Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the potential public health impact of excess nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel vehicles fitted with defeat devices since 2015.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to reducing air pollution from all forms of transport.
The department recognises that elevated NOx emissions from diesel vehicles contribute to poor air quality. The Department has not produced a specific UK-only assessment of the potential health impact.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s Market Surveillance Unit (MSU) is investigating cases of possible non-compliant diesel emissions in cars and vans. The investigations aim to ensure any non-compliance found is fixed as soon as reasonably possible, working together with manufacturers to achieve real-world impacts on air quality.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will take steps to ensure that vehicles fitted with illegal emissions defeat devices are (a) recalled and (b) rectified at no cost to the vehicle owner.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s Market Surveillance Unit (MSU) is investigating cases of possible non-compliant diesel emissions in cars and vans. The investigations aim to ensure any non-compliance found is fixed as soon as reasonably possible, working together with manufacturers to achieve real-world impacts on air quality.
Where an investigation into the emissions has identified emissions that do not meet the required standard, the MSU will work with the manufacturer to implement improvement plans and, where necessary, recall affected vehicles. In the event of non-compliance, work to bring the vehicle into compliance will be done at no expense to the owner.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to provide (a) additional funding and (b) guidance to local authorities to support the expansion of School Streets schemes across England.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
On 19 November 2024, Active Travel England and the Department for Transport published guidance for local authorities in England on how to set up and manage a School Streets scheme. This can be found on the government website.
Funding for School Streets Schemes is available from a variety of funding sources, including the Consolidated Active Travel Fund which was announced in February 2025 as part of £222.5 million of funding being made available for local authorities for 2024/25-25/26. Additionally, the Spending Review of June 2025 allocated £616 million over the next four years to build and maintain walking, wheeling, and cycling infrastructure. Further funding is available from wider transport funds, such as Transport for City Regions settlements.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of diesel vehicles in the UK that are fitted with illegal defeat devices.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is investigating a range of Euro 5 and early Euro 6 diesel vehicles where potential non-compliance has been identified.
There are currently 95 vehicle models from 28 brands under investigation. Manufacturers with a vehicle model under investigation have received a notification of this. For legal and operational reasons, the DVSA does not publish case-specific figures during active investigations.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of School Streets schemes on (a) reducing air pollution and (b) improving child health outcomes.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Provision of school streets is a matter for local traffic authorities to consider. The Department and Active Travel England published guidance for local authorities last year, which included information and research on air quality and traffic impacts. The guidance is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-streets-how-to-set-up-and-manage-a-scheme
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking with local (a) authorities and (b) transport authorities to help increase EV uptake in cities.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund has allocated capital and resource funding across all higher tier local authorities (LAs) in England, to ensure chargepoint rollout improves significantly, including in cities. In total, the LEVI Fund will support the installation of at least 100,000 chargepoints across England giving drivers, especially those without access to off-street parking, the confidence to switch to an EV.
To further address gaps in infrastructure and make it easier for those without a driveway to charge at home, the Government has also announced a new £25 million grant for local authorities in England to install electric vehicle pavement channels. Support is also available to LAs through one-to-one guidance, masterclasses and an online knowledge repository.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to make EV charging at home more (a) widely accessible and (b) affordable.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A range of Government grants are available to support the installation of charging devices for people living in flats and rented accommodation and for those with accessible on-street parking.
The Government is also working with local authorities to encourage the use of cross-pavement solutions. Our £25 million Electric Vehicle Pavement Channel Grant, announced on 13 July, will support thousands of residents without off-street parking to conveniently charge their vehicles at home, accessing cheaper tariffs through their domestic energy supplies.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) local transport authorities and (b) bus operators to increase use of (i) hybrid, (ii) electric and (iii) hydrogen buses on local transport networks.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The full transition to zero emission buses (ZEBs) is a vital part of the Government’s plan to make buses better for passengers and to realise the benefits of lower running costs, cleaner air and smoother, quieter journeys.
The Department has supported the bus sector with almost £500m in direct funding support for ZEBs in recent years, including £38m announced in April to deliver an additional 319 ZEBs through the ZEBRA (Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas) programme.
The Government has reduced the number of different funding streams we pay to Local Transport Authorities. Major city regions will benefit from the £15.6bn Transport for Cities fund to improve local transport in some of our largest city regions, allowing local leaders to play a more active role in the delivery of local bus services, in partnership with our bus operators, and allocate some funding toward decarbonising their local fleets.
Our smaller cities, towns and rural areas will receive £2.3bn from the Local Transport Grant and over £800m bus capital funding. Local leaders can use this funding to invest in local priorities, such as investment in new ZEBs.
To support our domestic ZEB industry, the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel was established in March 2025. A key objective of the Panel is to help create a steady pipeline of manufacturing orders. This pipeline involves gathering the necessary data on bus orders over the next ten years into one place so that it is accessible to all ZEB stakeholders. This will offer greater planning certainty to both local transport authorities and bus operators as they develop future decarbonisation strategies. Equally, UK-based manufacturers are well placed to benefit from this stability.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will hold discussions with British Airways on the frequency of flights between the UK and Ghana.
Answered by Mike Kane
DfT officials hold regular discussions with airlines, airports and international partners, including Ghana, to facilitate global connectivity. Routes operated, the frequency and management of those routes, are commercial decisions made freely by airlines as an independent business. As these are commercial decisions, the DfT has not had any discussions with British Airways on the frequency of its UK-Ghana route. The recently updated UK- Ghana Air Services Agreement allows for additional direct flights to operate between the UK and Ghana to be operated by an interested and designated UK or Ghanaian airline.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of British Airways' recent performance on the UK-Ghana route.
Answered by Mike Kane
British Airways operate direct routes between the UK and Ghana from London Gatwick Airport and London Heathrow Airport.
UK aviation operates in the private sector, and airlines are responsible for ensuring they reach an acceptable level of performance for their passengers.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) publishes flight punctuality statistics and is responsible for ensuring the industry meets relevant regulatory requirements.