Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the total direct cost to the United Kingdom economy of industrial action on the London Underground since 1 April 2026.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor and Transport for London, as such the Government has made no assessment of the number of working days lost across the broader London commuter base as a result of industrial action by members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers on the London Underground since 1 April 2026.
The Government has made no assessment of the total direct cost to the United Kingdom economy of industrial action on the London Underground since 1 April 2026 due to London Transport being devolved.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of lost fare revenue attributable to industrial action on the London Underground since 1 April 2026.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor and Transport for London. Any impacts of strike action on London’s transport network are for TfL to assess and manage.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 20 April (HL Deb col 504) and the remarks by Baroness Blake of Leeds on 28 April (HL Deb col 1063), whether the previous Network Rail pay settlement did or did not include productivity incentives.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
In January this year Network Rail reached a pay settlement with its general grades staff at 3.8% along with delivery of efficiency improvements.
These efficiency improvements relate to changes in working practices and modernisation initiatives agreed between Network Rail and the trade unions to support a more sustainable and reliable railway.
The Government supports pay settlements which are fair, affordable and deliver value for taxpayers and farepayers
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they gave to the example of Elizabeth line trains when designing the Great British Railways train livery, particularly as regards the use of yellow paint on the face of the cab.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
A yellow front is a safety requirement on many trains, however modern lighting systems mean this is no longer strictly required on newer trains such as the Elizabeth Line fleet. Several operators moving into GBR use the same train model as is used on the Elizabeth Line, and last month I unveiled the first of that model to carry the GBR livery at London Waterloo. When applying the GBR livery to a train type, the decision on whether to retain a yellow front is being taken on a case‑by‑case basis balancing safety considerations, cost and durability, alongside the need for a clear and recognisable design for passengers.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when a British diplomatic or consular representative in Ireland last visited Shannon Airport and whether any report was made as to the arrangements there for implementing the Common Travel Area for passengers arriving directly from the United Kingdom.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
As the Prime Minister and Taoiseach made clear at the 2026 UK-Ireland Summit, the UK and Ireland are committed to protecting the integrity of the Common Travel Area. UK officials continue to work closely with their Irish counterparts on a range of issues, including border security and migration.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend that the national specialty lead for rare cancers, to be appointed under the Rare Cancers Act 2026, is to be a full-time, appropriately remunerated post; and at what Civil Service grade or equivalent the postholder will be appointed.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will implement the Rare Cancers Act 2026 by ensuring that a National Specialty Lead for Rare Cancers is appointed by summer 2026.
The National Specialty Lead will be based in the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Delivery Network (RDN) and will support research delivery for rare cancers research.
National specialty leads are part time roles that are appointed through a competitive process as a secondment to the University of Leeds who provide the NIHR RDN Coordinating Centre, working with and on behalf of the Department. The National Specialty Lead for Rare Cancers will be appropriately renumerated with a salary grade that is consistent with their substantive post.
Implementing the Rare Cancers Act 2026 will make it easier for clinical trials on rare cancers to be delivered in England.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have a national standardised definition of a pothole.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Local highway authorities are responsible for maintaining their roads under section 41 of the Highways Act 1980. Individual authorities set their own criteria, including the minimum size and depth at which a defect, or pothole, is recorded or repaired, and apply risk‑based assessments that account for local conditions, traffic volumes and safety considerations when making decisions on maintenance programmes. These thresholds therefore vary between areas and are not prescribed by the Department for Transport.
This approach is based on the Well‑managed Highway Infrastructure Code of Practice, which advises that local highway authorities should use a risk‑based approach when assessing and repairing defects, and recommends that each authority determine its own intervention criteria based on local circumstances rather than a single national threshold.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many approved driving instructors were on the official register in each month since July 2024.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) publishes driving instructor and motorcycle instructor register data online.
The below table shows the number of approved driving instructors (ADI) on the official register in each month since July 2024. Please note, DVSA can currently only publish data up to September 2025.
Date | Number of ADIs on register |
July 2024 | 41,207 |
August 2024 | 41,366 |
September 2024 | 41,453 |
October 2024 | 41,615 |
November 2024 | 41,832 |
December 2024 | 41,900 |
January 2025 | 42,146 |
February 2025 | 42,330 |
March 2025 | 42,401 |
April 2025 | 42,513 |
May 2025 | 42,825 |
June 2025 | 42,881 |
July 2025 | 43,020 |
August 2025 | 43,559 |
September 2025 | 43,334 |
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the first East West Rail services between Oxford and Milton Keynes Central via Winslow have been included in the base train timetable.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Chiltern worked with Network Rail, DfT and other operators on the December 2026 timetable and services have been timetabled between Oxford, Winslow, Bletchley and Milton Keynes. The Department continues to work closely with Chiltern Railways and other partners to confirm a start date for the first East-West Rail services between Oxford and Milton Keynes Central via Winslow.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the review of HS2 by Mark Wild will be published.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
On 19 May, the Secretary of State for Transport updated Parliament on the progress of the HS2 reset, alongside the publication of her latest parliamentary report.
In addition, the government published the initial findings of HS2 Ltd CEO Mark Wild’s review into the simplification of the railway’s operational specification, and his advice on the estimated cost of cancelling and remediating the programme.
As Mark Wild said before the TSC on 20 May, the HS2 reset will continue to progress and is planned to complete in Spring 2027 when the full delivery baseline is expected to be completed, a new commercial strategy to be implemented, and HS2 Ltd to be reshaped into a leaner, more skilled organisation.