Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on mitigating the effect of rising energy prices on drivers of electric vehicles.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
I have various and ongoing discussions about the Government’s policy for supporting the transition to electric and zero emission driving with my Ministerial colleagues.
The Government will continue to work with the energy sector to identify options to mitigate the impact of high energy prices on consumers, including in respect of the transition to electric vehicles. The Government is considering what reforms are needed to retail market regulation to support progress to net zero through the 2020s. In considering these reforms, we will take account of the lessons of the current market.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of rising energy prices on the cost of charging an electric vehicle.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
I have various and ongoing discussions about the Government’s policy for supporting the transition to electric and zero emission driving with my Ministerial colleagues.
The Government will continue to work with the energy sector to identify options to mitigate the impact of high energy prices on consumers, including in respect of the transition to electric vehicles. The Government is considering what reforms are needed to retail market regulation to support progress to net zero through the 2020s. In considering these reforms, we will take account of the lessons of the current market.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support his Department is providing to manufacturers of electric vehicle chargers to meet the recent change in regulations that requires all new home chargers to be smart.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
In 2021, Government passed regulations to mandate that private chargepoints sold in Great Britain must be smart and meet minimum device standards. The new regulations will drive the uptake of smart charging, to enable the transition to electric vehicles whilst minimising cost to consumers. The majority of these new requirements apply from 30 June 2022.
Government officials worked closely with the charge point industry to develop the regulations, and we are continuing this engagement in collaboration with the enforcement body to address any concerns or queries manufacturers may have.
We will also shortly publish a guidance document for the regulations, to assist charge point sellers, including manufacturers, in complying with these new obligations.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many hydrogen depots were built for commercial vehicle use in 2021.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The UK is well placed to lead on hydrogen powered transport, and we have supported the use of hydrogen cars, vans, buses and lorries through our £23m Hydrogen for Transport programme. As of December 2021, there are fourteen publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations across the UK, two of which were opened in 2021 providing hydrogen for road vehicles, serving a fleet of just over 350 hydrogen vehicles (buses, cars, vans, refuse collection trucks) operating on UK roads. Additional refuelling infrastructure will be included as part of our plans to demonstrate at scale hydrogen fuel cell trucks on UK roads.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many public electric vehicle charge points were installed in 2021 compared to 2020.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
As of the 01 January 2021, there were 20,775 public electric vehicle charge points installed in the UK, an increase of 4,270 compared with 01 January 2020.
Additionally, the most recently published statistics show that as of the 01 January 2022, there were 28,375 public electric vehicle charge points installed, an increase of 7,600 compared with 01 January 2021.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on road safety of his decision to extend the temporary relaxation of the enforcement of the retained EU drivers’ hours rules.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The temporary relaxation to Drivers’ Hours rules offers flexibility to operators and permits HGV drivers to either increase their daily driving limit from 9 hours to 11 hours up to two times in a week, or to change their weekly rest patterns. Reduced rest periods must be compensated for.
Implementation of the relaxation should be through agreement between employers, employees, and driver representatives. Operators must notify the Department if this relaxation is used.
Driver safety must not be compromised, and employers remain responsible for the health and safety of their employees and other road users.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to phase out the (a) EV Homecharge Scheme and (b) Workplace Charging Scheme after 2022.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
At the Spending Review in November last year the Government allocated £275 million over four years to extend support for charge point installation at homes, workplaces and on-street locations, while reforming these schemes so that they target difficult parts of the market such as leaseholders and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Over the coming years the EVHS will be transformed to target people in rented and leasehold accommodation.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a zero emissions vehicle mandate for manufactures to produce, import or sell new electric vehicles.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, published in November 2020, brought forward the end of sale date of new petrol and diesel cars and vans to 2030. It also announced that a Green Paper would be published later this year to consider the regulatory options available to deliver these phase out dates and support supply of electric vehicles to the UK market.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of reducing the rate of VAT for charging electric vehicles on street to the rate for charging them at home.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Transport Secretary has regular and ongoing discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as well as other Ministerial colleagues, about a wide range of issues regarding supporting the electric vehicle market. Any proposed changes to the VAT system is ultimately a matter for HM Treasury.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Education on making school curriculum time available for cycle training and the promotion of cycling and walking to school.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government is committed to making Bikeability training available to all schoolchildren by the end of this Parliament, and is providing £2 million of support this financial year for a programme to encourage more children to walk to school. The Government’s statutory guidance to schools on Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) says that pupils should know the importance of building regular exercise into daily and weekly routines and how to achieve this, for example by walking or cycling to school. The Department continues to discuss this and other matters with the Department for Education.