Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has considered extending the statutory guarantee period for the reinstatement of highways following street works; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of existing guarantee periods in ensuring that undertakers bear the cost of defective reinstatements.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government has no current plans to extend the statutory guarantee period for reinstatements following street works. Undertakers are responsible for the cost of remedying defective reinstatements, and a reinstatement is not deemed complete until it complies with the required standard. Poorly performing undertakers are subject to increased inspections and inspection fees under the performance-based inspection regime, and highway authorities can recover costs where they have undertaken remedial works themselves. The Government keeps the operation of the street works regime under review.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will ensure that nobody in prison for child sex offences will be released as part of the early release scheme.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Government has announced offence-based exclusions from the Sentence Act 2026 progression model, including rape and serious child sexual offences and grooming offences. More recently, on top of these offences, the historic offence of indecent assault along with unlawful killing offences has been excluded. Offenders convicted of these offences will not be eligible for release under the scheme. A full list of exclusions can be found here: Sentencing Act 2026 offence exclusions - GOV.UK

These exclusions are in addition to the existing exclusion of more than 18,000 offenders serving more serious sentences.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 August 2026 to Question 14997 on Railways: Standards, what criteria her Department uses to determine whether passenger demand is sufficiently low to justify a reduction in (a) train services and (b) station calls; and what minimum level of passenger demand would justify such a reduction.

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

The Department expects all train operators to plan and deliver services that respond to evolving passenger demand. This may involve reduced services, or station calls where demand is expected to be lower, but equally enhanced services at times and places where demand is higher. The overarching principle is to provide capacity to best meet demand within the resources available, in a way that delivers value for money for taxpayers and supports delivery of a reliable railway. Changes are considered on a case-by-case basis considering a range of factors, including the impact on performance and crowding, the effect on access to services such as employment, education, healthcare and leisure and the impact on the overall affordability of the railway, in particular the net subsidy taxpayers pay to the railway.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) Notices to Improve and (b) written instructions her Department issued to train operating companies for which the Department is the operator in relation to (i) service performance and (ii) financial control in January 2026 and each subsequent month.

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

The Department has not issued any Notices to Improve on any of the DfT Operator train operating companies in January 2026 and in each subsequent month because none have been in breach of their formal contractual terms.

The DfT regularly engages with all operators on service performance and financial management, aligned with this Government's priorities on improving performance and reducing subsidy.

Senior Courts of England and Wales

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Tessa Munt (Acting Chair); Janet Daby; Sir Ashley Fox; Warinder Juss

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Tessa Munt (Acting Chair); Janet Daby; Sir Ashley Fox; Warinder Juss