Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to announce the outcomes of the Access For All mid-tier scheme.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We have not currently sought new nominations for another round of mid-tier Access for All funding since 2020 and the successful outcomes were announced by the previous Government at the time.
We are carefully considering the best approach to the Access for All programme. This Government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities. We are in the early stages of understanding the full implications of the Spending Review for the Access for All programme and will update stakeholders in due course.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much her Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Over the last 12 months, the Department for Transport has spent £830,731.27 on social media advertising and £1,488,420.01 on online advertising through the THINK! Road safety campaign.
This has been done to reach and influence the behaviours of our target audience of 17-24 males, who are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured on the road than drivers aged 25 and over. Campaigns have tackled priority issues such as drink driving and speeding to reduce casualties and fatalities. All budgets have been scrutinised to ensure value for money, with behaviour change communications often a cost-effective way to support policy interventions, as well as being a core part of the safe-systems approach to road safety.
As part of the THINK! campaign to reduce speeding among young men, the department ran a media partnership with youth platform LadBible which involved working with two content creators as part of a wider partnership. However, we are unable to provide a cost breakdown on influencers specifically due to commercial sensitivities which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.
Asked by: Bernard Jenkin (Conservative - Harwich and North Essex)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the redevelopment of Liverpool Street Station on the economy.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The redevelopment of Liverpool Street Station will enable £500m investment in the busiest station in the UK at no cost to the taxpayer. Officials in my Department are engaged with Network Rail Property and Planning teams around the redevelopment proposals for Liverpool Street station. These plans are at an early stage and will be subject to planning consents. Both my Department and Network Rail will continue to monitor these plans as they develop.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of bus services in rural areas in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) Hertfordshire.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government recognises the importance of accessible, frequent and affordable bus services in keeping communities connected, including in rural areas. Buses in England outside London were deregulated by the Transport Act 1985 and at present are largely run on a commercial basis where the operator decides on routes and provision.
The government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December 2024 as part of its ambitious plan for bus reform. The Bill puts the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities that rely on them, including in Harpenden and Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire more widely, and rural areas right across England.
In addition, the government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million to local authorities across the country, of which Hertfordshire County Council has been allocated £12.2 million. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent and protect crucial bus routes for local communities, including in rural areas.
The government has reaffirmed its commitment to bus services in this Spending Review by confirming continued funding each year from 26/27 to maintain and improve vital bus services, including taking forward bus franchising pilots, and extending the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to make funding available to complete accessibility work at Ulverston station.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In May 2024, the previous government agreed the publication of a list of 50 additional stations selected for initial feasibility work, which included Ulverston railway station. We are in the early stages of understanding the full implications of the Spending Review for the Access for All programme and other rail projects and will engage with stakeholders in due course.
We are committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognise the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of mandating three point seatbelts to be fitted on coaches in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) other rural areas.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport is committed to improving road safety and incidents involving buses and coaches are rare – national casualty statistics indicate that they are one of the safest forms of road transport.
Vehicle construction regulations are applied nationally, rather than on a constituency or other geographic basis, and have required all buses and coaches to be fitted with seat belts since 2001, except for those designed and authorised to carry standing passengers.
In large vehicles where the deceleration forces of a collision are generally lower than for smaller vehicles, a lap belt only is permitted providing other design criteria are met to prevent or limit injury. In smaller vehicles, or where these other design criteria cannot be met, a three-point belt is required.
International vehicle construction requirements, including those covering seat belts, are developed through the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, where they are kept under review to ensure they evolve to continuously drive forward vehicle safety.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department has taken to merge highway records into a single digital record to simplify conveyancing highways searches.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport (DfT) recognises the value of improving access to highways information for the purposes of conveyancing.
For the Strategic Road Network, National Highways has taken significant steps to simplify its own land ownership records. Conveyancing highways searches are received through the National Highways Customer Contact Centre, before being directed to the relevant regional spatial planning team. To further support transparency, National Highways has created a spatial highway boundary dataset, updated weekly using data from HM Land Registry, Ordnance Survey, and its own asset data. This assured dataset is available to the public through the National Highways Open Data Portal and allows users to easily identify National Highways’ land ownership.
For local roads, the records most relevant to conveyancing searches are owned, maintained and published by local highway authorities. At present, DfT has no plans to consolidate this data into a single digital record.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to ensure that (a) all cars sold in the UK must have had safety tests undertaken on them that include specifically-female crash dummies in both the driver and passenger seats and (b) data from such tests is (i) recorded and (ii) published.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The latest international vehicle regulations covering frontal impact protection developed under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) currently use a crash test dummy representative of a female occupant in the front passenger seat. The Government is currently considering mandating this regulation in Great Britain as part of an extensive package of vehicle safety measures.
The UNECE has also established a group of experts, in which the Department for Transport is an active member, which is reviewing its Regulations to ensure all vehicle occupants benefit from comparable levels of protection irrespective of their sex, age or stature. This is likely to require testing with a greater number of female occupant locations.
The Department for Transport remains a member of the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP). This programme is complementary to regulation and includes impact tests using crash test dummies representative of a female occupant in the driver and opposite rear passenger seating positions.
Data from regulatory testing is recorded by the Type Approval Authority responsible for approval, but the data is highly technical and not routinely published. Summarised data from Euro NCAP testing is translated into easily understood safety information and is always published on its website - www.euroncap.com
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the increase in the bus fare cap on (a) small businesses and (b) workers in rural areas.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government recognises the importance of affordable public transport in keeping people connected and ensuring they can access their local towns.
On 1 January, the government introduced a £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London until 31 December 2025. As part of the Spending Review, the government announced further funding to extend the £3 cap to March 2027. This will ensure millions of people, including those in rural areas, can continue to access affordable bus fares and better opportunities all over the country.
If the government had not taken action, the bus fare cap would have ended and fares would have jumped back up to their previous levels on 1 January which could have meant fares soaring above £10 on the most expensive routes.
The final monitoring and evaluation report into the impact of the £2 bus fare cap was published on 12 February. An evaluation of the £3 fare cap is due to be commissioned shortly.
Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Written Statement of 17 June 2025 on Dart Charge, HCWS708, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Local Resident Discount Scheme for the Dartford Crossing for users of the Crossing living in Kent.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The current approach of applying the local resident discount only to people who live within the boroughs where the Dartford Crossing is located (Dartford and Thurrock), recognises that it is the people living in those boroughs who are most affected by the heavy traffic using it.
Car drivers with a pre-paid account benefit from a 20 per cent discount for each crossing regardless of their place of residence, which offers good value for money for people who live beyond Dartford and Thurrock.