Tag: Lord Hunt of Chesterton

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-02-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will use their membership of UN agencies to establish relevant targets for reducing carbon emissions in (1) civil aviation, (2) shipping, and (3) agriculture and forestry, by 2020 as agreed at the Paris Climate Conference in 2015.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

This Government is committed to tackling emissions from international aviation, international shipping and agriculture and forestry.

As inherently transnational in nature, international aviation and maritime emissions are regulated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and are outside of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement. The UK is working through the ICAO and IMO to develop mechanisms which deliver emissions reductions, in line with the long term goal agreed in Paris of keeping average global temperature rise well below 2 degrees. In 2016, the ICAO is set to agree a global market based measure, to offset emissions post-2020. The UK government is engaged in this process.

The Government is also committed to tackling emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and supporting the enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+). The UK played a key role in the 2014 New York Declaration on Forests, which set ambitious targets for halving (by 2020) and halting (by 2030) the loss of natural forests and eliminating deforestation from the production of key agricultural commodities by 2020. The new UN Sustainable Development Goals, agreed in September 2015, also include targets to halt deforestation, sustainably manage and restore natural forests, and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally by 2020. At COP21 the UK endorsed a Leaders’ Statement on Forests which recognised the importance of these goals, as well as the progress on REDD+ under the UNFCCC.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they will take to ensure that electric cars emit a warning noise so that those cars are audible.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

EU Regulations require vehicle manufacturers to fit artificial sound generators on new types of electric and hybrid electric vehicles from 2019. The requirements for these sound generators will be based on an existing UN-ECE regulation. By 2021 all new electric and hybrid electric vehicles on sale will require sound generators. Vehicle manufacturers may optionally choose to fit sound generators before the 2019 date.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-02-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to establish targets in the UK to reduce carbon emissions produced by road and rail transport by 2020.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government has already set stretching legally binding carbon budgets, which will see a 50% economy wide reduction in emissions in 2025 compared to 1990 levels, on a path towards an 80% reduction by 2050, and is committed to ensuring the transport sector plays a full part in delivering the emissions reductions needed.

In December 2011, the Government published Carbon Plan: Delivering our low carbon future, setting out in a series of five-year carbon budget periods how we will meet the UK’s legally binding carbon reduction targets.

The Government will set the level of the fifth carbon budget in June this year (for the period 2028 to 2032) and will publish the next Carbon Plan shortly afterwards.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will work with universities in the UK and EU to ensure that exchange programmes similar to the Erasmus programme will continue after the UK leaves the EU.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The referendum result has no immediate effect on students abroad under the Erasmus scheme or applying for 2016/17. Payments will be made in the usual way. Access to the programme after we leave the EU is a matter for the forthcoming negotiations. Consideration of other options will depend on the outcome of these negotiations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-02-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to establish targets to reduce energy use across the government estate to reduce carbon emissions over the next five years.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Government has already reduced the greenhouse gas emissions from its estate and operations by 22% from 2009/10 to 2014/15 under the Greening Government Commitments. We are in the process of developing a new set of Greening Government Commitments for this Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to provide regular reports to Parliament on the withdrawal by local authorities of public services, including welfare, educational and cultural services, including explanations of how local authorities are meeting statutory obligations for the provision of those services.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

Local authorities are independent bodies accountable to their electorate and have a legal obligation to fulfil a range of statutory duties to provide key services. Within the framework of statutory duties, councillors are free to set their own priorities and determine outcomes.

Local authorities have an important role in making their decisions on resourcing transparent. All local authorities produce public accounts, have open meetings and are required to consult the public, and all are subject to the Freedom of Information Act. The public are also entitled to have access to documents relating to council meetings and documents relating to executive decisions made by executive members or officers.

The Secretary of State can request an inspection under section 10 and intervene under section 15 of the Local Government Act 1999 where there is clear evidence that an authority is failing either to discharge its functions adequately or meet its statutory obligations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-02-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to introduce changes to make motor vehicle tax proportionate to the emissions of gaseous and particulate pollutants from motor vehicle engines.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Motoring taxation generally reflects the environmental impact of driving. In particular, Vehicle Excise Duty and Company Car Tax vary by CO₂ emissions and reduced rates of fuel duty are available for low-emissions fuels.

From 1 September 2015, all new cars sold in the UK must be compliant with new European-wide air pollutant standards, known as Euro 6 standards, which include gaseous and particulate pollutants.

The combination of new Euro 6 standards and tougher vehicle approval regulation for air quality pollutants known as Real World Driving Emissions Testing (RDE), which come into force from 2017, will significantly reduce air pollutant emissions from all new vehicles including diesel models.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to circulate information to householders about the steps taken in the negotiation of the UK’s exit from the EU, and the likely final arrangements for British and non-British people and organisations, in order that people can make plans for their future; and if so, when.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Government will ensure that the appropriate information is communicated to Parliament and the public throughout the process of exit.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-02-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have a target for the proportion of new motor vehicles that will be electrically powered by (1) 2020, and (2) 2025; what investments they are making to ensure that a high proportion of those vehicles are manufactured in the UK; and what incentives, if any, they plan to introduce for such vehicles, such as through reducing motor vehicle tax and congestion charges.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government has a commitment that almost all cars and vans will be zero emission by 2050. This means all new cars should be zero emission by 2040. We have not set interim targets, but market penetration of ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) has doubled in the last year to nearly 2% of new vehicle sales.

We will invest over £600 million during this Parliament to support the uptake and manufacture of ULEVs in the UK – including over £400m for the Plug in Car Grant that offers up to £4,500 off the price of eligible cars. ULEVs also benefit from favourable vehicle excise duty, company car tax, and enhanced capital allowances. They are exempt from Transport for London’s congestion charge and can attract other local benefits. The £40m Go Ultra Low cities scheme is supporting a range of local measure such as free parking and use of bus lanes that are designed to drive take up of ULEVs. £82m support was provided during the period 2010 to 2015 for industry-led collaborative research and development, with a similar programme of support underway for the period 2015-20. In addition the Government and industry are investing around £1bn over 10 years in the Advanced Propulsion Centre to develop, commercialise and enable the manufacture of advanced propulsion technologies in the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-03-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the trend in the level of continuing professional development undertaken by teachers of STEM subjects in primary schools; what estimate they have made about the effect it will have on the standards attained by pupils; and whether they will provide funds to increase continuing professional development in the future.

Lord Nash

It is for schools to determine the professional development their teachers need. The Government funds a number of programmes which make high quality, professional development available to primary teachers. This supports our commitment to making Britain the best place in the world to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

The network of 35 Maths Hubs is working with many primary teachers to adopt effective south-east Asian ‘mastery’ teaching approaches to make sure that more children leave primary schools having met the expected standards in mathematics. The network of 44 Science Learning Partnerships provides support to primary teachers to improve their science subject knowledge and how they teach science including good quality practical work. Support to improve the teaching of the new primary computing curriculum is available through the Network of Teaching Excellence in Computer Science. All of these programmes are subject to ongoing evaluation to assess their impact.

The Government remains committed to making sure primary school teachers continue to have access to high quality STEM professional development in the future.