Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to make it mandatory for drivers to report collisions with cats.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Although there is no obligation to report all animal deaths on roads, drivers should, if possible, make enquiries to ascertain the owner of domestic animals, such as cats, and advise them of the situation.

Since June 2024, all cats in England over 20 weeks of age must be microchipped and registered on a compliant database, unless exempt or free-living. This will make it easier for National Highways and local authorities to reunite cats and dogs with their keeper.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to (a) improve toy safety and (b) protect children’s health.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Government is committed to ensuring that only safe products can be sold. Under the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011, all toys placed on the market must meet essential safety requirements. Following the Government Response to the Product Safety Review, government intends to perform sector reviews of product regulation and will also consider how cross-cutting hazards may impact consumer safety.

Government recently introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill. The Bill powers will allow us to reflect modern supply chains and create a proportionate regulatory framework to ensure UK consumers are protected from risk, regardless of product origin or where purchased.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many families will be impacted by the reduction in the number of compulsory branded items of school uniform in (a) Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency, (b) Bedfordshire and (c) the East of England.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department published its latest research on the cost of school uniform in September 2024, which surveyed parents and carers of children aged 4 to 16 attending state-funded schools in England. The research is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms-survey-2023.

The data were sampled to be representative of the population at primary and secondary level. Nationally, the department estimates that the new limit on compulsory branded uniform will reduce school uniform costs for around 4.2 million children. The aggregate savings to parents with children in primary school is around £21 million per year, and for those with children in secondary school is around £52 million per year. We estimate that some families will save over £50 per child on the back to school shop.

The sample size was not large enough to make robust comparisons at a regional or local level.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the risk of harm to marine mammals from (a) discarded and (b) lost (i) ropes, (ii) fishing lines, (iii) nets and (iv) other fishing equipment.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is committed to taking action to tackle Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) to reduce the risk to all marine life, including marine mammals.

We are working domestically to tackle plastic pollution from fishing and aquaculture gear across the full lifecycle and therefore reduce the risks to wildlife. We supported the development of a circular gear design standard under the European standards body, and are working with the administrations in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales and industry, to develop UK-wide solutions for the collection and recycling of end-of-life gear.

This is a transboundary issue and global action is needed. Internationally, the UK has called for plastic pollution treaty under negotiation to include specific provisions to address harmful forms of plastic pollution, including fishing and aquaculture gear. We believe that measures need to address the full lifecycle of gear, from design to end-of-life management.

We are also working with other countries at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to strengthen the requirements under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) on the marking of fishing gear and the reporting of fishing gear losses.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a separate regulatory structure for coach services.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The UK coach sector was deregulated by the Transport Act 1980 and services are operated on a commercial basis without receiving government funding. Where coaches provide local bus services, they may be required to comply with the relevant legislation governing those services. Operation of buses and coaches requires a Public Service Vehicle Operator’s Licence and there are currently no plans for a separate regulatory structure for the operation of coaches.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to review the definitions of (a) pre-booked and (b) on-demand coach services.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department recognises the important role the coach sector plays in connecting people across the country. Coaches are operated on a commercial basis providing services for leisure, business, education and private hire. The Government has no plans to review the definitions of pre-booked or on-demand services because, as private businesses, decisions such as the types of services they offer are for the operators concerned.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Environment Agency is required to undertake an environmental impact assessment before cutting grass on embankments.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Environment Agency regularly carries out maintenance works using its permissive powers to manage flood risk. Routine grass cutting, vegetation management and debris clearance on embankments are low-impact but essential preventative maintenance activities for our flood defences - ensuring they remain safe, and to sustain their condition.

A full assessment in accordance with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations isn’t necessary, however, we carefully assess each maintenance activity for environmental impacts through internal protocols.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK-India free trade agreement on levels of investment in (a) Bedfordshire, (b) the East of England and (c) the UK.

Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

This comprehensive agreement is expected to boost increase bilateral trade by £25.5 billion, increase UK GDP by £4.8 billion and boost wages by £2.2 billion each and every year in the long run.

This deal is expected to make trade between the UK cheaper and easier, which could encourage more businesses to expand and invest. In the East of England, science and technology hubs like Bedford will benefit from reduced tariffs on technologies such as medical devices, alongside improved customs processes.

We will set out further information on the regional impacts of this agreement in our Impact Assessment.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish which local authorities have the powers to enforce moving traffic restrictions.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Local authorities in London have had the powers to enforce moving traffic contraventions since 2003. In 2022, regulations came into effect under the Traffic Management Act 2004 to allow local authorities in England outside London to apply for moving traffic enforcement powers. To date, 73 local authorities outside London have been granted moving traffic enforcement powers. All of the Designation Orders are available on the Government’s legislation website. The links to each are here: www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/686/made; www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/698/made; www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/1135/made.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what was the total cost to the public purse was of British transport police offices in the last financial year (a) based at rail stations (b) not based at rail stations.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The British Transport Police do not hold data separating the costs for station-based and non-station-based offices. The British Transport Police operate from 141 properties split between railway stations and commercial buildings close to the railway.

In the financial year 24/25, the total cost of British Transport Police’s estate including all running, maintenance, general improvement, and asset replacement costs was approximately £26.8m. In addition, as part of BTP’s cost reduction measures there was a one-off cost of £10.2m to relocate the British Transport Police Force Headquarters, which is anticipated to save £1.4m a year.

The cost of policing the rail network in Great Britain is primarily covered through the funding agreements that the British Transport Police Authority holds with Network Rail, the rail operators and Transport for London.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the HGV parking and driver welfare match funding grant scheme.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The HGV Parking Matched Funding Grant Scheme (MFGS) was launched in 2022 to fund investment in HGV driver welfare facilities, lorry parking provision, site security, and decarbonisation. These priorities were identified through the National Survey of Lorry Parking (2022) and aim to improve the working conditions of HGV drivers.

My department has commissioned an independent evaluation of the scheme, to consider the application and delivery process, the role of the scheme in improving lorry driver facilities in England and the impact of the site improvements for drivers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with National Grid on resilience in the rail sector.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Network Rail, as the owner and operator of Great Britian’s railway infrastructure, is responsible for ensuring the resilience of the railway.

Network Rail and National Grid are actively engaged in discussions about the rail sector's resilience, including issues related to power supply, climate change adaptation, and infrastructure improvements. These discussions involve stakeholders from across the industry to ensure a collaborative approach to addressing challenges and opportunities to grow, expand and improve the resilience of the railway network to meet the needs of passengers and freight users.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to develop a zero-emission coach travel roadmap to 2050.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We have no current plans to draft a roadmap. The Government is working with the sector to fully decarbonise the coach fleet. We are pleased to see the progress that has been made so far, particularly as long distance zero emission coaches have only been on the market since 2024. We expect to see the numbers of zero emission coaches on UK roads continue to grow as more coach operators opt for them on commercial grounds. We also welcome that some coach operators are starting to use charging infrastructure at bus depots and strongly encourage this shared use of facilities.

Found: Letter dated 02/05/2025 from Sir Ian Bauckham, Chief Regulator, Ofqual to Alex Mayer MP in response to