Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to consult with young people with autism during the development of the Youth Employment Strategy.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We know that young people with autism can face significant barriers to seeking and remaining in employment.
We have ambitious plans to better support our young people to lead fulfilling lives and careers as set out in the Get Britain Working white paper and Pathways to Work green paper.
The government is committed to consulting with stakeholders, including young people with health conditions and those who are neurodivergent. We will run a series of collaboration committees with a wide range of stakeholders.
We are also in the process of establishing the Disability Advisory Panel to connect the Department to more voices and perspectives and improve how we collaborate with disabled people. The Disability Advisory Panel will be a strategic advisory panel consisting of up to 12 disabled people and individuals with long-term health conditions, supporting on longer-term strategic aims and specific policy design. We will finalise the workplan together with the Chair and Panel.
The Youth Advisory Guarantee Panel as part of the Youth Guarantee is being shaped and informed by the voices and lived experiences of young people, including autistic and neurodiverse young people, building on the Youth Voice Forum, established in collaboration with the Department for Education, Youth Futures Foundation and Youth Employment UK.
In addition, in January 2025, we launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise employers and government on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. This will build on the work of the independently led Buckland Review which focused more specifically on autism employment. The panel will report in the summer.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
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.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
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.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
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.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
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.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
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.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
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.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
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.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
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.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
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.