Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential role of synthetic fuels in meeting net zero targets.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Whilst synthetic fuels can be expensive and energy intensive to manufacture, they have the potential to contribute to the decarbonisation of transport sectors where there are limited alternatives, such as in aviation. In recognition of the potential benefits of synthetic fuels produced using renewable power, these fuels are eligible for support under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) certificate trading scheme.
Power-to-liquid (PtL) synthetic fuels will benefit from a specific target in the Department’s forthcoming Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandate scheme to accelerate their commercial advancement.
Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Growth Plan 2022 on the delivery of road upgrades.
Answered by Katherine Fletcher
My officials are already engaging with the delivery agencies whose schemes were identified for acceleration in the growth plan, including local authorities and National Highways, with the intent of removing barriers and delivering the schemes faster.
Government is committed to deliver the £24billion Roads Investment Strategy, including 58 major improvement schemes. Ten of these were included on the list of schemes to prioritise for acceleration and we are working with NH to speed up delivery of these to boost growth across all areas of the country.
Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason the Government reduced the road maintenance grant for Lincolnshire in 2021-22; and if he will increase the grant to 2019-20 levels for 2022-23.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is responsible for deciding funding levels for departmental spending, including local highway maintenance. Spending Review 2020 (SR20) prioritised funding in 2021-22 to support the government’s response to Covid-19, invest in the UK’s recovery, and deliver on promises to the British people.
As announced in the Spending Review on 28 October 2021, the Department is providing local highway authorities with a three year funding settlement for highway maintenance and is investing over £5 billion over this Parliament (2020/21-2024/25). This is enough to fill in millions of potholes a year, repair dozens of bridges, and help resurface roads throughout the country, and provide funding certainty until 2024/25.
Funding for local roads maintenance is subsequently allocated based on a fair and proportionate funding formula agreed by the sector.