Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much of the £10 million fund to boost investment in strategically important ports linking Northern Ireland and Great Britain has been allocated.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
On 31 January 2024, the previous government published a command paper on ‘safeguarding the union’. The Government is making progress on the commitments in taking forward the policies set out in the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether cars moved from Great Britain to Northern Ireland for sale are subject to any compliance, documentary or other requirements as a result of the Windsor Framework, and, if so, when such requirements began to apply.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
There are no checks for compliance when cars move from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will respond to the consultation on Reforming aviation consumer policy: protecting air passenger rights, which closed on 27 March.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Air passenger rights remains a priority for Government, and the Aviation Consumer Policy Reform Consultation aimed to collect views on ways to bolster air passenger rights and support the industry to provide the best service possible for consumers.
We are currently conducting a comprehensive review and analysis of responses and will set out next steps shortly.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish their strategy for the recovery of the aviation sector.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The impact of a second wave of COVID and the need for the Government to respond has impacted on the aviation sector.
The Government has therefore announced through the Global Travel Taskforce, a number of measures to assist the sector to restart over the winter period. This includes the ‘Test to release for international travel’ (TTR) scheme to be launched on 15 December, which will boost consumer confidence in air travel.
Following the successful implementation of these measures, the government will then put forward of its strategic framework for the medium and long-term recovery of the aviation sector.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish a recovery plan for the aviation industry.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Government has announced through the Global Travel Taskforce, a number of measures to assist the sector to restart over the winter period. This includes the ‘Test to release for international travel’ (TTR) scheme to be launched on 15 December, which will boost consumer confidence in air travel.
Following the successful implementation of these measures, the Government will then put forward its strategic framework for the medium and long-term recovery of the aviation sector.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the merits of the freight connectivity proposals ratified by the European Union for enforcement in a situation where no withdrawal agreement is reached.
Answered by Lord Grayling
The Government’s preferred outcome remains that the UK should leave the EU in an orderly fashion with a Withdrawal Agreement. In this circumstance, the EU Regulations that cover freight connectivity (in particular the road measure, but also addressed by the aviation regulation in the context of air freight) would not need to come into effect. However, if the UK does leave the EU without having concluded a Withdrawal Agreement then the measure guarantees rights for UK carriers to carry goods to and from the EU until the end of December, which provides welcome certainty for UK carriers and their customers.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the continuation of the common travel area after the UK leaves the EU on the ability of rental car companies to charge customers for crossing the land border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.
Answered by Lord Grayling
Leaving the EU will have no impact on the ability of rental car companies to charge customers for crossing the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland if the continuation of the Common Travel Area applies as it does now. Customers may be charged an additional fee if they are going to cross a border, but this is at the discretion of the rental car company.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which categories of motorised vehicles are exempt from a requirement to hold third party public liability insurance.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
In the UK no categories of motor vehicles are exempt but there are a very limited number of exemptions for certain organisations from the requirement to hold third party motor insurance. These are set out in s144 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. In Northern Ireland the equivalent legislation is Article 90 of the Road Traffic Order 1981.
Even though these organisations do not require motor insurance they must still have in place measures to ensure that victims of accidents caused by such vehicles are fully compensated for their injuries or losses.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the proposed revision of Regulation 1071/2009 on exemptions for community transport providers operating for non-commercial purposes.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Department for Transport officials are in regular contact with their EU Commission counterparts about a range of issues, including on the exemptions in EU Regulation 1071/2009. Wherever possible, the Department wants community transport providers to continue to operate, and retain, service provision for vulnerable community transport passengers.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will list the EU regulations or directives which underpin the operation of (a) Eurotunnel services and (b) the cross-border train service between Belfast and Dublin.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
EU legislation provides the regulatory framework for cross-border rail services, including the Belfast-Dublin Enterprise service. This makes provision for market access rights; safety and interoperability requirements; train driver licensing; as well as the rights of passengers and cross-border rail workers. On 27 November the Department for Exiting the European Union provided analysis covering 58 sectors of the economy to the House of Commons Committee on Exiting the EU and the House of Lords European Union Committee. The rail sectoral report included a full analysis of the current EU rail regulatory regime and is available at: https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/Exiting-the-European-Union/17-19/Sectoral%20Analyses/29-Rail-Report.pdf.
In addition, a series of bilateral or multilateral international agreements, including the Treaty of Canterbury, the Concession Agreement and the Rail Usage Contract, provide the legal framework which underpins the operation of the Channel Tunnel Fixed Link and Eurotunnel’s services.
The cross-border rail services that link us with the EU, both through the Channel Tunnel and on the island of Ireland, have greatly benefited citizens and businesses in both the UK and the EU. It is in our mutual interests to ensure these services continue to be a success.