Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the report by the Climate Change Committee entitled 2023 Progress Report to Parliament, published on 28 June 2023, whether he plans to accept the recommendation that no airport expansions should proceed until a UK-wide capacity management framework is in place to (a) annually assess and (b) control sector (i) CO2 emissions and (ii) non-CO2 effects.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Decarbonising transport is central to delivery of the UK’s cross-economy climate targets and directly supports the Prime Minister’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower and accelerate our journey to net zero.
Delivering greener transport is one of five priorities the Secretary of State for Transport has set out for the Department for Transport.
The Government will respond to points raised in the Climate Change Committee’s annual report to Parliament, published on 18 July 2024, in the autumn.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 May 2024 to Question 23803 on Aviation: South East, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the progress made by Heathrow Airport in meeting the Future Airspace Strategy Implementation South change deadlines.
Answered by Anthony Browne
The department has robust governance to effectively monitor progress of airspace modernisation, alongside the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). My Officials have engaged with Heathrow Airport whilst they move towards their Stage 2 gateway under the CAP 1616 process. A decision on whether to approve changes to the notified airspace design is made by the CAA in accordance with the airspace modernisation strategy and requirements set out in the Transport Act 2000.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of removing digitised signatures from UK passports issued after January 2017 on the online renewal process for DVLA photocard licences.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The impact of His Majesty’s Passport Office no longer collecting digital signatures for passports on driving licence applications has been minimal. Around 70 per cent of driving licence renewal applications are made online.
The DVLA also has an online service which allows customers applying for a first provisional driving licence to upload their own digital photograph and signature. Customers using the DVLA’s renew a photocard licence service can also upload a new signature or use an existing one.
The DVLA is focused on delivering further improvements to enable even more customers to use its online services. The exact order of implementing service improvements will be based on where the DVLA can add the most value to customers.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his timeline is for extending an online renewal service to all DVLA photocard licences.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The impact of His Majesty’s Passport Office no longer collecting digital signatures for passports on driving licence applications has been minimal. Around 70 per cent of driving licence renewal applications are made online.
The DVLA also has an online service which allows customers applying for a first provisional driving licence to upload their own digital photograph and signature. Customers using the DVLA’s renew a photocard licence service can also upload a new signature or use an existing one.
The DVLA is focused on delivering further improvements to enable even more customers to use its online services. The exact order of implementing service improvements will be based on where the DVLA can add the most value to customers.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 19 September 2023 to Question 199520 on Luton Airport: Construction, when he plans to respond to the Climate Change Committee's recommendations; and if he will respond to the recommendation on not expanding the airport until a capacity management framework is in place before announcing a decision on expansion of the airport.
Answered by Anthony Browne
The Government responded to the Climate Change Committee’s recommendations on 26 October 2023. The published response “Responding to the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) 2023 Annual Progress Report to Parliament” is available in the Libraries of the House.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the (a) dates, (b) times and (c) locations of incidents when smart-motorway technology lost power.
Answered by Guy Opperman
This is an operational matter, for which National Highways is responsible. The latest safety data was published by National Highways in their Third Year Progress Report, which was published in December 2023: https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-work/smart-motorways-evidence-stocktake/
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to require drivers to carry a warning triangle in their cars.
Answered by Guy Opperman
There are no plans to put forward legislative proposals to require drivers to carry a warning triangle in their cars.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Heathrow Airport, (b) the Civil Aviation Authority and (c) NATS Holdings on the timeline for progressing the Future Airspace Strategy Implementation South changes.
Answered by Anthony Browne
The department has in place robust engagement and governance arrangements to effectively monitor the delivery of airspace modernisation by key organisations, such as the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and NATS.
Heathrow Airport, the CAA and NATS are members of the Aviation Council. Co-chaired at Ministerial level, the council brings together industry and government to support the delivery of key policy ambitions such as airspace modernisation. The Secretary of State for Transport also visited Heathrow Airport and NATS last year.
The department also regularly engages with the Airspace Change Organising Group (ACOG) who are responsible for overseeing the FASI programme which currently includes 20 airports in the UK, including Heathrow Airport
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to encourage (a) train operating companies and (b) station car park contractors to (i) conduct and (ii) publish equality impact assessments detailing the steps they plan to take to support people that are digitally excluded.
Answered by Huw Merriman
Charging and payment methods for car parking at stations is a commercial decision for train operators and Network Rail. Train operators are responsible for considering the equalities impacts of operational changes on issues such as this, as set out in the 2018 ‘Station Car Parking Good Practice Guide for Train Operators’. The Department expects that train operators should consider each station’s needs and customer base when making decisions on charging at the car parks they manage.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2024 to Question 13143 on Roads: Safety, and with reference to the Answer of 28 February 2023 to Question 150393 on Roads: Safety, whether it remains his policy to publish an updated Road Safety Strategic Framework.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Government is committed to road safety, and we are working on a number of measures to keep our roads and road users safe.