Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are providing to increase the number of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) fuelled ships in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Natural gas in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG) or compressed natural gas (CNG) offers the potential for large reductions in all air pollutant emissions but limited GHG savings when compared to incumbent fuels (heavy fuel oil, marine diesel oil).
Our Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, launched in March 2021, allocated over £23m of research and development funding to 55 projects across the UK, including projects exploring internal combustion engine technology that is capable of using zero emission fuels like hydrogen, methanol and ammonia. The competition also supports projects on green shipbuilding, placing the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero emission vessels.
As set out in the Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener (October 2021), we will extend the CMDC to a multi-year programme. We will publish details of any future competitions in due course, including guidance for applicants.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are providing to increase the number of ammonia-powered ships in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In March 2021, we launched the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC), which allocated over £23m of research and development funding to 55 projects across the UK. The competition supports the design and development of clean maritime technologies, which includes ammonia, and explores green shipbuilding, placing the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero emission vessels. As set out in the Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener (October 2021), we will extend the CMDC to a multi-year programme. We will publish details of any future competitions in due course, including guidance for applicants.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of hydrogen-powered ships in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In March 2021, we launched the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC), which allocated over £23m of research and development funding to 55 projects across the UK. The competition supports the design and development of clean maritime technologies, which includes hydrogen, and explores green shipbuilding, placing the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero emission vessels. As set out in the Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener (October 2021), we will extend the CMDC to a multi-year programme. We will publish details of any future competitions in due course, including guidance for applicants.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on (1) the operational costs of HS2, and (2) ticket prices, as a result of the recent increase in energy prices.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
There has been no specific assessment of the impact of recent increases in energy prices on HS2 operating costs. HS2 is not due to be operational until between 2029 to 2033, and it is uncertain if the current energy price fluctuations will still be relevant at this time. Operational cost predictions, including energy prices, are updated regularly and future analysis will use the most relevant energy price projections. Detailed decisions on HS2 fares and services will be taken nearer to when the railway commences operation.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what tendering process was followed when steel work for the HS2 Little Missenden ventilation shaft was ordered from Sendin; and whether that company was UK-certified.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The steel referenced was procured by Align JV, HS2 Ltd.’s contractor, when the original UK-based supplier was unable to provide the material required in the agreed timescales, with the potential to incur delays and higher costs on the project. All suitable alternative UK suppliers were approached, but none could provide the necessary product in time.
The French fabricator, Sendin, who provided this steel is an internationally renowned supplier in this market with the steel provided meeting all relevant UK standards. Their timely response allowed the project to stay on schedule.
HS2 Ltd.’s supply chain already includes over 2,000 businesses – 97% of which are UK-based. HS2 Ltd. has adopted a number of initiatives in line with the UK Steel Charter, and both HS2 Ltd. and my department are committed to working across Government and with the UK steel industry to ensure it is engaged, informed and prepared to seize the contract opportunities that will be generated by the construction of HS2.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any substance which is considered to be hazardous to (1) pollinator populations, (2) aquatic life, (3) animals, or (4) humans, is being used in the construction of the Chilterns Tunnel as part of the HS2 development.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
All construction projects use substances that have the potential to cause harm if not used or controlled appropriately. All substances HS2 consider using (whether hazardous or not) are permissible within UK law and are subject to detailed risk assessment to assess the potential risk they pose.
With respect to construction of the Chilterns Tunnel, substances are reviewed by the Environment Agency and Affinity Water who are required to provide their consent before use. Their use is also subject to appropriate site management and monitoring regimes to avoid adverse impacts. This includes assessment of groundwater to determine if any substances are present at a concentration that could represent a risk.
All substances have been selected based on their suitability for their primary purpose and the specific environmental sensitivities of this location. Risks are assessed as being low because of how and where the substances or materials will be used. There is no pathway from the substances used during tunnelling activity to pollinators, whether or not a substance being used is deemed hazardous to them. No significant risks have been identified to aquatic life or animals with the substances to be used.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the adverse impact of the new road haulage rules.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
To provide immediate relief to the shortage of HGV drivers, we granted a temporary and limited relaxation to the drivers’ hours rules to allow additional flexibility to operators. Any changes to weekly rest patterns that results in reduced rest periods must be compensated for in the normal way.
The temporary relaxations of rules are to be used only where necessary, and operators must notify the Department if this measure is used. Driver safety must not be compromised, and drivers should not be expected to drive whilst tired. Employers remain responsible for the health and safety of their employees and other road users.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many taxpayer-funded apprentices are due to begin work in the next six months on (1) HS2, (2) Hinkley Point C, and (3) CrossRail.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Major projects such as HS2, Hinkley Point C and Crossrail are vital in helping the Government meet its ambitions of driving up the number of apprentices across the construction and transport sector.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they are having to ensure that HS2 Ltd and any of its sub-contractors meet their commitment to engage fully with the public.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The HS2 Community Engagement Strategy, published in 2017, explains how HS2 Ltd and its contractors will engage with communities and sets out its community commitments on public engagement. HS2 Ltd reports publicly on how well they are performing against these commitments. Five reports have been published to date and all are available on the HS2 website.
The Department for Transport regularly monitors how HS2 Ltd is performing against its community engagement commitments. In his most recent six-monthly report to Parliament on 23 March 2021, the HS2 Minister provided an account of the activities that HS2 Ltd and the Department are deploying to strengthen its community handling approach. The Department continues to review this area to ensure that HS2 Ltd delivers on its commitments and is prepared to take further action as necessary.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate of the improvement in UK productivity that will result from building the HS2 railway.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Transport published the Phase 1 HS2 business case in April 2020. Paragraph 2.85 and Figure 2.2 of this document set out the breakdown of the total GDP impacts (£82bn at 2015 prices) of the HS2 programme. Whilst total productivity impact has not been formally estimated, the constituent parts of the GDP benefits provide estimated impacts which are important sources of productivity gains.
The £60bn of business user benefits could be translated as direct gains from productivity improvements to business users. Similarly, the impacts from agglomeration (£14bn) due to HS2 captures the impact from improved productivity through urbanisation, and some labour supply impacts (£2bn) through positive labour market dynamics.
HS2 is expected to be transformational, and the wider impacts are likely to be much more significant than currently estimated in the business case. Some of these impacts have been explained in the Strategic Case, regarding skills and employment impacts, innovation and technological changes etc. However, the wider economic impact has not been fully quantified in the economic case.
This lack quantification of important and significant wider benefits was reflected in Conclusion 49 of the Oakervee Review. Also, given that the significance of investments entailing HS2, it will likely have macro-economic impacts on labour and other markets, that may drive up productivity gains. Combining the change to economic geography, dynamic agglomeration and improving access to higher productivity jobs, with the wider macro-economic impacts of the scheme, the productivity impact is likely to be significant.
The Department is working with its arm’s length bodies to develop the evidence on transformational impacts and will aim to incorporate some such evidence, when assured, in future business cases.