Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the number of ticket sales for season tickets from (a) Leighton Buzzard to Euston, (b) Cambridge to Kings Cross, (c) Bath to Paddington, (d) Three Bridges to Victoria, and (e) Guildford to Waterloo in 2024-2025 financial year.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The number of season tickets is shown below:

Where London Terminals is listed as the destination, this is used rather than the mainline station as a destination. London Terminals is the London all terminals ticket, this gives the passenger flexible travel into London when multiple terminal options exist.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effect of removing the requirement to publish new premises licences or variations in local printed newspapers on the audience reach of statutory notices, the sustainability of local journalism, and the ability of communities to remain informed about decisions that may affect local services and amenities.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Following the Licensing taskforce report, the Government published a Call for Evidence on reforming the licensing system which closed on 6 November. The Call for Evidence invited views on the impact of licensing reforms, including in relation to Recommendation 4 of the taskforce on ending the requirement for printed statutory notices in local newspapers for alcohol licences. The reforms collectively aim to create a modern, proportionate, and enabling system that supports economic growth, revitalises high streets and fosters vibrant communities.

More broadly, the Government is concerned about the sustainability of local journalism and DCMS is developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. We also recognise that local press and statutory notices in particular continue to play a central role in keeping communities informed about decisions that affect local services and amenities.

Additionally, the sector’s Public Notice Portal is a welcome innovation, taking advantage of print publishers’ growing digital audiences and providing a centralised resource for all types of public notice. We also welcome the Portal's current expansion to include archive and consultation functions to help public bodies and commercial entities engage with the public more effectively.

DCMS is monitoring the progress of the Portal, and the effect that it has on the audience reach of statutory notices. This type of industry innovation and collaboration is integral to securing the sector’s future. It will be taken into account in our planned review of statutory notices as part of the Local Media Strategy, which will more broadly consider the merits of making changes to existing requirements to place statutory notices in print local newspapers, including the impact this has on local transparency and the newspaper industry. The review will also take forward final decisions on the future of alcohol licence notices. More will be announced on the Strategy and the review in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of moving rail functions from Transport Focus to the new passenger watchdog on integration between train and bus.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Passenger Watchdog will be grown out of Transport Focus, which will be given significantly stronger powers to become a more effective passenger champion in rail. Therefore, no rail functions are being moved out of Transport Focus. The watchdog will be multi-modal from the start and continue to cover Transport Focus’ existing watchdog functions covering trams, buses, coaches and England's strategic road network. This ensures it can monitor transport user experience across these modes.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the risk of organised-crime groups targeting high-value freight loads during peak retail periods; and what steps she is taking to improve freight-security measures.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This Government recognises the serious threat that freight crime poses to businesses, drivers, and the wider economy.

Through the HGV parking and driver welfare grant scheme (MFGS), the Department for Transport and industry partners are projected to deliver up to £35.7m of joint investment to enhance driver facilities and improve security at truck stops across England.

Drivers are now seeing the improvements that the scheme has been able to support, with more in development. The scheme is supporting operators across 30 counties in England to improve driver facilities, including investment in security measures.

The Home Office is working closely with Opal, the police’s national intelligence unit focused on serious organised acquisitive crime, which has multiple thematic desks, including a vehicle crime intelligence desk which covers freight crime. The Home Office has regular discussions with key partners, including Opal, about tackling organised freight crime.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of Network Rail’s progress in (a) undertaking risk assessments for assets that do not comply with its internal standards and (b) evidencing its (i) identification and (ii) management of associated safety risks.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This is a matter for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), as the independent rail safety regulator and enforcement body for Britain’s railways.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the (a) cost-recovery model for statutory fees and charges and (b) use of such fees and charges as a demand-management tool.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Proposals to introduce new fees or charges are considered on a case-by-case basis. Government departments develop proposals in line with their needs and policy intent, underpinned by the rules in Managing Public Money (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-public-money).

Full cost recovery is the standard approach to the setting of fees and charges for public services.

If a department were to incorporate demand management as a policy objective when devising a fee or charging scheme, this would be considered as part of assessing the proposals.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with the Faroese Minister for Fisheries on cetacean hunts.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer he was provided on 14 October 2024 in response to Question 7965.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what steps her Department is taking to expand Basket 3 to include additional animal tests for phase-out.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government’s publication “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods” sets out our long-term vision for a world where the use of animals in science is eliminated in all but exceptional circumstances. The Strategy uses a ‘baskets’ approach to group animal tests according to how ready they are for replacement, based on the maturity of potential alternative methods. These initial baskets are not exhaustive and will be reviewed and refined in consultation with the research community on a regular basis, and research and development priorities will be published biennially from 2026.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what the evidential basis was for including the reduction of the use of fish endocrine disruption tests by the end of 2035 in Basket 3.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government’s publication “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods” sets out our long-term vision for a world where the use of animals in science is eliminated in all but exceptional circumstances. Multiple stakeholders and experts in this area, including Defra and the Veterinary Medicine Directorate, were consulted during the development of the three baskets approach, which groups animal tests according to how ready they are for replacement, based on the maturity of potential alternative methods. They concluded that basket 3 was the most appropriate timeline for fish endocrine disruption tests.

Submit Evidence (by 30 Jan 2026)

The Transport Committee is examining how effectively the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is progressing, considering the range of factors that are influencing uptake. This includes the effectiveness of existing financial incentives (such as the Electric Car Grant) the potential effect of the recently announced Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED), and the role of second-hand markets in shaping demand. The inquiry will also consider the rollout of charging infrastructure across the country including the equity of availability in urban and rural areas, the availability of grid connections and wider factors influencing consumer confidence.