Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to maintain the level of support to the freight industry after the UK leaves the EU and is no longer part of the Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme.

The Department for Transport continues to support the freight industry and leaving the EU will have no impact on existing spending plans for support to the freight industry though either Mode Shift Revenue Support (MSRS) or the associated Waterborne Freight Grant (WFG) scheme.

Neither is an EU scheme. They are British schemes with EU State Aid approval through to 31 March 2020 when the current schemes end.

The Scottish and Welsh Governments set their own budgets for freight grant schemes. The total combined expenditure for England, Scotland and Wales for MSRS and WFG is expected to be within the £110m maximum five year estimate in the State Aid clearances for 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2020. However, this estimate could be exceeded by up to 20% without requiring further EU approval.