Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Government on revisions to firework safety legislation to include provisions on (a) community safety and (b) noise-level controls.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government regularly engages with its counterparts in Scotland on fireworks. These discussions include antisocial use and the impact of noise. The current regulatory framework is designed to support people to enjoy fireworks whilst lowering the risk of dangers and disruption to people, pets, and property.
No assessment has been made in bringing forward legislative proposals to protect wildlife parks and zoos from the impacts of fireworks. To inform any future decisions on fireworks policy I intend to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on the issues and impacts with fireworks, including on animal welfare.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to protect (a) wildlife parks and (b) zoos from the impact of firework usage.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government regularly engages with its counterparts in Scotland on fireworks. These discussions include antisocial use and the impact of noise. The current regulatory framework is designed to support people to enjoy fireworks whilst lowering the risk of dangers and disruption to people, pets, and property.
No assessment has been made in bringing forward legislative proposals to protect wildlife parks and zoos from the impacts of fireworks. To inform any future decisions on fireworks policy I intend to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on the issues and impacts with fireworks, including on animal welfare.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to align the UK’s regulations with the EU’s recent prohibition on exporting banned chemicals to countries where they remain permitted.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to protecting human health and the environment.
Requirements for the export of hazardous chemicals are agreed at the international level under the Rotterdam Convention. In GB, the export of certain hazardous chemicals is regulated through the GB Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Regulation.
The regulatory requirements under GB PIC are the same as under the EU PIC Regulation but the UK now makes its own decisions under PIC and other chemicals legislation.
We continue to monitor developments in other countries and learn from their experiences.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of classifying bi-directional EV charging as an Energy Saving Material.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The installation of qualifying energy-saving materials (ESMs) in residential accommodation and buildings used solely for a relevant charitable purpose benefits from a temporary VAT zero rate until March 2027. Following a Call for Evidence (CfE) last year, electrical storage batteries were one of the technologies added to the relief. However, as set out in the Government response to the CfE, at that time, the Government was unable to identify sufficient independent data regarding the efficiency of heat batteries. As such, they do not currently qualify for VAT relief.
EV charge points were also proposed to be added to the ESMs VAT relief by CfE respondents. However, they were not added to the relief, because their primary purpose is not to save energy or reduce carbon emissions, meaning EV charge points don’t meet the objectives of the relief.
The Government currently has no plans to add further technologies to this VAT relief. Nevertheless, the Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the policy making process. Changes to the tax system are announced at fiscal events in the usual way.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that households without off-street parking are not left behind in the electric vehicle transition.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle (EV). As of 1 November, there are over 71,000 publicly available charging devices in the UK, supporting drivers to switch to EVs.
Alongside support for public charging, for those without off-street parking, the Government offers the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant for Households with On-Street Parking. Eligible applicants can get up to £350 off the cost of installing a domestic chargepoint, when paired with a cross-pavement solution.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to take fiscal steps to support households without driveways to access home electric vehicle charging equipment.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government’s Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant for Households with On-Street Parking provides up to £350 off the cost of purchasing and installing a chargepoint, when paired with a cross-pavement solution.
The Government keeps grants for chargepoint infrastructure under review.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had recent discussions with the (a) car insurance industry and (b) Financial Conduct Authority on the potential merits of bringing forward regulations to require car insurance providers to not disproportionately increase premiums for older drivers beyond what is justified by the specific risk.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government committed in its manifesto to tackle the high costs of motor insurance. To deliver on this commitment, the UK Government has formed a cross-government Taskforce on motor insurance, co-chaired by the Department for Transport and His Majesty’s Treasury, which met for the first time on 16th October.
The Taskforce is comprised of ministers from relevant government departments and by the Financial Conduct Authority and Competition and Markets Authority. The Taskforce is supported by a separate Stakeholder Panel of industry experts representing the insurance, motor, and consumer sector.
This Taskforce has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments that may contribute to stabilising or reducing premiums, while maintaining appropriate levels of cover. It will evaluate the impact of increased insurance costs on consumers and the insurance industry, including how this impacts different demographics, geographies, and communities.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that households without driveways have access to (a) infrastructure that can be supplied from their property at a cheaper domestic electricity tariff and (b) other electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle (EV). Those without off-street parking can access the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant for Households with On-Street Parking. Eligible applicants can get up to £350 off the cost of installing a domestic chargepoint, enabling the use of domestic electricity tariffs when paired with a cross-pavement solution.
In addition, as of 1 November, there are over 71,000 publicly available charging devices in the UK, supporting drivers to switch to EVs.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for her policies of the barriers facing households without driveways in the transition to electric vehicles.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To support the electric vehicle transition more charging infrastructure will be needed across the country. The exact number in a location will depend on a variety of factors such as availability of off-street parking, future charging behaviour and local driving patterns.
Alongside support for public charging, for those without off-street parking, the Government offers the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant for Households with On-Street Parking. Eligible applicants can get up to £350 off the cost of installing a domestic chargepoint, when paired with a cross-pavement solution.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of an increase in financial incentives to enable households without driveways to invest in home-connected on-street charging infrastructure.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government’s Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant for Households with On-Street Parking provides up to £350 off the cost of purchasing and installing a chargepoint, when paired with a cross-pavement solution.
The Government keeps all grants for chargepoint infrastructure under review.