Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have received on the phase out of tetraethyl lead as an additive in aviation fuel; and from which organisations or companies those representations were made.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
This is a global issue since nearly all commercial flight training involves fuel incorporating TEL since it reduces the risk of engine misfires with potentially serious consequences for aircraft safety. The use of fuel incorporating TEL is widespread across many countries’ GA sectors, including the United States and many European countries, where it is the dominant fuel used for piston engine aircraft.
The Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs leads the development of the UK REACH alongside the Health & Safety Executive (HSE). My officials engaged with them to understand the legal status of TEL in the EU, as well as to understand how the UK REACH regulations would work. No country globally has banned TEL. The HSE recently announced that they would not include TEL in their list of authorised chemicals under the UK REACH as they judged that with intensive efforts already ongoing to find a substitute, additional regulatory pressure is unlikely to speed this up keeping the UK in line with the EU, but would revisit this when substitutes had been tested and certified.
Aside from noting whether TEL would be assessed for inclusion in Annex 14 of UK REACH, neither my officials, myself nor the Secretary of State have engaged either organisation to influence their decision.
In response to an enquiry by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association about the future of 100LL the Secretary of State asked his officials to speed up work on finding safe alternative unleaded fuel such as UL91. This is highly technical safety work involving the FAA, EASA and engine manufacturers in which the UK seeks to play a leading part.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent meetings (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have had with relevant stakeholders at which the phase out of tetraethyl lead as an additive in aviation fuel was discussed.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
This is a global issue since nearly all commercial flight training involves fuel incorporating TEL since it reduces the risk of engine misfires with potentially serious consequences for aircraft safety. The use of fuel incorporating TEL is widespread across many countries’ GA sectors, including the United States and many European countries, where it is the dominant fuel used for piston engine aircraft.
The Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs leads the development of the UK REACH alongside the Health & Safety Executive (HSE). My officials engaged with them to understand the legal status of TEL in the EU, as well as to understand how the UK REACH regulations would work. No country globally has banned TEL. The HSE recently announced that they would not include TEL in their list of authorised chemicals under the UK REACH as they judged that with intensive efforts already ongoing to find a substitute, additional regulatory pressure is unlikely to speed this up keeping the UK in line with the EU, but would revisit this when substitutes had been tested and certified.
Aside from noting whether TEL would be assessed for inclusion in Annex 14 of UK REACH, neither my officials, myself nor the Secretary of State have engaged either organisation to influence their decision.
In response to an enquiry by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association about the future of 100LL the Secretary of State asked his officials to speed up work on finding safe alternative unleaded fuel such as UL91. This is highly technical safety work involving the FAA, EASA and engine manufacturers in which the UK seeks to play a leading part.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions (a) he or (b) his staff have had with officials in the (a) Health & Safety Executive and (b) Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs on including tetraethyl lead in Annex 14 of UK REACH.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
This is a global issue since nearly all commercial flight training involves fuel incorporating TEL since it reduces the risk of engine misfires with potentially serious consequences for aircraft safety. The use of fuel incorporating TEL is widespread across many countries’ GA sectors, including the United States and many European countries, where it is the dominant fuel used for piston engine aircraft.
The Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs leads the development of the UK REACH alongside the Health & Safety Executive (HSE). My officials engaged with them to understand the legal status of TEL in the EU, as well as to understand how the UK REACH regulations would work. No country globally has banned TEL. The HSE recently announced that they would not include TEL in their list of authorised chemicals under the UK REACH as they judged that with intensive efforts already ongoing to find a substitute, additional regulatory pressure is unlikely to speed this up keeping the UK in line with the EU, but would revisit this when substitutes had been tested and certified.
Aside from noting whether TEL would be assessed for inclusion in Annex 14 of UK REACH, neither my officials, myself nor the Secretary of State have engaged either organisation to influence their decision.
In response to an enquiry by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association about the future of 100LL the Secretary of State asked his officials to speed up work on finding safe alternative unleaded fuel such as UL91. This is highly technical safety work involving the FAA, EASA and engine manufacturers in which the UK seeks to play a leading part.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on the phasing out of tetraethyl lead as an additive in aviation fuel for aircraft piston engines.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
This is a global issue since nearly all commercial flight training involves fuel incorporating TEL since it reduces the risk of engine misfires with potentially serious consequences for aircraft safety. The use of fuel incorporating TEL is widespread across many countries’ GA sectors, including the United States and many European countries, where it is the dominant fuel used for piston engine aircraft.
The Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs leads the development of the UK REACH alongside the Health & Safety Executive (HSE). My officials engaged with them to understand the legal status of TEL in the EU, as well as to understand how the UK REACH regulations would work. No country globally has banned TEL. The HSE recently announced that they would not include TEL in their list of authorised chemicals under the UK REACH as they judged that with intensive efforts already ongoing to find a substitute, additional regulatory pressure is unlikely to speed this up keeping the UK in line with the EU, but would revisit this when substitutes had been tested and certified.
Aside from noting whether TEL would be assessed for inclusion in Annex 14 of UK REACH, neither my officials, myself nor the Secretary of State have engaged either organisation to influence their decision.
In response to an enquiry by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association about the future of 100LL the Secretary of State asked his officials to speed up work on finding safe alternative unleaded fuel such as UL91. This is highly technical safety work involving the FAA, EASA and engine manufacturers in which the UK seeks to play a leading part.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how the £620 million of funding for charging infrastructure and plug-in grants announced at the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 will be allocated; and if he will publish the methodology used to determine what proportion of that funding will be allocated to light commercial vehicles.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Building on the £1.9 billion from Spending Review 2020, the Government has committed an additional £620 million to support the transition to electric vehicles. The additional funding will support the rollout of charging infrastructure, with a particular focus on local on street residential charging, and targeted plug-in vehicle grants. The total funding committed by this Government to vehicle grants and infrastructure is £2.5 billion. Further detail about the allocation of the funding will be made available in due course.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to support (a) the adoption of electric vans by small and mid-size enterprises and (b) van fleets facing additional costs to install charging infrastructure.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Government grants for plug in vehicles continue to be available to help reduce the up-front purchase price of electric vans. Demand for zero emission vans increased substantially in 2020, with increased interest from commercial fleets. Since the plug in grant scheme was introduced in 2012, it has supported over 15,000 electric vans and HGVs across the UK. There are more than 20 models eligible for the grant. Policies and grant rates are kept under review and we will monitor the market closely, to ensure the grant remains an effective incentive and good value for money for the taxpayer. Zero emission vans are exempt from vehicle excise duty, and from 6 April 2021 zero emission company vans were exempt from the van benefit charge.
There are also grants available to support the installation of chargepoints at homes, workplaces and on residential streets. The £950m Rapid Charging Fund will deliver substantial, future-proofed connections to the electricity grid at motorway and major A road services, to enable the delivery of ultra rapid chargepoints up and down the country. Building on the £1.9 billion from Spending Review 2020, the Government has recently committed an additional £620 million to support the transition to electric vehicles. The additional funding will support the rollout of charging infrastructure, with a particular focus on local on street residential charging, and targeted plug-in vehicle grants. Ofgem has also consulted on proposals that would reduce costs for installing new EV chargepoints where reinforcement of the existing network is required.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 and the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, what steps he has taken to support car clubs to reach zero emissions.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Car clubs reduce dependency on private ownership, and in the context of the 2030 phase out, provide a great way for electric vehicles to be used in communities all across the UK.
Within our Transport Decarbonisation Plan, we committed to support car clubs to go fully zero emission. We will produce guidance for local authorities on shared car ownership and shared occupancy schemes and services, including car clubs.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with stakeholders on incentivising consumer behaviour change for increasing the use of car clubs, rentals and other shared vehicles.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
My officials have engaged with various stakeholders to discuss measures to support shared mobility. Discussions focussed on how the Government can begin implementing commitments in the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, such as support for zero emission car clubs and improving vehicle occupancy rates. We are in conversation with organisations such as CoMoUK, Liftshare, and the Energy Savings Trust. This includes developing a toolkit for local authorities to introduce shared mobility and support the decarbonisation of transport.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the role of airports in acting as hydrogen hubs to increase production and distribution capability.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
My Department works closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on decarbonising aviation and technology, including through the Jet Zero Council.
The Government is supporting the development of new low and zero-carbon emission aircraft - co-investing £3.9 billion with industry in aerospace research and technology from 2013 to 2026 through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme. The recent Spending Review has extended our commitment to co-invest in aerospace by guaranteeing funding for the ATI Programme to 2031. Government is also funding the £15 million ATI-led FlyZero project. This in-depth research study has brought together experts from across industry and academia to explore the potential for zero-carbon emission aircraft.
As part of the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, the Government is supporting research into Zero Emission Flight Infrastructure through £3 million of funding this financial year. This includes research activity on the integration of hydrogen into airports. In September, we announced the award of fifteen grants to organisations as part of this project, the details of which may be found on www.gov.uk here:
Winners of £3 million zero emission flight aviation competition announced - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
We are also investing up to £125 million, matched by £175 million from industry, in the Future Flight Challenge, to enable the use of new forms of electric and autonomous aircraft.
To deliver on the opportunities presented by hydrogen across the economy, including in aviation, the Government published the first ever UK Hydrogen Strategy, alongside policy detail on its support for low carbon hydrogen production across the UK.
This package details the key steps needed this decade to deliver our ambition for 5 giga watts of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030 and sets the context for a further scale up on the way to net zero.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support the development of airport infrastructure for zero emission technology.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
My Department works closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on decarbonising aviation and technology, including through the Jet Zero Council.
The Government is supporting the development of new low and zero-carbon emission aircraft - co-investing £3.9 billion with industry in aerospace research and technology from 2013 to 2026 through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme. The recent Spending Review has extended our commitment to co-invest in aerospace by guaranteeing funding for the ATI Programme to 2031. Government is also funding the £15 million ATI-led FlyZero project. This in-depth research study has brought together experts from across industry and academia to explore the potential for zero-carbon emission aircraft.
As part of the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, the Government is supporting research into Zero Emission Flight Infrastructure through £3 million of funding this financial year. This includes research activity on the integration of hydrogen into airports. In September, we announced the award of fifteen grants to organisations as part of this project, the details of which may be found on www.gov.uk here:
Winners of £3 million zero emission flight aviation competition announced - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
We are also investing up to £125 million, matched by £175 million from industry, in the Future Flight Challenge, to enable the use of new forms of electric and autonomous aircraft.
To deliver on the opportunities presented by hydrogen across the economy, including in aviation, the Government published the first ever UK Hydrogen Strategy, alongside policy detail on its support for low carbon hydrogen production across the UK.
This package details the key steps needed this decade to deliver our ambition for 5 giga watts of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030 and sets the context for a further scale up on the way to net zero.