Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 27 October (HL11341), what credit was claimed for the potential reduction in congestion and journey times arising from the widening scheme on the south-western stretches of the M25; for what period these claims were made; and what has been the actual experience.

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

The widening of the south-western stretches of the M25 took place over twenty years ago, with the most recent scheme (M25 J12-15) completed in 2005. Any information available on schemes completed a long time ago will be held in the National Archives.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 10 November (HL11340), when were the Stated Preference Techniques used in Transport Analysis Guidance assessments last updated.

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

The Department for Transport’s (DfT’s) Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG) uses evidence based on a range of valuation methods, including Stated Preference (SP) techniques.

The valuations of changes to passenger travel time in TAG are based on a large-scale set of SP surveys carried out in 2014/15, which surveyed 9,000 individuals and businesses to understand travel behaviour, and elicited values relating to travel time and reliability, as well as parameters relating to journey quality. Findings from this research were implemented in TAG in 2017, and are kept under review.

Further guidance on journey quality impacts for bus and active mode travel are underpinned by SP studies undertaken in 2009 and 1996/7 respectively, while evidence on the ‘option value’ of rail travel is drawn from a 2006 SP study.

Aspects of the evidence base in TAG on impacts to life and health, used in the appraisal of environmental and safety impacts, draw on several SP studies undertaken during the 1990s.

The DfT regularly reviews the evidence base underpinning TAG to ensure it remains a robust basis for investment decision-making. This includes commissioning new research using a variety of valuation methods. A notable recent example relates to the 2023 DfT and National Highways-commissioned study into road freight values of travel time, which utilised SP techniques.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 11 November (HL11526), when the post-opening evaluation of Worcester Parkway Station will be carried out.

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

Worcestershire Parkway was funded by Worcestershire County Council (WCC), it developed the business case with forecast usage, revenue and costs. The Government supported it through a commercial agreement for train services to use the station. The Government has not commissioned post opening evaluation, but WCC has undertaken studies that show the passenger usage and revenue has exceeded their forecast. Lord Bradshaw is advised to contact WCC for further information.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield on 3 November (HL11119), what proportion of the solar panels being used in the UK are manufactured domestically or in Europe.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department does not hold this information.

Several small firms based across the UK are involved in assembling conventional solar panels at a small scale as well as more innovative, building-integrated roof slates, and thin film technology that can also suit structurally lighter roofs. Several other firms also produce mounting structures and composite electrical equipment for ground-mounted and rooftop solar installations.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the YouGov report Press regulation: public attitudes and expectations, published by the Press Recognition Panel on 5 November; and whether they plan to take further action in this area.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is interested in a range of evidence concerning public attitudes to news media and we have noted the publication of the report.

The UK has a self-regulatory system for the press, which is independent from Government. This is vital to ensure the public has access to accurate and trustworthy information from a range of different sources. Our aim as a Government is to ensure we strike the balance between freedom of the press and protecting the public from harm. We are carefully considering next steps to determine the best route forward to safeguard public trust in our news media.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of reports that the National Cyber Security Centre is evaluating whether the Chinese bus manufacturer Yutong can deactivate buses remotely, (1) what is the timetable for this evaluation, and (2) what assessment they have made of recent security concerns raised by the governments of Norway and Denmark in respect of Chinese-made electric buses.

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

The Government takes national security extremely seriously and continuously monitors, understands and mitigates potential security threats from a wide range of technologies. My officials are looking into the Norwegian reports and will feed any new information into our continuing work.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 10 November (HL11340), in the Transport Analysis Guidance what, if anything, is the smallest period of time that can be taken into account in evaluating time saved by a scheme under consideration.

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

Transport models are capable of capturing almost any scale of changes in journey time, down to fractions of seconds. Typically, these are aggregated across travellers to provide a measure of the impact of the scheme.

In the Department’s Appraisal Summary Table, used to capture the key results in the appraisal, promoters are requested to provide a breakdown of the total monetary value of net journey time changes by the following increments:

• Changes of 0 to 2 minutes
• Changes of 2 to 5 minutes
• Changes of greater than 5 minutes.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the provision of a wider range of railway services on Boxing Day in 2026.

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

The department currently requires its operators to plan services and rail timetables that are designed to meet expected passenger demand and provide value for money for the taxpayer. Typically, demand for services on Boxing Day is low and much of the network is closed to provide opportunity for essential maintenance. We expect operators and in future, GBR, to continue to consider the case for Boxing Day services where there is demand and they do not further increase the burden on taxpayers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 27 November (HL11894), why time changes of such small increments are used in the calculation of journey saving; and what assessment they have made of the extent to which time changes in these increments can be depended upon.

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

Our approach to the modelling and appraisal of journey time changes is intended to capture the behavioural choices of travellers, and the resulting impacts on the welfare of society.

There is evidence from everyday life of individuals making choices that suggest they value very small time savings. For instance, pedestrians may choose to cross rather than wait for traffic lights to change, while travellers may rush to catch an underground service, to save 1-2 minutes.

The most recent national study into passenger values of time (Arup et al, 2015), considered this issue, and we provided the rationale for capturing the full range of sizes of time saving as part of our 2016 consultation response on values of travel time.

Firstly, that appraisals are carried out ‘at the margin’ for an incremental scheme, and hence capturing time savings of any size and valuing them at a constant unit value provides a robust mathematical framework to aggregate impacts in a consistent fashion across appraisals.

Furthermore, to ensure a representative approach, we want to reflect the full spectrum of sizes of time saving attributable to different kinds of schemes and different modes. Our approach to the capturing of small time savings is consistent with appraisal frameworks in other countries, for example Sweden.

We intend to gather further evidence on the value of small increments of time savings as part of the next national value of time study, currently being planned.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government from which country the solar panels for the Port of Barrow's Cavendish Dock solar array will be supplied.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government does not hold this information.

Commercial decisions about the procurement of components are left to developers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the upcoming expiration in February 2026 of the compulsory purchase powers for phase 2a of HS2 to Crewe, what alternative plans they have to relieve congestion on the west coast main line north of Birmingham.

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

Whilst we will not reverse the previous government’s decision to cancel Phase 2, we recognise concerns about rail capacity and connectivity between Birmingham and Manchester. We are reviewing our plans for future connectivity in the Midlands and the North, and we hope to say more soon, including our plans for land and property between Birmingham and Crewe.