Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 118041 on Airports: Cars, whether her Department provides guidance to airports on the development, content, and monitoring of Surface Access Strategies.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The expectations around the development and monitoring of airports’ surface access plans were first set out in the Department’s “Guidance on Airport Transport Forums and Airport Surface Access Strategies” in 1999. It is for the airport operator, working with local stakeholders through its Airport Transport Forum to create the strategy, taking into consideration national and local policy guidance and frameworks, planning conditions and local infrastructure considerations.

Recent approvals by this government on airport expansion projects at Gatwick and Luton also highlight specific surface access targets which must be met such as through the Green Controlled Growth Framework at Luton and mode share targets at Gatwick.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee's 34th Report of Session 2024–26, what progress they have made towards finding a solution for making further amendments to assimilated law in relation to aviation safety after June 2026.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

UK airspace and airlines are amongst the safest in the world. The UK remains steadfast in our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of aviation safety. We are confident that the powers gap issue will not impact the UK’s exemplary aviation safety record.

The Department is actively looking at solutions to close or mitigate these gaps at the earliest opportunity to maintain a functioning statute book and provide certainty to the transport sector. We will review whether existing powers on the statute book may be appropriate and look at introducing primary legislation, where needed, when Parliamentary time allows.

Pram on a train? You've got two options. The disabled bay and the bike rack. Both of which you're not allowed to use - they're for disabled people and bikes. Instead you have to collapse the pram and place in the overhead space. On your own? With two under two? It's not for the faint hearted.

The Government should require all council and private car parks to adopt a single, mandatory grace period of 15 minutes. This rule should replace all existing “grace” and “consideration” periods to create one clear, universal standard.

Pass a law where if international licence holders fail their UK driving test, they will be banned from continuing to drive in the UK unaccompanied as we believe they have no demonstrated competence.

Make buses, trains and ferries free for children up to the age of 16 so they don’t have to pay to get to and from school.

Introduce legislation to cap penalties for “pay later” tolls and car parks and require operators to provide a clear pay-on-exit option. Where drivers forget to pay, additional reminder/collection charges must be capped at a small administrative fee (for example £5) before a larger penalty.

Requiring the use of gritted paint for road markings could help ensure the rider doesn't slide on them.
Applying grit to all manhole covers could help make them safe for motorbikes to ride over without the chance of slipping

Pass legislation so that a car cannot be sold in the UK without a spare tyre. Not a temporary tyre, but one similar to the fitted ones. This should apply to manufacturers and to resellers.

Lower the driving age

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Found: Street Manager, the Department for Transport’s (DfT) digital service that supports co-ordination, planning

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Found: As announced in the ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse Strategy’, the Department for Transport are providing

Found: Fright, Institute for Government Robert Colbourne, HM Revenue and Customs Robert Hart, Department for Transport

Found: to SGC and thereby reduces a need to travel outside of it or further afield. 7.73 The Department for Transport

Found: Crown copyright 2026 ISSN 0309-4278 Published by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, Department for Transport

Found: SMarT has deployed a multi-million-pound budget, provided by the Department for Transport, to support

Found: The AAIB is part of the Department for Transport (DfT), and our purpose is to improve aviation safety

Found: disabled or infirm (%) ~22 Reference value of a life £2,209,537 Reference Table A 4.1.1: Source: DfT

Found: [18] Department for Transport, “Value for Money Framework,” 2024. [Online].

Found: [18] Department for Transport, “Value for Money Framework,” 2024. [Online].

Found: [20] Department for Transport, “Value for Money Framework,” 2024. [Online].

Found: [18] Department for Transport, “Value for Money Framework,” 2024. [Online].

Found: [Accessed 29 October 2024]. [19] Department for Transport, “Value for Money Framework,” 2024.

Found: disabled or infirm (%) ~22 Reference value of a life £2,209,537 Reference Table A 4.1.1: Source: DfT

Found: [18] Department for Transport, “Value for Money Framework,” 2024. [Online].

Found: [18] Department for Transport, “Value for Money Framework,” 2024. [Online].

Found: Source: Road traffic estimates (TRA), TRA0206, Department for Transport Modal trends 3.59 Looking at

Found: the reports and in contribution to the Home Office’s Modern Crime Reduction Strategy, the Department for Transport

Found: We expect this to include around £24m from the DfT.