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Written Question
Transport: Finance
Thursday 14th December 2023

Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his planned timetable is for the distribution of funding previously allocated to HS2.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

In October, the Prime Minister announced that the full £36bn saved from HS2 up to 2041 will be reallocated with £19.8 billion for the North, £9.6 billion for the Midlands and £6.5 billion for the rest of the country.


Written Question
Rail Review
Thursday 9th September 2021

Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to implement the policies set out in the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Transformation of our railways has begun, and passengers are already benefiting, including through the introduction of new flexi season tickets.


Written Question
Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: EU Countries
Thursday 22nd July 2021

Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of new cabotage rules set out by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement on UK hauliers involved in touring activities in the EU.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) allows EU hauliers to continue to operate to, from, through and within the UK without the need for permits. The TCA ensures that the vast majority of journeys will continue as they did before the end of the transition period.

The Department for Transport continues to have regular discussions with colleagues across Whitehall on this issue, and is working closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport through their Touring Working Group. The Department also continues engage directly with the road haulage sector to help them adapt to the new rules under the TCA.


Written Question
Large Goods Vehicles: Arts
Thursday 22nd July 2021

Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made with the EU on negotiating a cultural exemption on cabotage limits for UK hauliers involved in touring activities in the EU.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) allows EU hauliers to continue to operate to, from, through and within the UK without the need for permits. The TCA ensures that the vast majority of journeys will continue as they did before the end of the transition period.

The Department for Transport continues to have regular discussions with colleagues across Whitehall on this issue, and is working closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport through their Touring Working Group. The Department also continues engage directly with the road haulage sector to help them adapt to the new rules under the TCA.


Written Question
Motor Vehicles: Arts
Thursday 22nd July 2021

Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress he has made on the publication of guidance for (a) splitter vans and (b) all other vehicles used by artists touring in the EU.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) allows EU hauliers to continue to operate to, from, through and within the UK without the need for permits. The TCA ensures that the vast majority of journeys will continue as they did before the end of the transition period.

The Department for Transport continues to have regular discussions with colleagues across Whitehall on this issue, and is working closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport through their Touring Working Group. The Department also continues engage directly with the road haulage sector to help them adapt to the new rules under the TCA.


Written Question
Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: EU Countries
Thursday 22nd July 2021

Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the new cabotage rules set out in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU, what recent assessment he has made of ways to ease new restrictions on cabotage and road haulage for tours operating from the UK.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) allows EU hauliers to continue to operate to, from, through and within the UK without the need for permits. The TCA ensures that the vast majority of journeys will continue as they did before the end of the transition period.

The Department for Transport continues to have regular discussions with colleagues across Whitehall on this issue, and is working closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport through their Touring Working Group. The Department also continues engage directly with the road haulage sector to help them adapt to the new rules under the TCA.


Written Question
Large Goods Vehicles: Theatre
Wednesday 26th May 2021

Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU on UK hauliers supporting theatre productions that originate in the UK to undertake a continuous multinational tour in Europe.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

Our assessment is that the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) ensures that the majority of haulage operations will continue as they did before the end of the transition period.  Under the agreement, UK operators are limited to 2 movements within the EU before returning to the UK.


Written Question
Coastal Areas: South East
Friday 11th December 2020

Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help ensure that (a) Clacton constituency and (b) deprived coastal areas in the South are included in the Government's levelling up agenda.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are committed to levelling up opportunity across the UK – by boosting jobs, wages and prospects for all communities. The government is launching a new Levelling Up Fund worth £4bn for England. This will invest in local infrastructure that has a visible impact on people and their communities and will support economic recovery. We will publish more detail on the criteria for assessing bids in the prospectus.

The Department is also working to implement the findings of the Green Book Review to better reflect the government's strategic objectives in business cases, particularly on levelling up.


Written Question
Electric Vehicles: Sales
Monday 3rd February 2020

Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to introduce incentives to increase the number of electric vehicles purchased by consumers.

Answered by George Freeman

The Government’s Road to Zero strategy published in July 2018 sets out a clear pathway to zero emissions. We are investing nearly £1.5bn‎ between April 2015 and March 2021, with grants available for plug-in cars, vans, lorries, buses, taxis and motorcycles, and schemes to support charge point infrastructure at homes, workplaces and on residential streets. We are also considering the introduction of green number plates. To improve consumer attitudes towards electric vehicles, in collaboration with industry, Government also founded the Go Ultra Low communications campaign to promote the benefits of electric vehicles and enable consumers and businesses to make the switch. This comprises of the most comprehensive support packages in the world for the transition to zero emission vehicles.

As the Manifesto set out, and the Secretary of State spoke about in October, the Government intends to consult on the earliest date that we can phase out the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars, while minimising the impact on drivers and businesses.

Government is supporting further growth of the public network through the launch of the Chargepoint Infrastructure Investment Fund. £200 million of Government funding is matched-funded by private investment to install chargepoints. The first investment round, worth a total of £70 million, will ensure the delivery of a further 3,000 rapid charging devices by 2024, more than doubling the current number of rapid charging devices

Our Manifesto last year stated that, along with the private sector, the Government will invest £1 billion in charging infrastructure – making sure that everyone is within 30 miles of a rapid charging station for electric vehicles.


Written Question
Electric Vehicles: Charging Points
Monday 4th November 2019

Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that electric vehicle charging infrastructure is made available in (a) Clacton and (b) the UK.

Answered by George Freeman

Zero emission motorists in Clacton can benefit from grants under the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme and Work Place Chargepoint Schemes and Tendring District Council can apply for funding under the On-street Residential Charging scheme.

We want to encourage private sector investment to build and operate a self-sustaining public network that is affordable, reliable and accessible.

Government funding, alongside private sector investment, has supported the installation of more than 22,500 places to charge, including 2,100 rapid devices– creating one of the largest networks in Europe. In August the Secretary of State announced that funding for this year’s on street residential charging scheme, which offers grants to local authorities to support investment at a local level, would be doubled from £2.5 to £5 million. Highways England has also committed £15m to ensure there are chargepoints (rapid where possible) every 20 miles on 95% of the Strategic Road Network by 2020.

This is in addition to the £400m Chargepoint Infrastructure Investment Fund , with the first tranche of funding launched in September 2019.