Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will extend foreign driving licences beyond the one year cut-off point due to the fact that foreign nationals are unable to take a driving test during the covid-19 lockdown period.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
There are no plans to extend the 12-month period for which holders of foreign driving licences can drive in Great Britain using that licence. To continue driving after the 12-month period the driver must either exchange their licence, if it was issued by a country which has been designated for licence exchange purposes, or apply for a provisional driving licence and pass both a theory and practical driving test.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is looking at a range of measures to increase testing capacity once current restrictions are eased. Immediately, it is responding to requests for driving tests from organisations on behalf of frontline mobile emergency workers, who require a driving licence to carry out duties in their employment role. This is a limited service but extends to foreign licence holders where they meet the criteria and are nominated by eligible organisations.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his department is taking to (a) improve road safety for pedestrians and (b) tackle pavement parking in Dudley North constituency.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Department recently consulted on proposed changes to The Highway Code. These include clarifying existing rules on pedestrian priority on pavements and providing more clarity on the need for drivers and riders to give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross the road. The consultation closed on 27 October 2020 with over 20,000 responses received and we are currently undertaking a full analysis of all replies.
The Department also carried out a public consultation on possible solutions to the complex pavement parking problem, which closed on 22 November 2020 with over 15,000 responses received. The Department is now carefully analysing the responses and the results will inform future policy decisions.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has he made of the effect on transition to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 of the introduction of biofuels in the (a) automotive sector and (b) rail sector.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Low carbon fuels, including biofuels, play a significant role in decarbonising road transport. The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), a certificate trading scheme, has been successful since 2008 in supporting a UK market for renewable fuels. In 2019, biofuel supplied under the RTFO saved 5,368kt of CO2 emissions; the equivalent of taking 2.3 million vehicles off the road for a full year.
Low carbon fuels will continue to contribute to meeting UK carbon budgets for decades to come, initially from conventional road vehicles but gradually shifting to heavier sectors such as aviation.
Biofuels are currently used in rail and are supported under the RTFO. In future assessments of long-term biofuel use in rail, we will consider the likely need for biofuels in other sectors, their potentially limited supply, and the existence of other viable low-carbon options available for powering trains.
In March 2020 the Department launched the consultation ‘Introducing E10 Petrol’ which proposed introducing petrol that contains up to 10% bioethanol, an increase from the current level of up to 5%. We are working hard to publish the Government Response as quickly as possible, and anticipate that any requirement to provide E10 would come into force in 2021. If combined with an increase in RTFO targets, the introduction of E10 could reduce CO2 emissions from road transport by a further 750,000 tonnes per year. This would be the equivalent of taking around 350,000 cars off the road.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using ethanol as a substitute for petrol in the automotive sector.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Low carbon fuels, including biofuels, play a significant role in decarbonising road transport. The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), a certificate trading scheme, has been successful since 2008 in supporting a UK market for renewable fuels. In 2019, biofuel supplied under the RTFO saved 5,368kt of CO2 emissions; the equivalent of taking 2.3 million vehicles off the road for a full year.
Low carbon fuels will continue to contribute to meeting UK carbon budgets for decades to come, initially from conventional road vehicles but gradually shifting to heavier sectors such as aviation.
Biofuels are currently used in rail and are supported under the RTFO. In future assessments of long-term biofuel use in rail, we will consider the likely need for biofuels in other sectors, their potentially limited supply, and the existence of other viable low-carbon options available for powering trains.
In March 2020 the Department launched the consultation ‘Introducing E10 Petrol’ which proposed introducing petrol that contains up to 10% bioethanol, an increase from the current level of up to 5%. We are working hard to publish the Government Response as quickly as possible, and anticipate that any requirement to provide E10 would come into force in 2021. If combined with an increase in RTFO targets, the introduction of E10 could reduce CO2 emissions from road transport by a further 750,000 tonnes per year. This would be the equivalent of taking around 350,000 cars off the road.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the local transport connectivity improvements that will be required for Dudley to benefit from High Speed Two.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the devolution deal that created the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), a £4.4bn HS2 Growth Package was agreed for the region. This has provided the means to implement a comprehensive package of interventions and investments, to maximise the true impact and ensure the DfT and WMCA’s vision for HS2 becomes a reality.
The WMCA has made an assessment of the transport connectivity improvements that will be required for the all parts of the region to benefit from HS2. This has been published as the Midlands HS2 Growth Strategy and is a publicly available document.
An extension of the Midland Metro tram from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill via Dudley town centre includes a contribution of £207m from the West Midlands Combined Authority Transforming Cities Fund allocation. Proposals are also being developed by the rail industry and Birmingham City Council to improve the connectivity between Birmingham Moor Street station and the new HS2 terminus at Curzon Street. This will benefit those people in Dudley who use the Snow Hill Line, as they will be able to enjoy a seamless connection between their local rail network and the high speed network.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of hydrogen as a fuel to replace petrol and diesel in (a) motor cars and (b) heavy goods vehicles.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The transition to zero emission vehicles will help to meet greenhouse gas reduction goals, contribute to reducing poor air quality and contribute to economic growth in the UK by providing skilled jobs in the automotive sector. Our approach to delivering our long-term ambitions for greener transport is technology neutral and we are supporting hydrogen where the market favours its use. The Department’s Transport Energy Model provides a clear assessment of the relative environmental impacts, including on greenhouse gas emissions and air quality, of a range of fuel and powertrain options for cars, vans, buses and heavy goods vehicles over the period to 2050, including hydrogen fuel cell.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the viability of existing retail fuel stations (a) to include hydrogen as a fuel dispensed and (b) for hydrogen to replace petrol and diesel as the stored and dispensed fuel.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government is supporting development of the infrastructure for hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), recognising that the market is at an early stage. The Government’s £23m Hydrogen for Transport Programme is increasing the uptake of FCEVs and growing the number of publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations. The programme is delivering new refuelling stations, upgrading some existing stations as well as deploying hundreds of new hydrogen vehicles. Government is supporting public and private sector fleets to become early adopters through the £2m FCEV Fleet Support Scheme.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made a comparative assessment of the (a) costs and (b) benefits of (i) hydrogen and (ii) electricity as energy sources to power motor vehicles.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
In 2018, the Department for Transport published the outputs of the Transport Energy Model. The model provides a clear assessment of the relative environmental impacts of a range of fuel and powertrain options for cars, vans, buses and heavy goods vehicles over the period to 2050, including battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The Department is further assessing the potential role of hydrogen and electricity in vehicles and this will be published in the Transport Decarbonisation Plan by Spring 2021.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to support the roll-out of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in Dudley.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
We have doubled the funding available for the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCs) to £10 million. This scheme provides grant funding to local authorities looking to install chargepoints for residents that lack off-street parking.
In October last year, the Secretary of State wrote to all LAs encouraging them to send their strategies for infrastructure deployment and to take advantage of ORCS funding.
For major roads the Government is providing £500 million over the next five years to support the rollout of a fast-charging network for electric vehicles, ensuring that drivers will never be further than 30 miles from a rapid charging station. Our jointly funded £400 million Chargepoint Infrastructure Investment fund’s first investment round, worth a total of £70 million, will also ensure the delivery of a further 3,000 rapid charging devices across the UK by 2024, more than doubling the current number of rapid charging devices.
Homeowners and businesses in Dudley (as with the rest of the country) will continue to be able to apply for grants in 2020/2021 to help with the purchase of an electric vehicle (via HMG’s Plug-in Car Grant) and for help with installing an electric vehicle chargepoint (via either HMG’s Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme or Workplace Charging Scheme).
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve bus connectivity between rural areas of the West Midlands.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
In September 2019 £220 million was announced to improve bus connectivity, including £30 million to restore and improve bus services and £20 million to trial demand responsive transport pilots in rural areas. £5 billion was also committed in February 2020 to transform bus services and cycling links, with further details to be announced in the National Bus Strategy.