Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to publish a detailed plan for the newly established UK SHORE unit.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) was announced this month as part of the refresh of the National Shipbuilding Strategy. More information on UK SHORE, including plans for a multi-year Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, will be published in due course, alongside guidance for applicants.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to take steps with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to permit people who do not have a British Passport to renew their driving licence online.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will be expanding its new driver application service over the next year. This will allow customers to upload their own photograph (and signature) instead of using one from a UK passport, as the current service requires. The DVLA is working with the Home Office to create an electronic link to its View and prove your immigration status service. This will allow those with a non-UK passport to be authenticated online and to apply for or renew their licence online.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to create a dedicated HGV driver task force to tackle challenges facing that industry.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
There are no plans to create a dedicated HGV driver task force. Cabinet Ministers attend regular meetings organised by the Domestic and Economic Operations [DE(Ops)] Secretariat to agree measures to address the heavy goods vehicle driver shortage. The Government also engages in regular discussions and consultations with the road haulage industry to inform actions to tackle issues they are facing.
The various actions we are already taking to tackle the HGV driver shortage are working, for example all HGV driver licence applications are being turned around within the normal time of five working days and we’re seeing hundreds more people than normal apply for a licence each week.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing parking concessions for home carers.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, local authorities have the responsibility and powers to manage parking provision in light of local needs. This includes the ability to introduce parking concessions, including for home carers, as they see fit.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much of the £300 million in funding announced in the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 for the extension of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition and HGV technology trials will be made available specifically to the maritime sector.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
DfT received £300m for R&D initiatives to help commercialise low and zero emission technologies. The Department will shortly commence a prioritisation process to allocate this funding across different programmes, including maritime. The outcome will be shared in due course.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help support the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to address the driving test backlog.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has put in place a number of measures to increase practical driving tests. These include offering overtime and annual leave buy back to examiners, asking all those qualified to conduct tests, but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests, and conducting out of hours testing (such as on public holidays). The DVSA has also started a recruitment campaign to increase the number of examiners.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he (a) has taken and (b) plans to take so that the Office of Low Emission Vehicles Grant is potentially accessible for the maximum number of applicants.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Office for Zero Emissions Vehicles (OZEV) administers several grant funding schemes to assist with the up-front cost of purchasing zero emission vehicles, and the associated recharging infrastructure. The government keeps all of these schemes under review and aims to ensure they represent value for money for tax payers Phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030 will put the UK on course to be the G7 country that will decarbonise cars and vans fastest. Doing this will help us meet our climate change obligations, improve air quality, support economic growth and put us at the forefront of the electric vehicle revolution with vehicles built right here in the UK. The Plug-in Car Grant focuses grant funding on more affordable zero emission vehicles priced under £35k where most consumers will be looking and where public money will make more of a difference. The Government has pledged £582 million in grants for those purchasing zero or ultra-low emission vehicles to make them cheaper to buy and incentivise more people to make the transition. The March 2020 Budget confirmed that users of zero emission cars will continue to benefit from favourable company car tax rates until 2025 (1% of list price in 2021/22 and 2% in 2022/23 though to 2024/25).
Additionally, all zero emission cars are exempt from vehicle excise duty (VED). Reforms to our home and workplace charging grants will focus support on those that need it most, including those living in flats, rental and leasehold accommodation, SMEs and charities.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what risk assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of removing the legal requirement to wear face coverings on public transport during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Since 19 July, whilst many of the legal restrictions that the Government has imposed through the pandemic have been lifted, guidance will remain, making it clear this is not yet a return to normal. The Government expects and recommends that people wear face coverings in crowded areas such as public transport. By practising key behaviours, people can continue to protect themselves and others. Employees and customers who wish to wear a face covering should be supported to do so. If transport operators wish to set their own policy on face coverings, that is a matter for them to consider, as long as they meet existing legal obligations including under equalities law.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has he made of the waiting times for HGV driving licence tests; and whether he has plans to take steps to reduce them.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The suspension of routine vocational testing as a result of the pandemic has created an inevitable backlog. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is doing all it can to increase the number of vocational tests available and has put in place a number of measures to do this.
These include offering overtime and annual leave buy back to examiners, asking all those qualified to conduct tests, but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests, and conducting out of hours testing (such as on public holidays and weekends). This has increased the overall number of vocational test slots made available to around 3,000 per week.
The DVSA will be launching a recruitment campaign to increase the number of HGV examiners. It will also continue its training programme to enable more examiners to conduct vocational tests.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of allowing Class 3 mobility scooters to be used in cycle lanes.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Mobility scooters can be used on footways, footpaths, bridleways or pedestrianised areas, provided that they are used in accordance with prescribed requirements. Larger mobility scooters, capable of going up to 8mph, are permitted to use the road. The Government does not have any current plans to review and update the places where mobility scooters are permitted to be used.