Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of Penalty Charge Notice enforcement practices associated with toll bridges on low income motorists.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The operation of each toll bridge is the responsibility of the body that owns it, in this case Halton Borough Council. Furthermore, most toll bridges collect payments at toll-booths which minimises the risk of non-payment. Where free-flow charging is used, as at the Mersey Gateway crossings, operators offer numerous ways to pay to maximise compliance rates. National regulations specify the maximum penalty charge that may be imposed for non-payment at the Dartford Crossing and the Mersey Gateway bridges. If penalty charges go unpaid, enforcement agents may be used to collect the debt. The Enforcement
Conduct Board provides independent oversight of the enforcement industry to ensure that all those who are subject to enforcement action are treated fairly.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of protections for parking enforcement officers subject to (a) physical and (b) verbal abuse in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No such assessment has been made by this Department.
The Department's statutory guidance for local authorities in England on civil enforcement of parking contraventions recommends local authorities maintain regular liaison with the police to help to ensure that civil and criminal enforcement operate effectively. Good relations between the police and an enforcement authority can also help in tackling threats and abuse aimed at civil enforcement officers.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has considered the potential merits of providing free bus travel to over 60s across the whole of the UK.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age. The ENCTS costs around £795 million annually in reimbursement costs to bus operators, and any changes to the statutory obligations would need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability. The potential merits of extending free bus travel to over 60s across England were debated in parliament on Monday 5 January, following an e-petition on this topic.
Local authorities in England have the power to offer concessions in addition to their statutory obligations, including lowering the age of eligibility. These are additional local concessions provided and funded by local authorities from local resources.
The Government is investing in bus services long-term and has confirmed over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services over the remainder of the spending review period. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year.
South Yorkshire Combined Authority has been allocated £52.4 million under the LABG from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in addition to the £17.8 million they are already receiving in 2025/26. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers, including funding discretionary concessions.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many instances of failed Assisted Travel were recorded on Northern services in the last 12 months.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No train operators currently record individual instances of failed passenger assists. However, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) carries out surveys, and its 2024-25 survey showed that 20 per cent of all respondents reported their requests for passenger assistance on Northern were not fulfilled. ORR subsequently requested, and in December 2025 approved, a plan from Northern to improve its passenger assistance service.
This includes: reviewing the staffing model for assistance at large stations (including Leeds); providing additional staff training on communication between boarding and alighting stations; introducing a dedicated team to remotely support passengers who require assistance, using tools such as WhatsApp; and trialling a new process to allow passengers travelling from unstaffed stations who have not pre-booked, to alert conductors to their assistance needs.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2025 to Question 97184, what estimate the Department has made of the annual cost of extending the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme to provide concessionary passes for companions of disabled people.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport does not hold a current assessment of the cost of expanding the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) to include companion passes as part of the statutory provision. In the year ending March 2025, the ENCTS cost around £795 million.
Any decision to expand the statutory offering would involve rigorous cost analysis of a range of options.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an (a) assessment of the effectiveness of her policies to reduce waiting times for driving tests and (b) estimate of the costs to (i) people in Chichester constituency and (ii) the economy of those waiting times.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The average waiting time in weeks, in December 2025, for a car practical driving test at Chichester driving test centre was 24 weeks.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) fully acknowledges car practical driving test waiting times remain high and understands the impact this continues to have on learner drivers across the country, particularly where a driving licence is vital for accessing jobs and training. The agency is intensifying its efforts to reduce waiting times and improve access to driving tests that will break down barriers to opportunity as part of the government’s Plan for Change, supporting economic growth.
On the 12 November, the Secretary of State for Transport, updated the Transport Select Committee on the government’s ongoing response to high driving test waiting times.
In the coming months, DVSA will:
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the potential cost to users of a Regulated Asset Base model for the Lower Thames Crossing.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The road user charging regime for the Lower Thames Crossing has not yet been set. The exact level of charges that are appropriate and how this interacts with the level of private investment will be the subject of future analysis and has not yet been finalised.
Charges are necessary to cover the costs of providing the infrastructure, whether funded publicly or privately. Regulatory oversight will ensure transparency, fair pricing, and performance standards throughout the life of the asset to promote financial sustainability and user interests.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, by what a) number and b) proportion station staffing levels have changed on TransPennine Express services since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The increases over 2024/25 were mainly to fill vacancies that had been paused pending the previous Government’s proposals for the closure of ticket offices, which they reversed after significant public criticism. In mid-2024, TransPennine Express gradually increased the Hull station headcount by an additional four full-time employees to support station resilience. It has increased overall station staffing by a further 19 full-time employees to improve reliability and resilience of the delivery of passenger assistance and other customer services (e.g. retailing); many of these roles are currently being recruited into.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the performance of Thameslink in the context of its nationalisation.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We recognise that performance on Thameslink services has not consistently met the levels that passengers expect and deserve over recent years, though we are seeing improvements. As part of the mobilisation process for transferring Govia Thameslink Railway’s services, including Thameslink services, into public ownership on 31 May 2026, the Department is conducting detailed due diligence on current operations. This, alongside the operator’s own plans to drive improvements, will inform measures to enhance services following transfer.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the risk of construction cost overruns for the Lower Thames Crossing would be borne by (a) taxpayers and (b) private investors under the Regulated Asset Base model.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model, which is the preferred financing option for the Lower Thames Crossing, is designed to reduce taxpayer exposure to funding risks. Regulatory oversight ensures transparency, fair pricing, and performance standards throughout the life of the asset to promote financial sustainability and user interests. The precise risk allocation for construction cost overruns between users, private investors and contractors has not yet been finalised and is subject to further development but will be primarily based on precedents from other projects undertaken through RAB models.