Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of funding for the British Transport Police.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The British Transport Police’s (BTP) budget is set by the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA). It is the executive non-departmental public body that oversees the Force and is their employer. BTPA sets the BTP’s budget annually following proposals from the Force and views from industry. Set against a backdrop of wider public sector efficiencies and affordability by the rail industry it has agreed a budget increase for the financial year 2025/26 of 5.9%. BTP work closely with BTPA and industry operators to make final resourcing decisions with their agreed budget.
The cost of policing the rail network in Great Britain is primarily covered through the funding agreements that the British Transport Police Authority holds with Network Rail, the rail operators and Transport for London.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the (a) transition to and (b) commencement of Great British Railways on the level of funding for British Transport Police.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The British Transport Police’s (BTP) budget is set currently set by the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA). It is the executive non-departmental public body that oversees the Force and is their employer. BTPA sets the BTP’s budget annually following proposals from the Force and views from industry.
We anticipate that the level of funding for the BTP during the transition to and commencement of Great British Railways will similarly balance the needs of the industry and the force against public sector affordability.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will review emission standards for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in line with EU ratings.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The current emission standard for cars and vans in Great Britain is known as Euro 6d. Under the Windsor Framework, Northern Ireland applies the EU standard, known as Euro 6e.
The Department for Transport plans to consult soon on a proposal to update the required emission standard for new cars and vans, including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, in line with Euro 6e.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support the decarbonisation of heavy duty vehicles.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to decarbonising heavy-duty vehicles, and is supporting this through programmes such as the Plug-in Truck Grant, the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) programme, further funding for the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas programme, and a bus decarbonisation measure in the Bus Services Bill, which is currently going through Parliament.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a zero emission vehicle mandate for heavy duty vehicles.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government believes that more needs to be done to decarbonise the road freight sector. We are currently considering our regulatory approach for decarbonising new non-zero emission heavy goods vehicles and look forward to engaging the sector on this in due course.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the rapid charging fund is used effectively.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A reliable, accessible and visible public charging network to support EV drivers on long journeys is essential.
The market has changed significantly since the previous government announced the Rapid Charging Fund in 2020, including increased private sector investment in infrastructure, a changed regulatory environment, and improvements in battery technology. There are now over 5,250 open-access, rapid and ultra-rapid chargepoints within 1 mile of the Strategic Road Network (England’s motorways and major A roads).
We will ensure taxpayers' money is used as efficiently as possible to make the transition to electric vehicles a success. The Rapid Charging Fund pilot was launched in 2023 to better understand where to target government support. We will apply learning from the pilot and continue working with industry to inform future policy to boost charging infrastructure on the Strategic Road Network.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2024 to Question 13050 on Railways: Access, what recent progress his Department has made on assessing applications for Access for All funding.
Answered by Huw Merriman
As part of our recent Network North announcement, the Government confirmed £350m will be made available to improve the accessibility of our train stations. We are assessing over 300 nominations for Access for All funding. At stations awarded funding this will create an obstacle free, accessible route from the station entrance to platforms. Successful nominations will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending the eligibility criteria for plug-in vehicle grants to private cars.
Answered by Anthony Browne
There are now over a million battery electric cars registered in the UK, and their sales continue to grow. The Government is targeting its incentives where they have the most impact and deliver the greatest value for money. Plug-in Grants will continue until at least financial year 2024/25 for motorcycles, vans, taxis, trucks and wheelchair accessible vehicles.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that highways funding supports pavement accessibility.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the public highway network in their area, including footways and pavements. In doing so the Department recommends that they follow the advice set out in various guidance documents, which covers topics such as the maintenance and design of pavements, and the use of tactile paving .
The additional £8.3 billion of highway maintenance funding that the Government is providing to all English local highway authorities over the years 2023/24 to 2033/34 will allow them to invest in improvements to their local highway networks, including pavements and footways. Authorities will be expected to detail how this additional funding is being spent, to allow members of the public to hold them to account for this.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report by the Local Government Association entitled The path to inclusive footways, published on 10 February 2024.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department is aware that pavement parking is a challenging and complex issue.
Local authorities are responsible for parking restrictions and already have powers to tackle pavement parking by implementing Traffic Regulation Orders. The Department has consulted on further options to help local authorities outside London tackle this issue and will publish a formal response when final decisions have been taken.