Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that projects that received alternative fuels fund round 1 grants remain viable.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Our Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) programme is one of the most comprehensive in the world. The Government’s Advanced Fuels Fund has allocated £135m across 13 projects to support private investment in UK SAF projects by overcoming perceived technological and construction risks and will support our industry shared aim to have at least five commercial SAF plants under construction in the UK by 2025.
Our SAF mandate that will be in force from 2025 and in September, the government committed to design and implement a revenue certainty mechanism to support SAF production in the UK.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps to ensure that sustainable aviation fuel projects can start construction in 2025.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Our Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) programme is one of the most comprehensive in the world. The Government’s Advanced Fuels Fund has allocated £135m across 13 projects to support private investment in UK SAF projects by overcoming perceived technological and construction risks and will support our industry shared aim to have at least five commercial SAF plants under construction in the UK by 2025.
Our SAF mandate that will be in force from 2025 and in September, the government committed to design and implement a revenue certainty mechanism to support SAF production in the UK.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the report entitled the current state of scientific understanding of the non-CO2 effects of aviation on climate published in December 2018, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of that report's findings on the non-CO2 effects of aviation on the climate.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government’s Jet Zero Strategy recognises that aviation creates both CO2 emissions and non-CO2 climate impacts and commits to addressing non-CO2 by better developing our understanding of its impacts and potential mitigations.
All relevant evidence was considered in the development of the Jet Zero Strategy, and uncertainties remain over the magnitude of non-CO2 impacts on the climate.
We will continue to engage closely with the science, working closely with academia and industry, including as to how to quantify and track the impacts of non-CO2.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to take steps in response to the British Airline Pilots’ Association call for a comprehensive research trial into the (a) potential effect of aviation induced cloudiness on the environment and (b) effectiveness of proposed mitigation methods.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The latest research on the impacts of non-carbon dioxide aircraft emissions suggests that there remain significant uncertainties on their impact on the environment, and the effectiveness of proposed mitigation methods. However, the Government will continue to consider the research as it progresses.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
What recent discussions he has had with representatives of the aerospace industry on the effect of the UK's withdrawal from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency on that sector.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
I met with the Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space Group earlier this year and my officials regularly engage with the aerospace industry on a range of issues through various forums, including discussing items relating to EU Exit.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government (a) is undertaking internationally and (b) will take at COP26 to achieve net zero-emission aviation by 2050.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Government recognises that international action is essential given the global nature of both the aviation sector and of climate change. The UK therefore takes a leading role in the work of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to reduce emissions from international aviation. For example, we are committed to implementing the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) and negotiating for ICAO to agree a long-term emissions reduction goal for international aviation by its 41st Assembly in 2022.
Our COP26 presidency provides the UK with a unique opportunity to increase global ambition to decarbonise all sectors, including aviation. The government is working to deliver an ambitious set of initiatives that increase global ambition on aviation decarbonisation, showcase the latest in innovation and technology, and encourage the use of sustainable aviation fuels.
In addition, we are taking strides domestically to ensure aviation plays its part in delivering the UK’s net zero commitments: we recently established the Jet Zero Council to bring the sector together to drive decarbonisation and will shortly publish a consultation on how the sector can reach net zero.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what engagement his Department of Transport has had with the aerospace industry to identify measures that could (a) safely open up aviation and (b) increase consumer confidence in the context of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Government is working closely with the UK’s aerospace and aviation industries, including at sector level through the Aerospace Growth Partnership.
In addition, the Global Travel Taskforce has undertaken extensive engagement with the transport industry, including aviation and aerospace, and are putting in place a range of measures to support a safe and sustainable return to air travel and encourage consumer confidence.
On 15 December we introduced the ‘Test to Release for International Travel’ scheme in England, allowing arrivals from countries not on the travel corridors list to pay for a privately provided Covid-19 test and reduce their period of self-isolation if the test is negative.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Global Travel Taskforce is next scheduled to convene to discuss the outstanding recommendations from that Taskforce’s report of 24 November 2020.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Global Travel Taskforce has concluded its work. However, the Government is working closely and at pace with industry and our international partners to implement the taskforce recommendations and ensure a safe and sustainable return to international travel.
The taskforce recommendations addressed three priorities: implementing effective public health measures; encouraging safe growth in demand; and driving a co-ordinated response with global partners.
As a first step, on 15 December the Government introduced the ‘Test to Release for International Travel’ scheme in England, allowing arrivals to pay for a privately provided Covid-19 test and reduce their required period of self-isolation if the test is negative.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which commercial aviation routes are being prioritised as part of the plan to restart aviation following the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Government recognises the challenging times facing the aviation sector?as a result of?COVID-19 and is committed to tackling this virus while enabling a sustainable and responsible return to travel.
Commercial air transport routes are a matter for airlines, and therefore decisions on how soon to operate a route after a period of inactivity is a matter for those airlines.
Since 10 July under the Travel Corridor policy, passengers arriving from a number of countries and territories are no longer required to self-isolate on arrival unless they have visited or transited through a non-exempt country or territory. Ministerial decisions on Travel Corridors are informed by risk assessments provided by the Joint Biosecurity Centre, working closely with Public Health England, using a methodology endorsed by the 4 Chief Medical Officers of the UK.
As a further measure in support of travel, the Test to Release scheme was launched on 15 December. This provides passengers arriving in England with the option to shorten the self-isolation period by up to half following a negative COVID-19 test.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is planning to take to support the aerospace sector under his Department's Aviation Recovery Plan.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Covid pandemic, and the need for the Government to respond to it, have clearly impacted the aviation and aerospace sectors.
The Government has therefore announced through the Global Travel Taskforce, a number of measures to assist the sector to restart over the winter period. This includes the ‘Test To Release for international travel’ (TTR) scheme, which was launched on 15 December and will boost consumer confidence in air travel.
Following the successful implementation of these measures, the government will then put forward its strategic framework for the medium and long term recovery of the aviation sector.