Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the potential impact of changes on level crossing down times will be a factor in the upcoming SWR timetable review and consultation.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what perfomance metrics will be considered as part of SWR's leadership performance review.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason she has not met with representatives from the National Association of Special Schools as part of her work to improve SEND.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Since July 2024, the department has engaged with thousands of children, young people, parents, families, professionals and local authorities. As part of the National Conversation held between December 2025 and January 2026, the department reached over 8,000 people through online and in-person events.
This engagement continued during the consultation phase through a programme of regional events, and work with children and young people, including activity led by the Council for Disabled Children. During the 12-week consultation period, this programme combined Ministerial oversight, targeted expert input and public participation, ensuring that families, practitioners and young people could engage meaningfully with the proposals. This included a department-led consultation workshop with the National Association of Special Schools on 29 April 2026.
The Chief Executive of the National Association of Special Schools attended a meeting I chaired on 21st April, alongside other special school representatives, to discuss how we can further embed specialist expertise within initial teacher training as part of our plans to improve the SEND system. These discussions are ongoing.
I continue to engage widely with the specialist, schools and FE sectors, as well as parents and young people as we carefully review all responses submitted through our special educational needs and disabilities consultation.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she will make an assessment of the a) resilience and b) capacity of the local water provision following shortages in the Weybridge area.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a secure supply of water for customers. Companies set out how they will continue to meet this duty through statutory Water Resources Management Plans. They must maintain their plans and are required to review the plans to take account of changes, such as new housing growth.
In the Water White Paper, the Government set out our commitment to developing statutory resilience standards, which will be brought forward through the Clean Water Bill announced in the King’s Speech.
These standards will require companies to undertake long-term assessments of their water supply and sewerage assets and systems. Alongside a reformed approach to setting funding and incentives for asset maintenance, these standards will safeguard customer services in the context of a changing climate as well as population growth and other pressures.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of additional house building on the resilience and capacity of a) water and b) sewerage systems in the Runnymede and Weybridge area.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a secure supply of water and wastewater provision for customers. Companies set out how they plan to meet and continue to meet these duties through statutory Water Resources Management Plans, and Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans. Water companies must maintain their plans and are required to review the plans to take account of changes, such as new housing growth.
Defra’s Water Delivery Taskforce, established in Spring 2025, is working to ensure that water supply and wastewater capacity can support housing growth. It does this by holding water companies to account for delivering planned investment and by addressing cross-sector challenges that may affect infrastructure capacity and resilience.
The National Planning Policy Framework makes it clear that local planning authorities should collaborate with each other and with other public bodies to identify relevant strategic matters to be addressed, including providing for sustainable water supplies.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what is the minimum number of community face to face consultation events South Western Railway are required perform in Runnymede and Weybridge constituency as part of the timetable review.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There is no specified minimum number of community face to face consultation events that South Western Railway (SWR) is required to undertake in the Runnymede and Weybridge constituency as part of its timetable review. Engagement activity is led by SWR, and the level and format of consultation is a matter for the operator.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to consult communities for rail timetable reviews at a) the the pre-consultation stage and b) during the consultation period.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We expect train operating companies to consult and inform passengers and stakeholders in advance of material timetable changes in a manner appropriate to the scale of the proposed changes.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has she made of the adequacy of South Western Railway's community engagement compared to other providers.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No formal comparative assessment has been made by the Department of South Western Railway’s (SWR) community engagement against other operators. As SWR has not yet launched its public consultation for the timetable review, it would not be appropriate to assess its adequacy at this stage.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the budget allocation is for a) community engagement and b) external consultants as part of SWR's timetable review in 2026.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No specific budget has been allocated by the Department for community engagement and external consultants as part of Southwestern Railway's (SWR) timetable refresh. SWR is leading on the timetable refresh and the budget allocation for these activities is for SWR to determine.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has had discussions with South Western Railway regarding ensuring children do not miss school due to rail delays in Runnymede and Weybridge constituency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
SWR recently informed the Department they have applied some mitigations around connections at Weybridge to hopefully avoid children missing school, due to rail delays.
SWR also works closely with local schools and other stakeholders to help manage peak school-time travel and mitigate the impact of delays where possible.