Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of (1) environmental, and (2) other, damage posed by the passage through or close to UK waters of uninsured oil tankers; and whether they will plan any measures to prevent potential damage and financial loss to the UK.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK, together with international partners, has implemented extensive sanctions against Russia following its illegal invasion of Ukraine. These include sanctions which have targeted oil, Russia’s greatest source of revenue.
Illegal circumvention of those sanctions is unacceptable, which is why the Government is seeking multilateral action through the International Maritime Organization (IMO), such as the recent resolution on ship-to-ship (STS) transfers at sea by the dark fleet, which was co-sponsored by the UK and other G7 nations to tackle the environmental risk. This resolution presents strong recommendations to improve awareness and monitoring of STS transfers in countries’ waters, stronger adherence to international regulations and conventions, and a greater awareness of the fraudulent and deceptive activities by vessels in the ‘dark fleet’. Through these actions, the Government intends to highlight on the global stage the illegality of Russia’s actions and reduce the pollution risk by outlining the strong response that will be delivered to violations of sanctions.
Alongside this, the UK is a state party to the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds, which provides financial compensation for oil pollution damage that occurs in Member States resulting from spills of oil from tankers and includes situations where the oil tanker does not have valid insurance.
The UK has well-established plans/protocols for the response to an oil spill. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is the National Competent Authority for at-sea pollution response. The MCA Counter Pollution and Salvage (CPS), under the direction of HM Coastguard, are custodians of the national pollution response resources which comprise specialist oil containment and recovery equipment and dispersant. These are supported by manned aircraft for spill surveillance, verification and quantification and a suite of aerial dispersant spraying capability. Personnel and resources are in place 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year and provide an incident management and response capability anywhere within the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone. Regular exercises are undertaken to test national multi-agency spill response procedures.
The MCA does not have responsibility for pollution response on the UK shoreline; this is vested in the local authorities and devolved nations. However, the MCA CPS will support pollution response along the UK shoreline using the other nationally held containment and recovery capability held in the stockpiles. Incident management, specialist response teams, and liaison personnel are also available. As with at-sea pollution response, regular engagement with local authorities in response exercises is undertaken. The resources held by the MCA are those commensurate with a Tier 3 national response requirement as described within the National Contingency Plan for Pollution from Shipping and Offshore Installations.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of bioptic telescopic glasses to enable those with visual impairment to drive within the UK.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The use of bioptic devices and the possible implications on fitness to drive was discussed at a meeting of the Secretary of State for Transport’s Honorary Medical Advisory Panel on Driving and Visual Disorders meeting in October 2022.
The panel agreed that bioptics are only used on an average of 2% of driving time, thus resulting in the remaining 98% of driving time occurring with impaired visual acuity. The panel considered that the use of the bioptic device impinges upon the binocular visual field. Therefore, the panel agreed the use of such devices remain unacceptable for driving.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the practicality of supplying electric vehicle charging facilities for motorists in areas of dense terraced and high-rise living accommodation.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to ensuring that the right chargepoints are installed in the right places and has several schemes supporting charging infrastructure.
The £381m Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund will support local authorities to work with industry to provide tens of thousands of local chargepoints and transform the availability of charging for drivers without off-street parking.
Local authorities will also continue to benefit from the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme for smaller scale projects. So far funding has been awarded for the installation of over 18,000 chargepoints. The Government also provides grants to support the provision of chargepoints in private residential carparks such as those serving high-rise living accommodation. The grants provide up to £30,000 per apartment block towards the cost of installing EV chargepoints.
Grants are also available for people living in flats or rental accommodation with an off-street parking place, providing up to £350 towards the purchase and installation of a chargepoint.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for connectivity within the UK of P&O Ferries' decision to cease its ferry operations from Larne to Cairnryan.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Officials have been working at pace to ensure vital capacity is secured. I am grateful to other ferry companies that have stepped up to provide the ferry capacity that has been temporarily - and at no notice - taken out of the market by P&O Ferries. We have assurances that DFDS, Irish Ferries (with eight vessels between them) have sufficient capacity to accommodate both freight and passenger vehicles in the coming days, including on the Larne to Cairnryan route, albeit with some delays.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of potential new testing measures for COVID-19 for air travellers entering the United Kingdom; and whom they have consulted about this (1) nationally, and (2) internationally.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is actively working on the practicalities of using testing to release people from self-isolation earlier than 14 days. The Global Travel Taskforce (GTT) is working at pace to consider how testing, technology and innovation can drive a recovery for international travel and tourism, without adding to infection risk or infringing on our overall NHS test capacity.
In its work, the GTT will therefore seek to consult representatives from across the travel sector.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they had with the aviation sector before their decision to leave the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
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.
Continued UK participation in the EASA system would have been inconsistent with this approach.
This was set out in the UK’s approach to the negotiations published on 27 February. The EU also 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.
The Government regularly engages with industry and will continue to do so as the negotiations progress. This includes extensive engagement with the aerospace manufacturing sector during EU Exit preparations.
We want to agree a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) with the EU to minimise regulatory burdens for industry. This will facilitate the recognition of aviation safety standards, maintain high safety outcomes and enable continued regulatory cooperation between the UK and EU.
The UK 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, the CAA will continue to refine these plans over the coming months, and may require additional resources. Progress will be closely monitored.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what alternative arrangements will be put in place to secure aviation safety in the UK following their decision to leave the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
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.
Continued UK participation in the EASA system would have been inconsistent with this approach.
This was set out in the UK’s approach to the negotiations published on 27 February. The EU also 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.
The Government regularly engages with industry and will continue to do so as the negotiations progress. This includes extensive engagement with the aerospace manufacturing sector during EU Exit preparations.
We want to agree a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) with the EU to minimise regulatory burdens for industry. This will facilitate the recognition of aviation safety standards, maintain high safety outcomes and enable continued regulatory cooperation between the UK and EU.
The UK 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, the CAA will continue to refine these plans over the coming months, and may require additional resources. Progress will be closely monitored.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the funding required to maintain aviation safety in the UK following their decision to leave the European Union Aviation Safety Agency; and what will be the source of that funding.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
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.
Continued UK participation in the EASA system would have been inconsistent with this approach.
This was set out in the UK’s approach to the negotiations published on 27 February. The EU also 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.
The Government regularly engages with industry and will continue to do so as the negotiations progress. This includes extensive engagement with the aerospace manufacturing sector during EU Exit preparations.
We want to agree a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) with the EU to minimise regulatory burdens for industry. This will facilitate the recognition of aviation safety standards, maintain high safety outcomes and enable continued regulatory cooperation between the UK and EU.
The UK 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, the CAA will continue to refine these plans over the coming months, and may require additional resources. Progress will be closely monitored.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the access to global markets by UK manufacturers in the aviation sector as a result of their decision to leave the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
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.
Continued UK participation in the EASA system would have been inconsistent with this approach.
This was set out in the UK’s approach to the negotiations published on 27 February. The EU also 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.
The Government regularly engages with industry and will continue to do so as the negotiations progress. This includes extensive engagement with the aerospace manufacturing sector during EU Exit preparations.
We want to agree a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) with the EU to minimise regulatory burdens for industry. This will facilitate the recognition of aviation safety standards, maintain high safety outcomes and enable continued regulatory cooperation between the UK and EU.
The UK 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, the CAA will continue to refine these plans over the coming months, and may require additional resources. Progress will be closely monitored.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to negotiate a bi-lateral Aviation Safety Agreement with the EU following their decision to leave the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
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.
Continued UK participation in the EASA system would have been inconsistent with this approach.
This was set out in the UK’s approach to the negotiations published on 27 February. The EU also 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.
The Government regularly engages with industry and will continue to do so as the negotiations progress. This includes extensive engagement with the aerospace manufacturing sector during EU Exit preparations.
We want to agree a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) with the EU to minimise regulatory burdens for industry. This will facilitate the recognition of aviation safety standards, maintain high safety outcomes and enable continued regulatory cooperation between the UK and EU.
The UK 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, the CAA will continue to refine these plans over the coming months, and may require additional resources. Progress will be closely monitored.