Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to lowering the legal alcohol limit for drivers as tested by a breathalyser.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
This Government takes road safety very seriously and reducing those killed and injured on our roads is a key priority. The Department is currently considering policy options in this area.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote the use of electric vehicles.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government is reducing the upfront costs of zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) by providing plug-in vehicle grants for vans, trucks and motorcycles, taxis and wheelchair accessible vehicles.
Drivers of ZEVs also benefit from favourable tax rates, such as generous company car tax incentives. They are also exempt from vehicle excise duty (VED) until April 2025, after which electric vehicles will continue to have preferential first year rates of VED in comparison to the most polluting vehicles.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the provision of charging points for electric vehicles.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
There are now over 70,000 public charging devices in the UK, supporting drivers to switch to EVs, alongside 680,000 private chargepoints in England alone. The Government is committed to working with industry to further accelerate the rollout of affordable, accessible charging infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the Government is supporting the rollout of tens of thousands of local chargepoints, which are especially important for drivers without off-street parking. The Government also offers grants to support the installation of private chargepoints in certain residential and commercial properties and provides advice and guidance to support the planning and delivery of charging infrastructure.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce deaths and injuries on roads.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government has announced that it intends to publish a new Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade. Work is already underway on this.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect on the economy of industrial action on Network Rail.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
Strikes by RMT among their members at Network Rail in 2022/23 typically resulted in average industry-wide service levels of around 20%.
These strikes have resulted in direct impacts on rail industry revenue and on the wider economy, for example due to people being unable to attend work. Given the move to flexible working post-pandemic, the impact of strikes on the economy is far lower, albeit the hospitality sector experiences particular impacts as set out by HospitalityUK.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to retain a cap on bus fares after November 2024.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The £2 fare cap is set to run until the end of this year, with the Government having provided almost £600 million to deliver the scheme. The Government will continue to provide funding to support the sector through our regular funding streams. This includes making over £200 million available annually to bus operators through the Bus Service Operator’s Grant to help them maintain an extensive network and keep fares down, and over £2 billion for local areas to deliver their Bus Service Improvement Plans which can support local fares initiatives.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to conduct a comparative assessment with other European nations on the state of rail services including on reliability, comfort and pricing.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The Department seeks to identify best practice from other countries’ rail networks but is not currently planning a formal comparative assessment.
The latest Common Safety Indicators from the Office of Rail and Road, which were published 15 February 2024, showed that Great Britain ranks favourably compared with other European countries in terms of employee safety, level crossing user safety and trespasser safety.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assistance, financial or otherwise, they have provided to businesses in the development of automated vehicles.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
Government, through the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, a joint DfT and DBT specialist policy unit, has jointly committed with industry more than £600m to the development of Automated Vehicles between 2015 and 2025.
CCAV is currently supporting 20 projects with £50m of government funding to further operationalise CAM technologies and services.
In the recently published Advanced Manufacturing Plan, Government also committed to long-term support for Connected and Automated Mobility with up to £150m in the five-year period to 2030.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with other countries regarding the development of automated vehicles, including in relation to developing common standards for such vehicles.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
UK officials actively participate in various international fora to discuss standards for automated vehicles.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s World Forum for Harmonisation of Vehicle Regulations has been developing technical requirements for automated vehicles for over 5 years, and the Global Forum for Road Traffic Safety is considering wider safety implications.
The UK is an active participant in both fora, working to drive development of requirements to assure the safety of such vehicles.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with the devolved administrations regarding automated vehicles.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
We are grateful to officials in the Devolved Administrations for the productive engagement that we have had so far on the Automated Vehicles Bill. The Automated Vehicles Bill implements the recommendations of a four-year review by the Law Commission of England and Wales, and the Scottish Law Commission.
In line with legislative processes, we will seek legislative consent from Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru where appropriate.
We are keen for Great Britain to share in the benefits of these planned measures and look forward to the support of the Devolved Administrations as this Bill moves through parliamentary passage.