Written questions by Perkins.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of current levels of global (a) production capacity of Sustainable Aviation Fuel and (b) demand for Sustainable Aviation Fuel.

Significant analysis was undertaken during the development of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate. Government considered global production capacity and the UK’s ability to access SAF for a range of SAF conversion processes, including hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA). To ensure the SAF Mandate reflects the latest technological and commercial developments, there is continuous monitoring of trends and impacts of the Mandate. HEFA will play an important role in the global SAF sector, particularly in the early years of the Mandate. However, the HEFA cap is to encourage the development of new technology pathways so that meeting the SAF Mandate is not reliant on HEFA feedstocks, which are likely to become scarcer. We have carefully balanced setting the HEFA cap in a way that recognises the fact HEFA is the only currently commercially available type of SAF to mitigate against unintended consequences. The corresponding EU SAF Mandate does not place a cap on HEFA, however, the EU’s overarching Renewable Energy Directive does place a limit on certain feedstocks that can be used across transport uses. Officials regularly engage with European counterparts and stakeholders to understand policy developments in the EU and share learnings from SAF policy.

What information her Department holds on which EU countries have imposed a Hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) SAF cap within their SAF mandate.

Significant analysis was undertaken during the development of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate. Government considered global production capacity and the UK’s ability to access SAF for a range of SAF conversion processes, including hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA). To ensure the SAF Mandate reflects the latest technological and commercial developments, there is continuous monitoring of trends and impacts of the Mandate. HEFA will play an important role in the global SAF sector, particularly in the early years of the Mandate. However, the HEFA cap is to encourage the development of new technology pathways so that meeting the SAF Mandate is not reliant on HEFA feedstocks, which are likely to become scarcer. We have carefully balanced setting the HEFA cap in a way that recognises the fact HEFA is the only currently commercially available type of SAF to mitigate against unintended consequences. The corresponding EU SAF Mandate does not place a cap on HEFA, however, the EU’s overarching Renewable Energy Directive does place a limit on certain feedstocks that can be used across transport uses. Officials regularly engage with European counterparts and stakeholders to understand policy developments in the EU and share learnings from SAF policy.

For what reason there is a Hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) SAF cap within the SAF mandate.

Significant analysis was undertaken during the development of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate. Government considered global production capacity and the UK’s ability to access SAF for a range of SAF conversion processes, including hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA). To ensure the SAF Mandate reflects the latest technological and commercial developments, there is continuous monitoring of trends and impacts of the Mandate. HEFA will play an important role in the global SAF sector, particularly in the early years of the Mandate. However, the HEFA cap is to encourage the development of new technology pathways so that meeting the SAF Mandate is not reliant on HEFA feedstocks, which are likely to become scarcer. We have carefully balanced setting the HEFA cap in a way that recognises the fact HEFA is the only currently commercially available type of SAF to mitigate against unintended consequences. The corresponding EU SAF Mandate does not place a cap on HEFA, however, the EU’s overarching Renewable Energy Directive does place a limit on certain feedstocks that can be used across transport uses. Officials regularly engage with European counterparts and stakeholders to understand policy developments in the EU and share learnings from SAF policy.

What conversations she has had with her European counterparts about the UK’s cap on Hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) SAF within the SAF mandate.

Significant analysis was undertaken during the development of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate. Government considered global production capacity and the UK’s ability to access SAF for a range of SAF conversion processes, including hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA). To ensure the SAF Mandate reflects the latest technological and commercial developments, there is continuous monitoring of trends and impacts of the Mandate. HEFA will play an important role in the global SAF sector, particularly in the early years of the Mandate. However, the HEFA cap is to encourage the development of new technology pathways so that meeting the SAF Mandate is not reliant on HEFA feedstocks, which are likely to become scarcer. We have carefully balanced setting the HEFA cap in a way that recognises the fact HEFA is the only currently commercially available type of SAF to mitigate against unintended consequences. The corresponding EU SAF Mandate does not place a cap on HEFA, however, the EU’s overarching Renewable Energy Directive does place a limit on certain feedstocks that can be used across transport uses. Officials regularly engage with European counterparts and stakeholders to understand policy developments in the EU and share learnings from SAF policy.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the cap on Hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) on fulfilling the SAF mandate.

Significant analysis was undertaken during the development of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate. Government considered global production capacity and the UK’s ability to access SAF for a range of SAF conversion processes, including hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA). To ensure the SAF Mandate reflects the latest technological and commercial developments, there is continuous monitoring of trends and impacts of the Mandate. HEFA will play an important role in the global SAF sector, particularly in the early years of the Mandate. However, the HEFA cap is to encourage the development of new technology pathways so that meeting the SAF Mandate is not reliant on HEFA feedstocks, which are likely to become scarcer. We have carefully balanced setting the HEFA cap in a way that recognises the fact HEFA is the only currently commercially available type of SAF to mitigate against unintended consequences. The corresponding EU SAF Mandate does not place a cap on HEFA, however, the EU’s overarching Renewable Energy Directive does place a limit on certain feedstocks that can be used across transport uses. Officials regularly engage with European counterparts and stakeholders to understand policy developments in the EU and share learnings from SAF policy.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the decision to pause the next phase of electrification of the Midland Main Line on rail (a) times and (b) investment in the East Midlands.

The Spending Review prioritised investment across all government spending, taking account of business cases and affordability. While I appreciate the investment opportunities that further electrification of the Midland Main Line could bring to the East Midlands, schemes that would have a more significant impact on economic growth were prioritised for funding. There is still significant investment being made in rail and we will continue to keep this project under review as part of our longer-term pipeline of schemes. Ahead of further funding becoming available to complete electrification of the route, EMR’s new intercity bi-mode trains will provide a step change in journey quality for rail passengers travelling between South Yorkshire, the East Midlands and London. The new trains will be quieter, more comfortable and will reduce carbon emissions by running using electric overhead lines between London and Wigston, south of Leicester. When fully operational they will provide a 46 per cent increase in capacity through a mixture of a greater number of seats and units.

How many (a) petrol, (b) diesel, (c) hybrid and (d) electric (i) cars, (ii) vans and (iii) other vehicles her Department hired in each of the last five years.

The Department for Transports vehicle hire contract provides hire services for the core department, agencies and some arms-length bodies for cars, vans and other vehicles. Over a period of 5 years (Jan 2020 – Oct 24) on average 28,087 are hired a year, however, we don’t centrally record information on fuel or engine type.

How many public electric vehicle charging points there are in each local authority area on (a) local authority land and (b) privately owned land.

The information requested is not available. The Department for Transport does not hold information on whether the land on which a public charging device is located is (a) local authority land or (b) privately owned land.The latest statistics on the number of public charging devices broken down by local authority can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electric-vehicle-public-charging-infrastructure-statistics-july-2024.

What information her Department holds on the number of (a) car rental car parking spaces and (b) car rental car parking spaces with electric charging points at each airport.

The Information requested is not held by the department.