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Written Question
Bus Services: Finance
Wednesday 1st February 2023

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department will take to ensure bus networks have adequate funding to support communities when this phase of the Bus Recovery Grant Funding ends in April 2023.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Government has made available nearly £2 billion since March 2020, through emergency and recovery grants, to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on the bus sector. This support is currently in place until the end of March 2023. The Department is actively considering its support for the bus sector from April 2023.

The Government already provides around £250 million annually to support bus services through the Bus Service Operators Grant, and supports spending of around £1 billion a year so that older and disabled people can travel on buses throughout England for free.

The Government is also taking proactive steps to help increase patronage by providing £60 million to help bus operators cap single fares at £2 on services in England outside London from 1 January to 31 March 2023. Over 130 operators covering more than 4,600 routes are participating in the scheme, which will help increase patronage on buses and help millions save on their regular travel costs.


Written Question
Driving Licences: Italy
Tuesday 1st November 2022

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when (a) HM Ambassador and (b) other officials last met Italian Ministry of Transport officials to discuss an agreement on driving licence exchanges for UK citizens with Italian residency status; and if she will make a statement.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The UK and Italian Governments continue to negotiate long-term arrangements for exchanging driving licences without the need to take a test. The most recent formal meeting between officials in DfT, FCDO, including His Majesty’s Ambassador to Italy, and their Italian counterparts took place in the last fortnight.

Outside of formal meetings, officials remain in regular contact with their Italian counterparts and have made good progress toward an agreement that would allow UK licence holders resident in Italy to exchange their driving licence without the need to take a driving test.


Written Question
Electric Vehicles: Roads
Thursday 13th October 2022

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effect of potential hazards involved in the roadside recovery of electric and hybrid electric vehicles on recovery operators and road safety.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

In 2020 the Department for Transport commissioned Horiba MIRA, a leading global provider of automotive engineering and research services, to investigate the potential hazards involved in the roadside recovery of electric and hybrid electric vehicles. Horiba MIRA were also commissioned to produce a guidance document to help industry understand the potential risks and develop appropriate training and procedures for the roadside recovery of electric and hybrid electric vehicles.

The guidance document was published in March 2022 and can be found online at GOV.UK by accessing the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/recovery-operators-working-with-electric-vehicles.


Written Question
Department for Transport: East of England
Thursday 22nd September 2022

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the effect on her policies of trends in the level of population growth in the East of England; and if she will make a statement.

Answered by Kevin Foster

According to the most recent Census estimates, population in the East of England stood at 6.3 million in 2021. This represents growth of 8.3% since 2011 - the highest in England and Wales. The Department recognises both the challenges and opportunities this poses to transport in the region.

We have already invested billions in upgrading the region’s existing transport infrastructure, from £1.4 billion on new trains across the East Anglia franchise, to £3 billion on road schemes, including £1.5bn to upgrade 21 miles of the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon, and £73.3m for the Lake Lothing Third Crossing ("Gull Wing") in Lowestoft which is currently under construction and due to complete by the end of 2023

We continue to build on this track record, with £95m awarded to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and £39m for Norwich from the Transforming Cities Fund, investing in schemes which aim to transform and improve connectivity within these cities respective transport systems. Five projects in the region have also benefitted from £87m of investment from round one of the Levelling Up Fund.

In addition, both Norfolk and Suffolk have been invited to enter discussions regarding devolution deals.


Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 30 Jun 2022
Oral Answers to Questions

Speech Link

View all Peter Aldous (Con - Waveney) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions

Written Question
Railways
Tuesday 28th June 2022

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the improved rail capacity outline business case for the Ely area capacity enhancement scheme; and what steps he is taking to increase rail capacity through Haughley Junction.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

An update on the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement (EACE) programme, and associated proposals at Haughley Junction, will be provided in the upcoming update to the Rail Network Enhancement Portfolio (RNEP).


Written Question
Railways: Freight
Tuesday 28th June 2022

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Transport Decarbonisation Plan and Future of Freight Plan, what assessment he has made of his Department's progress on increasing the modal share of rail freight; and what steps he is taking to increase capacity for moving rail freight sustainably.

Answered by Wendy Morton

The Government is fully committed to growing rail freight and unlocking the economic and environmental benefits that the sector can deliver. Our Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP) set out our ambition to remove all diesel-only trains (passenger and freight) from the network by 2040. The Future of Freight Plan reflects the growing importance of the freight sector as a whole; until now, there has never been a cross Government and cross modal plan for the sector. In both the TDP and the William Shapps Plan for Rail we committed to introducing a rail freight growth target and to incentivising the early take up of low carbon traction to help operators have the confidence they need to invest in green technologies.

We continue to encourage and incentivise modal shift from road to rail through the £20m Mode Shift Revenue Support Scheme (MSRS), which delivers high value for money and in 2020/21 removed around 900,000 HGV lorries off our congested road network, saving 58,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Earlier this year the Department successfully secured MSRS funding of £20m a year for the next three years.


Written Question
Railways: Freight
Tuesday 28th June 2022

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether commitments on increasing the modal share of freight in the (a) Transport Decarbonisation and (b) Future of Freight plans will inform the (i) assessment and (ii) delivery of essential rail freight schemes such as that planned for Ely Junction.

Answered by Wendy Morton

This Government is committed to delivering a net zero railway and recognises the considerable benefits of shifting goods from road to rail. Our Transport Decarbonisation and Future of Freight plans set out our support for rail freight, recognising that freight trains emit around a quarter of the carbon dioxide per tonne-mile of road haulage. As we build back from the pandemic, and following the 2021 Spending Review, we want to provide as much clarity and certainty as possible on rail enhancements and will set out our plans shortly. We also continue to invest in rail freight through grants such as the Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme.


Written Question
Railways: Freight
Tuesday 28th June 2022

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department prioritises decarbonisation benefits alongside cost considerations when assessing schemes to increase rail freight capacity.

Answered by Wendy Morton

This Government is committed to delivering a net zero railway and recognises the considerable benefits of shifting goods from road to rail. Our Transport Decarbonisation and Future of Freight plans set out our support for rail freight, recognising that freight trains emit around a quarter of the carbon dioxide per tonne-mile of road haulage. As we build back from the pandemic, and following the 2021 Spending Review, we want to provide as much clarity and certainty as possible on rail enhancements and will set out our plans shortly. We also continue to invest in rail freight through grants such as the Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme.


Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 19 May 2022
Oral Answers to Questions

Speech Link

View all Peter Aldous (Con - Waveney) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions