Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he makes assessments of airspace governance and management in other countries when formulating UK policy.
Answered by Jesse Norman
When developing airspace policy, both the Government and the Civil Aviation Authority have regular engagement with other countries, including through membership of various international bodies such as our permanent representation on the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
In addition, The Department also routinely monitors how airspace matters are managed abroad and it is are always keen to learn any relevant lessons that can be applied to UK policymaking.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he makes assessments of airspace governance and management in other countries when formulating UK policy.
Answered by Jesse Norman
When developing airspace policy, both the Government and the Civil Aviation Authority have regular engagement with other countries, including through membership of various international bodies such as our permanent representation on the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
In addition, The Department also routinely monitors how airspace matters are managed abroad and it is are always keen to learn any relevant lessons that can be applied to UK policymaking.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Civil Aviation Agency on licenses for space flights and the location of spaceports in (a) the UK and (b) Cornwall.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
My officials are working closely with Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the UK Space Agency to develop the legal framework for the licensing and regulation of spaceports and spaceflight in the UK. The Space Industry Bill, which lays the foundation, received Royal Assent on 15 March 2018. The CAA continue to be involved in the development of the detailed regulations, including licence requirements for spaceports, which we plan to consult on from 2019.
Once the detailed licensing requirements are in place, it will enable any location that thinks it can meet the licensing requirements to apply to become a licenced spaceport or spaceflight operator.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Civil Aviation Agency on licenses for space flights and the location of spaceports in (a) the UK and (b) Cornwall.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
My officials are working closely with Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the UK Space Agency to develop the legal framework for the licensing and regulation of spaceports and spaceflight in the UK. The Space Industry Bill, which lays the foundation, received Royal Assent on 15 March 2018. The CAA continue to be involved in the development of the detailed regulations, including licence requirements for spaceports, which we plan to consult on from 2019.
Once the detailed licensing requirements are in place, it will enable any location that thinks it can meet the licensing requirements to apply to become a licenced spaceport or spaceflight operator.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how funding has been allocated by his Department for repairing potholes in (a) North Cornwall, and (b) Cornwall.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department for Transport is providing over £6 billion capital funding to local highway authorities in England, outside London, for local highways maintenance between 2015/16 and 2020/21. This includes £296 million through the pothole action fund.
The funding allocated by the Department to Cornwall Council for highways maintenance and repairing potholes is set out in the following table. It is for Cornwall Council to determine how much of the funding they use in North Cornwall. In addition, for financial years 2017/18 and 2018/19 the allocations in the table are notional as Cornwall Council are taking part in a Business Rate Retention trial.
Table
Funding Stream £m | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | Total |
Local Highways Maintenance Block (Needs Element) | 22.685 | 20.796 | 20.167 | 18.254 | 18.254 | 18.254 | 118.410 |
Local Highways Maintenance Block (Incentive Element) |
| 1.271 | 1.888 | 3.802 | 3.802 | 3.802 | 14.565 |
Pothole Action Fund |
| 1.267 | 3.143 |
|
|
| 4.410 |
Local Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund | 5.220 |
| 5.000 |
|
|
| 10.220 |
National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF) |
|
| 3.946 |
|
|
| 3.946 |
Total | 27.905 | 23.334 | 34.144 | 22.056 | 22.056 | 22.056 | 151.551 |
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the public purse has been of subsidising bus travel in (a) Cornwall and (b) North Cornwall in each year since 2015.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Bus Services Operators Grant (BSOG) is a demand-led grant regime in England under which payments are made to bus companies to help meet some of their fuel costs in running local bus services. BSOG spend figures are published annually on Gov.uk and can be found via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bus-services-grants-and-funding#bsog-spend
BSOG spend figures are broken down to upper tier local authority level only, and not further to North Cornwall, specifically.
It should be noted that the local authorities listed in the table are derived from the address given on the BSOG claim form. This means that the figures do not reflect the geographical location of bus services, and may not capture all relevant services in Cornwall.
As a result of claims received in the Department that are clearly identified as being located from operators in Cornwall, a total of £1,031,489.59 was paid in 2014-15, £76,363.15 in 2015-2016, and £75,977.93 in 2016-17. Note that the reason for the big drop in BSOG paid after 2014/15 is due to a bus company with an address in Cornwall ceasing trading. Whilst their services were absorbed by other operators, the addresses on the claim forms for these other operators were outside Cornwall therefore spend has been attributed to other upper tier local authorities.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase bus usage in Cornwall.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Bus Services Act 2017 presents local authorities with new powers to bring about change, and unlock the potential for the bus industry to increase passenger numbers.
In particular, new Enhanced Partnership and Advanced Quality Partnership powers provide the framework for authorities to work side by side with operators to set a shared vision for bus services in their area.
Bus Open Data powers will require bus operators in England to open up route and timetable, fares and tickets and real time information for passengers by 2020. These improvements aim to remove uncertainty in bus journeys, improve journey planning and help passengers secure best value tickets.
Accessible Information powers will require all operators of local bus services to provide audio and visual route and next stop announcements on board buses across Great Britain, helping to remove barriers to bus travel particularly for those with disabilities or accessibility needs.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
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 reinstating the railway line between Okehampton and Tavistock.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Department for Transport has not itself made an assessment of the potential merits of reinstating the railway line between Okehampton and Tavistock.
We are aware however that the case for reinstating the line between Tavistock and Okehampton has been assessed by Devon County Council and the Peninsula Rail Task Force (PRTF).
All rail re-opening schemes would need to demonstrate a strong business case where they are seeking any available Government funding.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department provides for community transport initiatives in North Cornwall constituency.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department has devolved £773,409 of BSOG funding directly to Cornwall County Council. It is for each local authority to decide how to precisely spend their devolved BSOG grant, however funds may only be used to support bus services, which includes community transport services run under a section 19 permit.
The Department paid £505,868 excluding VAT in grant funding to eleven community transport operators in Cornwall, toward minibuses to use for the benefit of their passengers from the Department’s Community Minibus Fund (CMF). The North Cornwall constituency will receive some of this CMF support.
The Department also paid £2,681 directly to four community transport operators in the North Cornwall constituency in the 2016-17 financial year through BSOG.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of provision of charging points and other infrastructure associated with electric vehicles.
Answered by Jesse Norman
At present the vast majority of Electric Vehicle (EV) drivers choose to charge their cars at home, overnight, but adequate availability of public charging is also very important. Thanks to Government policy, a growing private sector and the work of Local Authorities, the UK now has over 11,500 publicly accessible charge points. These include over 900 rapid charge points, giving the UK one of the largest rapid networks in Europe.
On 17 January, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) published its report "Plugging the gap: An assessment of future demand for Britain’s electric vehicle public charging network", which sets out the findings of a new analysis of the optimal Electric Vehicle (EV) public charging infrastructure needed to meet future growth of EVs in Great Britain to 2030. The Government is considering this analysis and expects to publish an updated strategy by end of March this year on the transition to zero emission vehicles.