaged with as part of the General Aviation safety review are listed below. The independent general aviation safety review, funded by the Department for Transport, is focused on non-commercial aviation, often referred to as recreational aviation. The Air Charter Association is rightly concerned with illegal public transport activity and is engaging with the Civil Aviation Authority on the matter. Given their commercial focus they were not included in the consultation for this non-commercial aviation safety review; noting that illegal commercial activity does not fall within the direct scope of the review. Within the context of the recreational aviation review, the Air Charter Association may wish to submit a response to the forthcoming consultation on the recommendations of the review.

The UK Approach to Recreational General Aviation Safety review engaged with the following organisations:

• GA Partnership – A CAA-led group of industry, regulator and government.

• GASCo - General Aviation Safety Council

• PPL IR Europe

• BGA - British Gliding Association

• AOPA - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

• BMAA - British Microlight Aircraft Association

• LAA - Light Aircraft Association

• GAA - General Aviation Alliance

• EASA - European Aviation Safety Agency

• EASA GA Task Force Member (EAS)

• GAAC - General Aviation Awareness Council

• UKAB - United Kingdom Airprox Board

• AAIB - Air Accidents Investigation Branch

• GBASF - General and Business Aviation Strategic Forum

• AOG - Airfield Operators Group

• GA Advocate

• BAAC - British Balloon and airship club

• UKFSC - UK Flight Safety Committee

• CHIRP - Aviation and Maritime Confidential Incident Reporting

The independent general aviation safety review, funded by the Department for Transport, is focused on non-commercial aviation, often referred to as recreational aviation. Cost sharing is considered in terms of setting out the rules and benefits of a properly conducted cost sharing flight which should support private pilots to ensure they do not inadvertently step beyond the rules. The review “UK Approach to Recreational General Aviation Safety: An Independent Review” will be published shortly as part of a wider consultation process on the review.

Government is supporting development of the infrastructure for hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), recognising that the market is at an early stage. Government’s £23m Hydrogen for Transport Programme aims to increase the uptake of FCEVs and grow the number of publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations. The programme is delivering nine new refuelling stations, upgrading five existing stations and deploying hundreds of new hydrogen vehicles across the UK.

The Department recognises the importance of providing mobile connectivity for rail passengers and has sought improvements when franchises are renewed. In both the new East Midlands and West Coast Partnership franchises, the operators have committed to improving mobile connectivity for their passengers on trains and at stations. Beyond these franchises, we continue to seek other opportunities to enhance mobile connectivity across the rail network. In particular, the Department has been working with Ofcom, Network Rail and others to improve the data available about mobile phone signals along rail corridors so that operators can take this into account. This was published by Ofcom in December 2019.

Earlier this month the Prime Minister announced a consultation on bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible, as well as including hybrids for the first time. This reflects the advice from the Committee on Climate Change – to make sure that the UK meets its net zero by 2050 commitments.

As part of the consultation, we are asking what the accompanying package of support will need to be to enable the transition and minimise the impacts on consumers and businesses across the UK, building on the significant demand and supply side measures already in place. We plan to conclude the consultation in the summer.

We are currently investing nearly £1.5bn? between April 2015 and March 2021, with grants available for electric cars, vans, lorries, buses, taxis and motorcycles, as well schemes to support charge point infrastructure at homes and workplaces and on residential streets.

The Transport Decarbonisation Plan, announced last year, will be published later this year. Ahead of that, a call for engagement, setting the scale of the challenge, will include the department’s forecasts of emissions based on current policies. We already recognise the need to go further than current plans, as shown by the announcement earlier this month on new cars and vans.

In that announcement, the Prime Minister set out a consultation on bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible. This reflects the advice from the Committee on Climate Change – to make sure that the UK meets its net zero by 2050 commitments. The consultation’s purpose will be to identify what the accompanying package of support will need to be to enable the transition and minimise the impacts on consumers and businesses across the UK, building on the significant demand and supply side measures already in place. We plan to conclude the consultation in the summer.

The electricity market is already set up to promote investment in generation capacity to meet demand; for example, the Contracts for Difference scheme facilitates significant investment in low-carbon generation. We are confident that the grid will be able to cope with increased demand from electric vehicles.

‘Smart’ charging of electric vehicles can reduce demands from electric vehicle charging at peak times by building in flexibility. The Government has taken powers in the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act to mandate that all chargepoints sold or installed in the UK must be smart enabled, and we have recently consulted on secondary regulations. The Government is engaging with Ofgem and industry to ensure demand from electric vehicles can be accommodated.

Earlier this month the Prime Minister announced a consultation on bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible, as well as including hybrids for the first time. This reflects the advice from the Committee on Climate Change – to make sure that the UK meets its net zero by 2050 commitments.

As part of the consultation, we are asking what the accompanying package of support will need to be to enable the transition and minimise the impacts on consumers and businesses across the UK, building on the significant demand and supply side measures already in place. We plan to conclude the consultation in the summer.

We are currently investing nearly £1.5bn? between April 2015 and March 2021, with grants available for electric cars, vans, lorries, buses, taxis and motorcycles, as well schemes to support charge point infrastructure at homes and workplaces and on residential streets.

We want our roads to be as safe as possible. That is why the Secretary of State asked the Department to carry out an evidence stocktake to gather the facts about the safety of smart motorways and make recommendations. The Department will present the findings of the stocktake shortly.

While I would not want to pre-judge the results of that work, what I can say is that we will continue to prioritise improving safety – making conditions safer for everyone on our roads. I will write to you as soon as the stocktake is completed to answer your specific questions.

The Secretary of State for Transport heard the concerns about smart motorways and asked the Department to carry out, at pace, an evidence stocktake to gather the facts quickly and make recommendations.

While I would not want to pre-judge the results of that work, what I can say is that we will continue to prioritise improving safety – making conditions safer for everyone on our roads.

The Secretary of State for Transport heard the concerns about smart motorways and asked the Department to carry out, at pace, an evidence stocktake to gather the facts quickly and make recommendations.

While I would not want to pre-judge the results of that work, what I can say is that we will continue to prioritise improving safety – making conditions safer for everyone on our roads.

The Department is currently working with the Cross Country operator to put in place additional capacity enhancements during 2021, and it is expected this will be achieved through longer trains, rather than extra services.

In addition, further rolling stock options are being considered for the next Franchise.

There are 35 car parks that are owned by Network Rail and operated on its behalf directly. Two charging points will be installed shortly at two of these stations, London Victoria and Birmingham New Street. Network Rail is developing plans to install 180 charging points across the 35 stations operated on its behalf by 2024. My Rt Hon Friend, the Secretary of State, has also recently written to Network Rail asking them to accelerate their plans for installing electric vehicle charge points.

Other car parks are owned by Network Rail but operated by Train Operating Companies. Network Rail is currently collecting the charging point data for these car parks before developing a charging point strategy for them.

The Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy, published on 19 March 2019, includes a commitment to conduct a Regulatory Review to address the challenges of ensuring our transport infrastructure and regulation are fit for the future.

One strand of this will look at options for enabling uptake of safe and sustainable micromobility devices. A consultation is planned to be issued shortly.

No timetable for the introduction of legislation for micromobility has been set as this is dependent on the outcomes of the consultation.

This contract is a commercial matter between Ecotricity and the Motorway Service Areas (MSAs).

The Government recognises the urgent need for a joined up and reliable charging provision on the strategic road network and is working with industry to ensure this is established. Highways England has dedicated funding of £15m to ensure that its total network is within 20 miles of an electric vehicle chargepoint. The Office for Low Emission Vehicles is currently undertaking a review (Project Rapid) into current provision and future demand for rapid and higher-powered chargepoints for cars and vans along England’s strategic road network. Should it become necessary to regulate, the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act gives the Government powers to improve the experience of using chargepoints by setting reliability and maintenance stands to ensure chargepoints are accessible and to require availability of chargepoint data including charge location, if they are available for use and whether they are in working order.

Officials from the Department for Transport, Her Majesty’s Treasury and Network Rail continue to work closely with colleagues from the Welsh Government and Transport for Wales on the divestment of the Core Valley Lines. The Department and partners remain on target to consider the necessary approvals and deliver this divestment by the agreed contractual date, which has always been 31 March 2020.

We recognise that the need to focus on COVID-19 response across prison establishments has had an adverse impact on the number of people in prisons tested and able to access treatment for hepatitis C.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are currently working proactively with Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service partners and other key stakeholders on a programme of restoration and recovery of key services. As Blood Borne Virus testing forms part of the Public Health Section 7a agreement with Public Health England, this work is being prioritised.

It is anticipated a full resumption of the hepatitis C elimination programme will take place from October 2020.

The Government recognises the challenging times facing the aviation industry as a result of COVID-19. Firms experiencing difficulties as a result of COVID-19 can draw upon the unprecedented package of measures announced by the Chancellor, including schemes to raise capital, flexibilities with tax bills, and financial support for employees.

The Government will continue to engage closely with the sector on the impact of COVID-19.

The Government has already injected £34 million into growing the intermediary sector, in order to encompass EU trade after 2020. Thousands of agents, freight forwarders and parcel operators have taken advantage of this funding to make improvements, from IT hardware to staff training. To date, this funding has supported over 20,000 training courses, nearly 15,000 units of IT, the recruitment of an additional 600 new customs agents, and the online customs academy training centre (where Government has procured training capacity directly) which has delivered 1,139 courses so far.

The new £50 million support package will further boost the capacity of the customs intermediary sector to help provide businesses with support ahead of the new processes taking effect in July 2021. Having listened to industry feedback, the focus of support will continue to be on IT, recruitment, and training. This new investment will provide a significant boost to the sector and build on the success of the grant scheme to date.

This additional funding is one element of the wider package of measures announced in June to help lay the foundations for a diverse, innovative and competitive intermediary sector. The Government also intends to change rules which will remove the financial liability from intermediaries operating on behalf of their clients, and allow parcel operators to continue declaring multiple consignments in a single customs declaration.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the standard rate of 20 per cent applies to most goods and services. As was acknowledged at Budget 2020, VAT makes a significant contribution towards the public finances and helps fund the Government's spending priorities including health, schools, and defence.

Although the Government keeps all taxes under review, there are no plans to change the VAT treatment of electric vehicles at present.

On 12 June the Government committed to building new border facilities in Great Britain to carry out the required checks following the end of the transition period, building inland port facilities where there is no space at ports for new infrastructure. The Government will also provide targeted support to ports to build new infrastructure.

The Government is consulting with ports across the UK to agree what infrastructure is required.

The UK has a well-established industry of customs intermediaries which serve British businesses trading outside the EU. The sector is varied and made up of a number of different business models including specific customs brokers, freight forwarders and fast parcel operators; all of which will require varied numbers of staff. Government support of £34m has been designed flexibly to meet the needs of the sector to build capacity by covering training and IT innovation, as well as recruitment.

This funding has led to almost 20,000 applications for customs training courses with providers. These courses will teach all the necessary skills required to handle customs declarations, and include the online UK Customs Academy founded by HMRC.

HMRC do not employ customs agents/customs intermediaries directly and the 50,000 figure is an industry calculation.

The Government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through business rates relief given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published guidance for local authorities on eligible properties.

A range of further measures to support all businesses, including those not eligible for the business rates holiday have also been made available. For example, the Government has launched the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms continue to keep people in employment, and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of stakeholders across sectors as part of ongoing policy development and implementation.

Ministers and officials from the Department for Transport are in regular contact with airlines, airports and unions to understand the impact that COVID-19 is having on the sector and its workers.

Fuel duty will continue to play an important role in the tax system in the short and medium term. Technology is changing many aspects of the economy, including vehicles, and the Government keeps under active consideration how the tax system will need to adapt to manage these changes.

As announced on 14 January, HM Treasury is undertaking a review of Air Passenger Duty to ensure regional connectivity is strengthened while meeting the UK’s climate change commitments to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

The government takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously and uses a range of levers at its disposal, including spending, taxation and regulatory policy, to meet its climate and environmental objectives.

The actions that the Government has taken are fully compliant with State Aid rules.

As announced on 14 January, HM Treasury is undertaking a review of Air Passenger Duty to ensure regional connectivity is strengthened while meeting the UK’s climate change commitments to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

The government takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously and uses a range of levers at its disposal, including spending, taxation and regulatory policy, to meet its climate and environmental objectives.

The actions that the Government has taken are fully compliant with State Aid rules.

All applications are considered on their individual merits, on the basis of the evidence provided and in accordance with the immigration rules. Since Mr Islam’s case came to light, we have apologised to him for the errors made in relation to criminality checks, and rolled-out a new training package for all staff entitled ‘Data Protection in the Home Office.

Although not in direct response to Mr Islam’s case in particular, this training course aims to enhance data protection awareness and understanding throughout the Home Office workforce.

Mr Islam is not subject to removal action at present.