Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department’s policy is on the introduction of a common international standard on testing at UK airports.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government recognises the importance of international standards, and the UK has been working with a range of international partners to drive forward a shared agenda on public health and aviation through regular meetings and correspondence, including through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The UK is a member of the governing Council of ICAO and has played a leading role in the ICAO Civil Aviation Recovery Taskforce (CART), which was set up specifically to address the aviation industry’s recovery from the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CART published guidance, including on public health measures for aviation, on 2 June. As a member of the governing Council of ICAO, the UK will continue to drive the agenda on public health measures for aviation as the sector’s recovery progresses and as the global health situation evolves, including exploring options for testing air passengers.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with representatives of British Airways regarding the steps they are taking to reduce the exposure of their staff to covid-19.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government is working round the clock to keep people safe and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Public Health England has developed specific guidance for flight crews on keeping themselves and their passengers safe, including guidance on safe principles of working and on the use of personal protective equipment.
Officials are continuing to engage with the aviation sector to ensure they are supported in implementing new operational practices. This includes facilitating a weekly phone call with Public Health England to enable the aviation industry to raise operational questions directly wherever necessary.
Officials are in regular contact with Trade Unions and are seeking their input on best practice guidance for safe working during COVID-19. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has also introduced a requirement for aircrafts to be disinfected after every flight, this will further mitigate health risks to staff and passengers.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people aged (a) 16 and under and (b) over 16 years old undertook work experience in his Department in each of the last three years.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
The Civil Service aims to increase opportunities for people of all backgrounds and create a Civil Service fit for 21st century Britain through work experience, internships and apprenticeship schemes.
For people aged 16 years and over there was the following number of work experience placements offered through the Summer Diversity (SDIP) and Autism Exchange (AEP) Internship Programmes, and the Fast Stream Early Talent Work Experience Social Mobility Programme (FSET).
Period | SDIP | AEP | FSET* |
2017 | 10 | 2 | No data available |
2018 | 14 | 2 | 6 |
2019 | 11 | 1 | 5 |
*FSET is also open to 15 year olds.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of staff in his Department in receipt of each category of Honour in (a) December 2018 and (b) June 2019 were (i) from ethnic minority backgrounds and (ii) female aged (A) under 30, (B) 31 to 40, (C) 41 to 50 and (D) aged over 50.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government is committed to ensuring that the honours system is fully representative of UK society. The proportion of women and people from ethnic minorities receiving recognition on each honours list is available on GOV.UK. A breakdown of the ethnicities of recipients is published on the Ethnicity Facts and Figures website at https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/culture-and-community/civic-participation/honours-recipients/latest.
Information on ages is not correlated with other diversity factors. We also publish the proportion of honours by independent committee on GOV.UK. The numbers of honours recipients in the Department for Transport are very small and vary from year to year. Releasing the requested data would identify the individuals and they have given permission for their data to be used for statistical purposes only.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many BAME staff are employed at (a) grade 7, (b) grade 5 and (c) grade 3 in his Department.
Answered by Michael Ellis
As at June 30th, the numbers of BAME staff at the requested grades are as follows:
Grade | BAME Staff |
Grade 3 (SCS Payband 3) | 0 |
Grade 5 (SCS Payband 1) | 6 |
Grade 7 | 101 |
It is worth noting numbers are not complete as these figures represent only those staff who have chosen to record their diversity information and self-identified as BAME on our HR records system. It is not mandatory to complete this information.
This figure represents the numbers across the Department and its Executive Agencies.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU without a deal for the aviation industry on (a) the passage of flights across EU countries and the UK, (b) air services agreements, (c) aviation safety and security, (d) border management and (e) the environment.
Answered by Chris Grayling
The contingency measures adopted by the EU and the reciprocal measures announced by the UK mean that flights will be able to continue as now in the period after we leave the EU, even in a “no deal” scenario. The same high safety and security standards will continue to apply to those flights, and passengers will see no changes at the border at UK airports. The UK will continue to work internationally to reduce the environmental impact of aviation.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2019 to Question 271500, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the changes to electric vehicle plug-in grants announced in November 2018 on the uptake of electric vehicles after 2021.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The plug-in car grant (PICG) was introduced in 2011 to support the early market for ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs). Through the PICG we have supported the purchase of over 200,000 plug-in vehicles, including around 100,000 plug-in hybrid vehicles. Last year, in light of increased demand and decreasing prices, we reviewed the PICG to focus on the cleanest vehicles. While sales of plug-in hybrids have decreased since the grant was reviewed, sales of zero emission cars are up by more than 60% in 2019 so far than for the same period in 2018. Overall, sales of all alternatively fuelled cars have increased this year, compared to the same period last year. In our Road to Zero Strategy we set out ambitions for uptake of ULEVs in the UK, and stated that consumer incentives in some form will continue to play a role beyond 2020. In addition, to accelerate the shift to zero emission cars, all zero emission models will pay no company car tax in 2020-21, 1% in 2021-22 before returning to the planned 2% rate in 2022-23 – a significant tax saving for employees and employers.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people in each region of the UK have received electric vehicle plug-in grants in each year since 2011.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The attached table shows where new plug-in grant eligible vehicles were registered by region of the UK from 2011 to 2018. In October 2018 plug-in hybrids became ineligible for the plug-in car grant. Those registered after this date are not accounted for in the table.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of which models of electric vehicle are most popular with consumers by region; and for which of those models are plug-in grants available.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The attached tables show the top six most popular ultra low emission vehicle models with consumers by region between April 2018 and March 2019. Those vehicles eligible for plug-in grants are marked with a star. A number of different models are popular with consumers across the country. The number of models of ultra low emission vehicles available in the UK continues to increase. Nearly all major automakers have made significant commitments to start selling ULEVs.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to support electric vehicles in (a) becoming competitive without financial incentives or subsidies for their purchase and (b) reaching price parity with non-electric vehicles.
Answered by Michael Ellis
We are investing nearly £1.5bn between April 2015 and March 2021, with grants available for plug in cars, vans, lorries, buses, taxis and motorcycles, and schemes to support chargepoint infrastructure at homes, workplaces and on residential streets. These subsidies are designed to support the early market and achieve a competitive, self-sustaining market.
The £400m public-private Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund will add thousands more public chargepoints. The Automated and Electric Vehicles Act gives Government new powers to regulate the chargepoint market and improve the experience for consumers. We have supported the installation of more than 20,000 public chargepoints, including over 2,000 rapid chargepoints. The UK’s network is already one of the largest networks in Europe and the Road to Zero strategy includes new commitments to massively expand electric and low emission vehicle infrastructure across the country. The Government has also put in place a favourable tax regime that rewards the cleanest, zero emission vehicles.
The Government has awarded over £300m in grants via Innovate UK into ultra low emission technologies. Part of this is the Faraday battery challenge, designed to ensure research and innovation takes centre stage in the Industrial Strategy and to reduce the cost of new technologies.
The Government has also put in place a favourable tax regime that rewards the cleanest, zero emission vehicles. Go Ultra Low is a joint Government-Industry funded campaign which aims to inform vehicle purchasers about the operational savings from driving electric vehicles and to dispel widespread myths.
We anticipate that electric vehicles will achieve price parity with their petrol and diesel counterparts in the mid-2020s. We will review progress by 2025. Against a rapidly evolving international context, we will seek to maintain the UK’s leadership position and meet our ambitions, and will consider what interventions are required if not enough progress is being made.