Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his planned timetable is for laying the secondary legislation required to commence section 19 of the Road Safety Act 2006.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport is currently considering how best to take forward implementation of section 19 of the Road Safety Act 2006.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to end the TransPennine Express contract in May 2023.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Every week I review the figures and performance related to TransPennine Express. It has been said before that those figures are not good enough; there has been some improvement, but they are still not good enough. As the Prime Minister and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State have informed the House, the contract expires on 28 May 2023. We have made clear that all options are on the table and a decision will be announced in the House shortly.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 25 October 2022 to Question 67938 on Large Goods Vehicles, how many operators have registered since the legislation underpinning the dual registration measure came into force.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
As previously set out in response to Question 67938, dual registration allows eligible operators to transfer their vehicles between their two operator licences without needing to change vehicles mid-tour.
I can confirm that six operators have registered to use dual registration since it came into force in July 2022.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress she has made on the dual registration scheme for specialist events hauliers.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Dual registration allows eligible operators to transfer their vehicles between their two operator licences without needing to change vehicles mid-tour.
Following successful Parliamentary Passage, the legislation underpinning the dual registration measure came into force in July 2022. Specialist events hauliers who meet the required criteria – including operating under a hire or reward model, and maintaining operator bases within and outside of GB – have therefore been able to use this measure since this time.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Government plans to respond to the consultation on managed pavement parking, which closed in November 2020.
Answered by Katherine Fletcher
The Department will publish the formal consultation response and announce next steps as soon as possible.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to legalise side road zebra crossings.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department is aware of research carried out by Transport for Greater Manchester into the idea of simplified zebra crossings and their request for these to be legalised. The Department awaits the publication of the research report and its findings, and will consider these carefully before making any decisions on changing legislation.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to incorporate in the Government's forthcoming Aviation Plan the Climate Change Committee (CCC) recommendations of December 2020 to (a) limit the growth in air passenger numbers to 25 per cent or less by 2050, in line with the CCC’s recommended Balanced Net Zero Pathway and (b) introduce a moratorium on airport expansions unless or until the aviation sector has developed low-carbon technologies that are compatible with achieving the Government's net zero emissions target.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Government recognises the critical role that the aviation sector must play in delivering the UK’s net zero commitment. Last week, we published the Transport Decarbonisation Plan and the Jet Zero Consultation which set out our vision for the aviation sector to reach net zero by 2050.
Our consultation includes scenarios that achieve our net zero target with a similar level of residual aviation emissions in 2050 as within the CCC’s Balanced Pathway, and do so by focussing on new fuels and technology rather than seeking to limit demand for a crucial industry.
The Government is clear that the expansion of any airport must meet our climate change obligations. We are proposing to review our Jet Zero Strategy every five years to ensure the aviation sector is on track to achieve net zero by 2050.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Highways England air quality speed trials will recommence; and what criteria Highways England used to identify areas in which to introduce those trials.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Highways England was initially asked to look at 101 sections of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) based on the Government’s national air quality model, which had identified potential exceedances of the annual mean nitrogen dioxide (NO2) limit values on those sections of the SRN.
Following completion of this work by Highways England, a number of links were confirmed as above the annual mean NO2 limit value. Investigations of possible mitigation measures for these links identified four sections of motorway where reducing the speed limit to 60mph could help reduce levels of NO2. Those sections were:
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and associated reduced traffic flows, Highways England has temporarily removed the 60mph air quality speed limit trials that were already in place on the M6 and M1. Highways England will recommence the speed limit trials when traffic flows are above 85% of their pre-COVID lockdown levels.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to ban the use of internal combustion engine vehicles by a target date.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The government has no plans to ban internal combustion engine vehicles. On 18 November, as part of his Ten Point Plan, the Prime Minister announced that we will end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, with all new cars and vans being fully zero emission from 2035.
This will not affect the second-hand car market.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to support investment in electric vehicle charging points in Greater Manchester.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Within the Greater Manchester area the government has provided funding of £14,390,042 to deliver electric buses and the associated charging infrastructure under the Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme, alongside £1,800,000 to Transport for Greater Manchester to deliver 30 rapid chargepoints dedicated for Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles.
Last week, the government announced we are going further and faster to decarbonise transport by phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, and, from 2035, all new cars and vans must be zero emissions at the tailpipe. This ambitious transition will be supported by an accompanying package of £2.8 billion, which includes £1.3 billion to accelerate the roll out of charging infrastructure. Local authorities, businesses and motorists purchasing an eligible plug-in vehicle can apply for a grant to contribute towards the costs of the electric vehicle charging points. This is in addition to the £400 million Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund, which leverages private sector funding to increase the number of chargepoints installed across the UK.