The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department spent on air, rail and taxi travel in 2015-16.
David Mundell
The Scotland Office spend on air, rail and taxi travel in 2015-16 is shown below.
|
Air |
Rail |
Taxi |
|
£209,037.45 |
£63,698.82 |
£23,244.64 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received on the sophistication of the plug-in grant to promote high safety rated electric and low emission vehicles.
Andrew Jones
To be eligible for the Plug-In Car and Van Grants, vehicles must meet a range of environmental, safety and performance criteria. These requirements include compliance with recognised international safety standards. Many electric vehicles tested under the Euro NCAP system have received the highest five-star safety rating.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assistance his Department is providing to support research and development into technologies to reduce emissions from ships.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Department has played a leading role – for example, at the International Maritime Organization – in removing legal and technical barriers which could restrict the growth in ‘green technologies’ and distort fair competition.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he or officials of his Department have had with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on the process to ensure that ports effectively monitor ship energy efficiency management plans; and how many ships have been found not to possess an updated plan in the last five years.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plans come under the purview of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s Inspectors when carrying out Port State Control inspections. They have been mandatory since 1 January 2013.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has carried out 4018 Port State Control inspections since the requirement became mandatory and 24 vessels have been identified with deficiencies relating to energy efficiency.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have had with the European Maritime Safety Agency on implementing sulphur reduction regulations.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Requirements under Directive 2012/33/EU – the sulphur content of marine fuels – came into force in the UK on 16 December 2014. Official level discussions between the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and the Department on technical and operational aspects of the sulphur limits take place in the European Sustainable Shipping Forum (ESSF). In addition, DfT and EMSA officials attend a comitology committee which considers legal matters arising from these requirements.
There have been no direct discussions between DfT Ministers and EMSA on the sulphur requirements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, of which correspondence groups the UK is a member within the International Maritime Organisation’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee process.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee established four correspondence groups at its 69th session dealing with Ballast Water, Fuel Oil Quality, Energy Efficiency and a Data Collection System for Fuel Consumption.
The UK is a member of all of these groups and is acting as the coordinator of the Ballast Water Group.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what work his Department is carrying out in advance of the International Maritime Organisation’s 70th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee to ensure a collective agreement on (a) fair share and (b) other possible measures needed to reduce carbon emissions.
Mr Robert Goodwill
With greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping expected to grow as others sectors act to reduce theirs, the UK Government is clear that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) must take further steps to reduce emissions and improve the energy efficiency of ships.
At the 69th session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee, there was broad support from Member States and industry for proposals to define international shipping’s fair share of global greenhouse gas emissions. The UK strongly supports the establishing of a Working Group at the 70th session of the Committee (MEPC70) to discuss how the Organization should take this work forward and will play an active part in this group.
Department for Transport officials are continuing to engage with international partners to consider how these proposals can be taken forward in the IMO and to ensure that international shipping plays its part in working towards the goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
Regarding the energy efficiency of ships, the UK is actively contributing to the Intersessional Correspondence Group on the data collection system for fuel consumption of ships ahead of the MEPC70. The establishing of the data collection system is the first step in an agreed three step process towards further technical and operational measures applicable to new and existing ships. We are confident that the data collection system will be adopted at MEPC70 and the UK will continue to contribute to the work of this group to ensure that the data collection system is robust and transparent.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Foreign Secretary on diplomatic efforts to promote an agreement for reducing shipping emissions through the International Maritime Organisation.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Department for Transport officials continue to work closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and other departments to ensure that the UK continues to play a leading role in ongoing discussions in the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee regarding a global solution to tackling emissions from international shipping.
With greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping expected to grow as others sectors act to reduce theirs, the UK Government is clear that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) must take further steps to cut emissions and improve energy efficiency.
Negotiations in the IMO on how the global shipping sector further reduce emissions and contribute to the goal in the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature increases to well below 2°C, and to pursue efforts towards 1.5°C, are at an early, technical stage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 2.31 of his Department’s Road Safety Statement, published in December 2015, what progress he has made on ensuring that the Government promotes the uptake of vehicles with high safety ratings through its own buying and procurement.
Andrew Jones
The Government Buying Standards (GBS) are mandatory for central government procurement and recommended for the wider public sector.
The current GBS has been in place since 2012. Departments for Transport and Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are working together to revise the standards for cars and revisions will encourage safer and cleaner vehicles where appropriate, new standards are expected by 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to (a) support the updating of the European NCAP and (b) promote new road safety technology.
Andrew Jones
The Department for Transport, as a founding member of Euro NCAP, takes a keen interest in their work on improving car safety through financial support and active participation on the Board of Directors.
Euro NCAP regularly updates the assessment criteria to reflect new technologies and improved designs. As such it has been fundamental to improving the safety of new cars in the UK, and the organisation provides a valuable source of information to UK consumers.
The British Road Safety Statement, published in December 2015, sets out a range of measures to improve vehicle safety. These include actions to increase the awareness of the Euro NCAP star rating system so that consumers are better able to consider safety in their purchasing decisions, as well as engaging with fleet buyers in both public and private sectors.