Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Department for Transport

Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts
Thursday 2nd July 2020

(3 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Grant Shapps Portrait Grant Shapps
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My right hon. Friend is right about the importance of face coverings. We have seen very high levels of compliance. According to the Office for National Statistics, on the week of 26 June, it looks like 86% compliance was in existence. We did say that in the early days we would ensure compliance was enforced gently, but I inform the House that TfL, Network Rail and British Transport police will be tightening up on that. I have just signed the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings on Public Transport) (England) Regulations 2020, which under regulation 8 give powers to TfL to increase enforcement.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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What steps his Department is taking to decarbonise the aviation sector.

Saqib Bhatti Portrait Saqib Bhatti (Meriden) (Con)
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What steps his Department is taking to decarbonise the aviation sector.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith [V]
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Britain has the potential to be world leading in sustainable aviation fuels, but for that we need to act fast. Will the Secretary of State therefore consider a request from the industry for £500 million of match funding to achieve that?

Grant Shapps Portrait Grant Shapps
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My hon. Friend is right in his question, and he will be interested to hear that we set up the Jet Zero Council specifically to take forward the objective of being the first country to develop a jet commercial airliner to fly at zero carbon across the Atlantic. That will involve not just investment in sustainable aviation fuels, in which money has already been invested and more was announced by me at one of the press conferences, but work on electric planes, hybrid planes and hydrogen planes. He can expect to hear a lot more as we join with industry to help deliver on that ambition.