An update from David Button of Cavendish

The race to net zero kicks off

It’s been a busy few months in Westminster, with a Budget and the reorganisation of government departments resulting in new departments for Business and Trade (DBT); Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT); and Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) Their performances so far have varied – DBT for example taking more than a month to even set up a website and still has not confirmed what each minister is responsible for

DESNZ – led by a familiar face to the Business Travel sector Grant Shapps – has had the most attention culminating in ‘Green Day’ on 30 March 2023 This was billed as the Government setting out it’s lofty ambitions to reach its 2050 net zero target (though slightly forced by a legal requirement to update its Net Zero Strategy after the last one was judged to be unlawful by the High Court) and saw an array of announcements on support for decarbonising the economy – 44 to be precise

It also, finally, saw the publication of the second consultation on the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate, as well as a grant to Airbus to scaleup research on ultra-low emissions and hydrogen aircraft Also announced was a consultation on the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate, £340 million investment in EV charging infrastructure, and a commitment to publish a Low Carbon Fuels Strategy aimed at the aviation and maritime sector later this year

It's all been met with a mixed response, with experts and environmental groups who have argued that the Government may still fail to meet the legally binding climate targets Friends of the Earth, which was part of the original lawsuit, has described the announcements as “dangerously lacklustre and lacking on climate action” and has stated that, if after a careful review they still fall short, they are willing to take legal action once more

HS2 in trouble again?

I’ve recently started watching the first series of Race Across the World on BBC iPlayer and my main takeaway from it has been that it is remarkable how bad the UK is at delivering high speed railways compared to many other countries – particularly in Asia We have 113km of dedicated high speed rail lines, whereas Taiwan – an island seven times smaller than the UK – has three times that amount

The past couple of months have seen rumours abound about the prospects for HS2 – including where both ends of the line will actually be The Government recently announced a ‘rephasing’ of the project, prioritising the services between Old Oak Common in West London and Birmingham Curzon Street, meaning that both the Birmingham-Crewe leg and the final few miles to London Euston, will be delayed by several years in an attempt to keep costs down

Whether HS2 will ever actually be finished, or delivered in the way we expect, is the subject of significant speculation and has even caused notable voices in the sector like Christian Wolmar considering whether scrapping it altogether might be best option With a General Election coming up, Labour has a real decision on whether to commit to HS2, accelerate it, or ignore the problem until after the election Either way, this is potentially the slowest high speed railway of all time

Representing the sector in Westminster

The BTA team continues to do sterling work to highlight the successes and challenges of the business travel sector to Government and politicians This week, the CBI report was briefed into members of the Business Travel APPG and has been sent to key stakeholders, and recently we briefed the Special Advisor to the Transport Secretary on the importance of the sector to the economy

In the coming weeks, Clive and colleagues will be meeting with the Minister for Small Businesses, Kevin Hollinrake at the Department for Business and Trade to highlight the impacts of late payments to SME businesses He will also be meeting with Shawney Murphy the Head of Rail Ticketing Policy at the Department for Transport to discuss rail ticketing reforms and ensure that the changes are positive for TMCs

And looking ahead even further we’ll be building on the BTA’s response to Labour's National Policy Forum consultation and ramping up our engagement to ensure Labour understands the importance of the sector to the economy as they continue to develop their policies ahead of the next General Election