Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to paragraph 5.86 of the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June, what are the £663 million of technical efficiencies by category for each of the financial years until 2029–30.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Alongside the Spending Review 2025 publication, Departmental Efficiency Delivery Plans were published on GOV.UK. The Department for Transport section at paragraphs 2.83 - 2.92 provides further information on these efficiencies and table 2.10 (copied below) shows the breakdown for how the department will deliver £663million of technical efficiencies by 2028/29.
Table 2.10: Net efficiency gains vs 2025-26 planned RDEL excluding depreciation | ||||
£ million |
| 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
Corporate initiatives | 52 | 144 | 199 | |
Regulated settlements | 256 | 331 | 424 | |
Reform of executive agencies | 6 | 16 | 39 | |
Total efficiencies net of investment | 313 | 491 | 663 | |
Total efficiencies net of investment (%) | 3.8% | 5.9% | 8.0% | |
Memo: total gross efficiencies | 320 | 500 | 676 | |
Memo: total gross efficiencies (% | 3.9% | 6.0% | 8.2% | |
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the increase in sales of zero-emission cars that will result from the Electric Car Grant in each of the five years from 2025.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department estimates that tens of thousands of vehicles will be supported by the Electric Car Grant. The exact number of vehicles supported by the grant will depend on consumer uptake and the number of cars eligible for the grant.
The grant design will remain under review throughout its operation to ensure maximum value for money, and the scheme will be subject to amendment or early closure with no notice should funds become exhausted.
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what environmental criteria must be met to qualify for (1) the £3,750 and (2) the £1,500 Electric Car Grant; and how these criteria will be assessed and by whom.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
To access the grant, manufacturers must hold a validated science-based target, which means they are committed to sustainable practices. These are assessed by the independent Science Based Target Initiative.
If a manufacturer holds a science-based target, whether and how much grant funding a vehicle could receive is based on the carbon emissions from the generation of energy used to assemble the vehicle and produce its battery. These criteria are assessed by the Department for Transport.
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the price point of £37,000 or under was chosen as the entry point for the Electric Car Grant.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The price cap ensures the Electric Car Grant targets the more affordable end of the zero emission car market. We expect this grant will support a range of models, including several under £20,000 or leased at under £200 per month.
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government with which automotive manufacturers they discussed the electric car grant, and on what dates.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The ZEV consultation earlier this year identified that upfront cost remains a significant barrier for many consumers.
Following grant announcement, the Government has had multiple calls with vehicle manufacturers and trade bodies to explain vehicle eligibility and how to apply for the grant.
We will continue these discussions to ensure manufacturers have all the information they need.
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to paragraph 5.80 of the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June, what estimates or forecasts have been made of (1) the rail passenger services subsidy, (2) passenger ridership, (3) passenger revenue, and (4) efficiencies and savings through public ownership, for each of the financial years until 2029–30.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Rail passenger services subsidy is expected to reduce by over 50 per cent from £2.4 billion in 2024-25.
The Spending Review settlement assumes that passenger revenue increases by an average of 6 per cent per annum over the period.
Public ownership will result in a reduction in the fees paid to private sector operators and enable efficiencies to be delivered through horizontal integration of operators. Costs are assumed to increase by less than revenue each year, resulting in the net subsidy reduction.
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to begin the investigation into the London Southend Airport plane crash on 13 July.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is responsible for investigating civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents in the UK. An AAIB team arrived on scene at London Southend Airport on 13th July to begin their investigation. It is the responsibility of the AAIB to ascertain whether any safety recommendations need to be made as a result of this accident.
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that rail services run effectively and to prevent derailments such as that at Denbigh Hall South Junction.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
There is a robust legislative framework governing rail safety, which places mandatory requirements on the rail industry to ensure the safe operation of rail services. This includes a statutory duty to put in place safety management systems, which are enforced by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and are reviewed regularly to ensure they remain fit for purpose and support the overall safety and performance of the rail network. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) supports the rail industry by investigating the causes of incidents such as derailments and by making recommendations to industry.
The rail industry is currently investing in a range of new technologies including sensors, artificial intelligence, predictive modelling and diagnostics to improve its capability to understand, detect and manage derailment risks.
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will request the use of powers to secure communications data through the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, either for anti-crime purposes or in the interests of public safety, in the light those powers being requested by and granted to Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
There are no current plans for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to secure communications data through the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his oral statement of 7 Septemeber, Official Report, column 365, on International Travel, if he will make it his policy to implement a covid-19 testing regime, with airports being required to procure the necessary testing and laboratory capacity, in order to reduce quarantine length.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Government is actively working on the practicalities of using testing to release people from self-isolation earlier than 14 days. Officials across the Government are working with health experts with the aim of cutting the self-isolation period without adding to infection risk or infringing on our overall NHS test capacity. The Secretary of State for Transport has committed to updating the House on testing of international arrivals in the coming weeks.
Public Health England prepared a paper on the effectiveness of ‘double testing’ travellers coming to the UK. The paper is available at: