Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what process her Department took to appoint Chiltern Railways as the operator of East-West Rail from Oxford-Milton Keynes.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department conducted a review to assess train operating companies’ level of capability and the degree of integration with the first stage of East–West Rail.
Chiltern Railways was assessed as providing the best fit and following a negotiation of commercial terms, a Deed of Amendment was signed enacting this in and it is now working on delivering the new, twice-hourly rail service between Oxford and Milton Keynes as early as possible.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled New dawn for rail as South Western services return to public hands, published on 25 May 2025, what her plans are for operators who fail to meet the standard required to become part of Great British Railways.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Great British Railways will set a clear quality standard for our railways, so a world class public service can be rebuilt. Ministers intend to recover performance to acceptable levels at all operators, ensuring their leadership has a relentless focus on performance and rigorous standards, held to account by Ministers. The focus is on supporting and challenging train operating companies to reach the tough standards that we will set.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to provide provide financial support for communities seeking to bring disused pubs back into use.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the important role pubs play on our high streets and in community spaces and we want to see them thrive.
That is why we have funded a wide range of community assets, including pubs, through the Community Ownership Fund. On 23 December 2024, this Government announced the outcome of Round 4 of the Community Ownership Fund, the largest ever round to date which approved funds for 6 community pub projects.
Through The Hospitality Support Scheme, we are working with Pub is the Hub and providing funds to help community pubs adapt to changing local needs, ensuring these vital social hubs continue delivering for their communities.
As part of the English Devolution Bill, the Government will legislate to introduce a strong new ‘right to buy’ for valued community assets, such as empty shops, pubs and community spaces. This will empower local people to bring community spaces back into community ownership and end the blight of empty premises on our high streets. More details will be announced in due course.
In addition, we will soon be publishing our Small Business Strategy, which will announce further measures to support small businesses in the pub and hospitality sector which will help revitalise high streets.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the amount of capital funding that public sector bodies will spend on (a) building and (b) purchasing houses between July 2024 and July 2029.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authority capital expenditure and financing estimates for the current financial year can be found on gov.uk here.
At the Spending Review, we announced £39 billion for a successor to the Affordable Homes Programme over 10 years from 2026-27 to 2035-36. Further detail can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July (HCWS771).
The government is also providing £950 million capital for the fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund - the largest round of the fund to date – to deliver up to 5,000 homes.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an estimate of the potential impact of the Parthenon Marbles on the economic value of tourism.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
No.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the year-on-year spending associated with the Chagos Islands deal will be funded.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Any financial obligations arising from the UK-Mauritius agreement on the Chagos Archipelago, including departmental budgetary responsibilities, will be managed responsibly within the government’s fiscal framework and reported in annual accounts in the usual way. Obligations within MOD and FCDO budgets have been agreed through the recently published Spending Review. No payments will be made until the treaty is legally binding.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding her Department has allocated to reducing the number of rail replacement services required on Thameslink services in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department requires its train operators to use reasonable endeavours to provide alternative means of transport where they cannot provide their planned train service. Rail replacement bus services are typically provided when parts of the railway are closed for planned maintenance and upgrade work or unplanned maintenance and repair work. The Department does not specifically allocate funding for the purpose of reducing the number of rail replacement services.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's guidance entitled Persons with Reduced Mobility National Technical Specification Notice, published in December 2017, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of Appendix B.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We recently published the Accessibility National Technical Specification Notice (NTSN), replacing the Persons with Reduced Mobility NTSN. The Accessibility NTSN preserves many specifications inherited from EU law while updating ones that did not have a clear case for change. This update was published following an extensive review and public consultation facilitated by the Rail Safety and Standards Board.
During our review and public consultation, we did not receive any feedback on the adequacy of Annex B. However, we keep all NTSN content under regular review and will consider any further feedback as part of our continuing monitoring.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey Report 2025, published on 18 March 2025.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is determined to help local authorities fix our local road network and has drawn on a range of evidence to develop policy and determine funding for local highway maintenance, including the ALARM survey that is commissioned annually by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA).
At the Spending Review the Chancellor announced we will provide £24 billion between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads across the country. This funding increase will allow National Highways and local authorities to invest in significantly improving the long-term condition of England’s road network, delivering faster, safer and more reliable journeys.