Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will bring forward a bus workforce strategy.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government has no current plans to develop a bus workforce strategy. We will, however, continue to work with the bus and coach sectors to support them in being able to meet both their current and future labour requirements.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Oversea Scale Rates on UK long-haul airline crew and other employees who rely on these allowances for subsistence costs.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Overseas Scale Rates are an administrative easement and do not limit the amount an employee can claim for. They reduce the need to provide evidence to support an employee’s claim for tax relief.
Employees travelling overseas for work have the same entitlement to tax relief whether they use the rates or not. An employee can claim tax relief on a higher value if that is appropriate, with the only distinction being they must provide receipts.
There will be occasions where OSR may not reflect the current prices in a particular location. In these cases, the employer can choose to reimburse the full expenses incurred by their staff, if receipts are kept. Should the employer choose not to reimburse all the actual expenses, the employee may claim tax relief on the difference from HMRC.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2025 to Question 23556 on Bus Services: Timetables, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the definition of privately organised trips to cover more closed-door home-to-school transport services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is committed to delivering better bus services, and part of this work is improving the information available to passengers about their bus services. The Bus Open Data Service (BODS) was launched in 2020 and requires all bus operators of local services in England to provide passengers with high-quality, accurate and up-to-date passenger information including timetables, fares, tickets and vehicle location information. We are committed to working with the bus sector to ensure BODS is a success, and engage with stakeholders on a regular basis to identify and consider opportunities to improve the service.
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 steps his Department is taking to (a) protect and (b) support trade unions in (i) Bedfordshire, (ii) the East of England and (iii) the UK.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government believes that trade unions play a vital role in ensuring that workers have a genuine voice at work and have the ability to act collectively.
The Employment Rights Bill represents the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation. Through the Bill, we will update trade union legislation to reduce unnecessary re-strictions on trade union activity, streamline the trade union recognition process, introduce a new right of access framework and enhance the rights and protections for trade union representatives. These reforms will help ensure that industrial relations are based on good faith negotiation and collective bargaining.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to facilitate engagement with trade unions representing police, fire and border security staff.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office places significant importance on building industrial relations with representative workforce organisations for police, fire and border security. I can advise specifically of the following:
Police
Police staff are employed by each force and report into their respective Chief Constables. The Home Office meets with unions that represent police staff on a regular basis to understand the issues of importance to their members.
Police officers are represented by their police staff associations and not trade unions, and the Home Office meets with these organisations on a regular basis.
Fire and Rescue Services
The Home Office is proactively engaging with unions in relation to fire and rescue related policy and has conducted ministerial and official level engagement with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and other representative organisations. We have also created a Ministerial Advisory Group, with representation from senior leaders across the sector, including the FBU.
Border Security Staff
Border security staff are employed by the Home Office. The department has long standing trade union recognition and engagement arrangements, which seek to ensure unions representing border security staff are appropriately engaged on matters impacting their members.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to facilitate engagement with trade unions representing health and social care workers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As we take steps to reform the National Health Service in England, the Government is committed to resetting relations with all NHS staff. As part of this, the Department engages regularly with trade unions representing staff working in the NHS and the social care sector, on a wide range of issues, including workforce policy and, more recently, the 10-Year Health Plan.
This engagement includes regular, scheduled meetings with the healthcare trade unions in the national Social Partnership Forum, which I chair. We also continue to engage through national partnership structures such as the NHS Staff Council to understand unions’ views on pay and contractual arrangements.
Furthermore, we are introducing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement to the adult social care sector so that care professionals are recognised and rewarded for the important work that they do. As we work towards a Fair Pay Agreement, we are already consulting unions, and others from across the sector.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to create active travel routes (a) to and (b) through green spaces.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Active Travel England (ATE) recently announced £222.5 million of funding for local authorities to support the development and build out of local networks. It is for local authorities to decide on priorities for this investment, including to and through green spaces.
In addition, ATE is providing £30 million to Sustrans to develop the National Cycle Network in both rural and urban areas. This is on top of £100,000 previously awarded to each National Park Authority in England to develop active travel network plans. These are also designed to improve access to green space for residents and visitors alike.
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, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure local authorities have adequate resources to process the anticipated increase in claims following the 2031 cut-off date for recording historic rights of way.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has announced that it will repeal the 2031 cut-off date for the recording of historic rights of way as soon as parliamentary time allows. The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase on 2024-2025. The majority of this funding is not ringfenced in recognition that local authorities themselves are best placed to understand local priorities and allocate funding accordingly.
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing funding for active travel on national river walks.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is progressing plans to designate nine new National River Walks across England, one in each region, to enhance access to nature. This is a priority for us, and we are currently evaluating several delivery options and potential locations. The Department will work with Defra to ensure the nine new walks are accessible, incorporating active travel options where it is possible to do so.
Active Travel England provides funding to Local Authorities to build out Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) and to Sustrans to manage the National Cycle Network (NCN). A package of almost £300 million over 24/25 and 25/26 for active travel was announced on 12 February 2025. Funding for Sustrans and local authorities can be utilised on national river walks.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support (a) trade unions and (b) workers' rights through foreign policy.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to working closely with international trade unions through its foreign policy. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State with responsibility for human rights will soon meet the heads of global union federations to discuss international labour issues. We work actively through the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to promote decent work and workers' rights, including raising workers' rights issues with the ILO supervisory system. The Government acts globally to prevent forced labour in supply chains, including, for example, by supporting reform of labour migration policies in South East Asia to ensure fair treatment of migrant workers. In addition, As Minister for Development, I met with trade union representatives in Addis Ababa who were part of the ‘Taqaddum’ platform for civil society, as part of her work on the Sudan conflict and its humanitarian consequences.