Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans are in place to protect rail customers and staff following reports that dozens of British Transport Police stations are facing possible closure.

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

The safety of passengers and rail staff on the network is a priority for the Department and the rail industry, including the British Transport Police (BTP).

We will continue to work with BTP and the rail industry to consider how best to deploy their available budget in the coming financial year to ensure the safety of those on the rail network. It is important to stress that no final decisions have yet been made.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Home Secretary on 19 November 2024 (HCWS232), whether there are plans in place to assess the progress of the bodies created as part of the announced policing reforms.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

In her Written Ministerial statement of 19 November (Statement UIN HCW232) the Home Secretary set out her intention to work with policing on a package of reforms to ensure it can operate efficiently and effectively to deliver the Safer Streets Mission.

In particular she announced that a new performance unit would be set up within the Home Office to drive-up standards, performance, and consistency, as well as a new National Centre of Policing to bring together crucial support services that local police forces can draw upon.

We are working with policing to deliver these important reforms and have established a Joint Reform Team, co-located within the Home Office, that brings established representatives from National Police Chief's Council, Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and wider policing bodies together, to work directly with the Home Office to co-design and deliver the reforms.

We will publish a Police Reform White Paper later this year and undertake a consultation to seek further views on these proposals to inform next steps.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to maintain or replace ageing electrical substation infrastructure, following the recent incident in Hayes.

Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

The Government regularly engages with the electricity network companies, who are responsible for maintaining and upgrading electrical infrastructure, including substations. Through a price control process, Ofgem regulate the network companies to ensure they are investing to operate, maintain and upgrade electricity infrastructure effectively.

Following the recent incident in Hayes, working with Ofgem, the Energy Secretary has commissioned the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to investigate the power outage impacting Heathrow and the surrounding area, and to understand any wider lessons to be learned on energy resilience for critical national infrastructure.

Found: Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington Kt, QPM, DL, LLD 2nd June 2025 Dear Sir Gerald, I am writing