Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Rights on Flights campaign.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department for Transport published the Aviation Consumer Policy Reform Consultation in 2022 to seek views on consumer rights issues, including additional powers for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to enforce rights such as the power to fine, and reforms to the compensation available for damage to wheelchairs and mobility aids on domestic UK flights. It also looked at whether there are any other reforms that could be considered to assist passengers with accessibility needs. Responses are being analysed and next steps will be set out in due course.
The Department regularly meets with interest and campaign groups and welcomes their input in improving the consumer rights framework.
Departmental officials also meet regularly with the CAA to discuss consumer issues, including accessibility, and the Department and the CAA have written to the industry, including all major airlines and UK airports, to set clear expectations on support for disabled and less mobile passengers.
The CAA is responsible for enforcing consumer laws, including those relating to accessibility. It monitors airport accessibility performance annually against its performance framework and will publish its usual report this summer. The CAA published an additional interim report in December 2022, highlighting areas of good practice as well as airports requiring improvement. It has also published a consultation on a performance framework for airlines.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of potential merits of taking steps to reduce vehicle miles driven in the UK in helping to meet the Climate Change Committee carbon budgets without increasing targets under the ZEV mandate.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, we recognised that a rapid transition to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) will be critical for delivering emission reductions, and we have announced we will introduce a ZEV mandate to further accelerate that transition.
We also recognised the need to enable the use of sustainable travel choices, like public transport, and to make walking and cycling people’s natural first choice. To support this we have, since 2020, made record amounts of funding available for investment in buses, walking and cycling.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help make the use of hydrogen commercially viable for heavy good vehicles.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Last month we announced £200m of funding to expand the Department’s Zero Emission Road Freight Demonstrator programme. This will see the deployment of three zero emission HGV technologies at scale on UK roads, as announced within the Net Zero Strategy, with the battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell demonstration competitions due to launch shortly. Evidence gathered as part of these demonstrations will inform which technology, or mix of technologies are best suited to decarbonise the heaviest elements of the UK’s road freight fleet.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of the collapse of online travel agents in the low-cost carrier sector on (a) competition, (b) consumers, (c) that market and (d) public funds.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Under competition law, responsibility for investigating individual competition issues falls to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK’s competition authority. As an independent authority, the CMA has discretion to investigate competition cases which, according to its prioritisation principles, it considers most appropriate. The CMA also has powers to conduct detailed examinations of why particular markets may not be working well, and decide what remedial action is appropriate. Concerns about market competition can be submitted to the CMA.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of online travel agents on levels of competition for consumers in terms of (a) price, (b) protection, (c) convenience and (d) choice in the low-cost carrier sector.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Government has not carried out a recent assessment of competition for consumers in the online travel agent sector.
Under competition law, responsibility for investigating individual competition issues falls to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK’s competition authority. As an independent authority, the CMA has discretion to investigate competition cases which, according to its prioritisation principles, it considers most appropriate. The CMA also has powers to conduct detailed examinations of why particular markets may not be working well, and decide what remedial action is appropriate. Concerns about market competition can be submitted to the CMA.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the merits of the Competition and Market Authority launching a market review to examine competition in the low-cost carrier sector.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The UK has a competitive aviation market, which operates predominantly in the private sector. Airports invest in their infrastructure to attract passengers and airlines, while airlines are well placed to deliver services to their customers by responding to demand for routes. Whilst we recognise the importance of maintaining a thriving and competitive aviation sector in the UK to deliver connectivity, levelling up and the supporting the Union, it is for airlines to determine the routes they operate based on their own assessment on whether routes are commercially viable.
Under competition law, responsibility for investigating individual competition issues falls to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK’s competition authority. As an independent authority, the CMA has discretion to investigate competition cases which, according to its prioritisation principles, it considers most appropriate. The CMA also has powers to conduct detailed examinations of why particular markets may not be working well, and decide what remedial action is appropriate. Concerns about market competition can be submitted to the CMA.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact on consumers at smaller regional airports in the (a) South West, (b) North West, and (c) North East of the lack of competition amongst low-cost carriers on outbound routes.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The UK has a competitive aviation market, which operates predominantly in the private sector. Airports invest in their infrastructure to attract passengers and airlines, while airlines are well placed to deliver services to their customers by responding to demand for routes. Whilst we recognise the importance of maintaining a thriving and competitive aviation sector in the UK to deliver connectivity, levelling up and the supporting the Union, it is for airlines to determine the routes they operate based on their own assessment on whether routes are commercially viable.
Under competition law, responsibility for investigating individual competition issues falls to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK’s competition authority. As an independent authority, the CMA has discretion to investigate competition cases which, according to its prioritisation principles, it considers most appropriate. The CMA also has powers to conduct detailed examinations of why particular markets may not be working well, and decide what remedial action is appropriate. Concerns about market competition can be submitted to the CMA.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact on the consumer of each low-cost carrier holding close to 100 per cent of seat capacity in relation to flights to key holiday destinations from UK airports where they operate.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The UK has a competitive aviation market, which operates predominantly in the private sector. Airports invest in their infrastructure to attract passengers and airlines, while airlines are well placed to deliver services to their customers by responding to demand for routes. Whilst we recognise the importance of maintaining a thriving and competitive aviation sector in the UK to deliver connectivity, levelling up and the supporting the Union, it is for airlines to determine the routes they operate based on their own assessment on whether routes are commercially viable.
Under competition law, responsibility for investigating individual competition issues falls to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK’s competition authority. As an independent authority, the CMA has discretion to investigate competition cases which, according to its prioritisation principles, it considers most appropriate. The CMA also has powers to conduct detailed examinations of why particular markets may not be working well, and decide what remedial action is appropriate. Concerns about market competition can be submitted to the CMA.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the number of major low-cost carriers operating low-cost outbound flights to holiday destinations from airports in the UK.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The UK has a competitive aviation market, which operates predominantly in the private sector. Airports invest in their infrastructure to attract passengers and airlines, while airlines are well placed to deliver services to their customers by responding to demand for routes. Whilst we recognise the importance of maintaining a thriving and competitive aviation sector in the UK to deliver connectivity, levelling up and the supporting the Union, it is for airlines to determine the routes they operate based on their own assessment on whether routes are commercially viable.
Under competition law, responsibility for investigating individual competition issues falls to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK’s competition authority. As an independent authority, the CMA has discretion to investigate competition cases which, according to its prioritisation principles, it considers most appropriate. The CMA also has powers to conduct detailed examinations of why particular markets may not be working well, and decide what remedial action is appropriate. Concerns about market competition can be submitted to the CMA.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of whether structural market features in the low-cost carrier sector are being misused by the few dominant airlines in the market.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The UK has a competitive aviation market, which operates predominantly in the private sector. Airports invest in their infrastructure to attract passengers and airlines, while airlines are well placed to deliver services to their customers by responding to demand for routes. Whilst we recognise the importance of maintaining a thriving and competitive aviation sector in the UK to deliver connectivity, levelling up and the supporting the Union, it is for airlines to determine the routes they operate based on their own assessment on whether routes are commercially viable.
Under competition law, responsibility for investigating individual competition issues falls to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK’s competition authority. As an independent authority, the CMA has discretion to investigate competition cases which, according to its prioritisation principles, it considers most appropriate. The CMA also has powers to conduct detailed examinations of why particular markets may not be working well, and decide what remedial action is appropriate. Concerns about market competition can be submitted to the CMA.