Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme on delays and disruption on the Brighton Main Line for passengers using stations in Dorking and Horley constituency.

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

The previous government cancelled the Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme (CARS) at Spending Review 2021. The Secretary of State updated Parliament on 8 July on which rail and road infrastructure projects will proceed following the 2025 Spending Review.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme on standing levels and overcrowding on Brighton Main Line services used by passengers in Dorking and Horley constituency.

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

The previous government cancelled the Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme (CARS) at Spending Review 2021. The Secretary of State updated Parliament on 8 July on which rail and road infrastructure projects will proceed following the 2025 Spending Review.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential long-term impact on economic productivity of delivering Crossrail 2, in the context of levels of economic uplift from the Elizabeth Line.

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

The Department has not undertaken an assessment of the potential long-term impact on economic productivity of delivering Crossrail 2. The scheme was paused in 2020.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, following the closure of Voluntary Repayment of COVID-19 Funding, if he will publish full data on which companies took Covid support, and which companies subsequently made repayments.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The details of many companies who received certain forms of Covid support have previously been published. However, the government does not intend to publish full data on the recipients of support across every Covid scheme.

Whether companies made repayment of Covid support, either through the Voluntary Repayment Scheme or through other means, will also remain confidential. We do not want to discourage repayment. Voluntary repayment does not necessarily indicate fraud.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the Office of Rail and Road on the pricing of fares on cross-Channel routes.

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

International Rail services operate on an open access basis, with fares set in line with commercial strategy by the private companies involved. The Government engages regularly with the independent Office of Rail and Road to discuss its regulatory activities, which for international rail services include competition and consumer protection matters.

The Government is committed to supporting the growth of our international rail connections with Europe and is working to establish a thriving and competitive market, which could deliver more competitive fares and greater choice, supporting industry to tackle capacity constraints and signing landmark agreements with Germany and Switzerland to pave the way for new routes.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of expected electricity demand in (i) 2035, (ii) 2040, (iii) 2045 and (iv) 2050.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Electricity demand between now and 2050 will depend on future decarbonisation choices and economic and population drivers.

However, the Government expects electricity demand to more than double by 2050, driven by economic and population growth and widespread electrification – particularly of transport and heating.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how she plans to distribute the £24 billion funding to improve motorways and local roads which the Government announced on 8 January 2026.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The 2025 Spending Review allocated £24 billion of capital funding between 2026/27 and 2029/30 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads across the country.

The Department will confirm in the Third Road Investment Strategy, to be published in March 2026, how much capital funding will be invested in the Strategic Road Network over the five-year period 2026/27 to 2030/31, including annual funding profiles.

The Department has already announced £7.3 billion of capital funding for local highway maintenance over the four years in question and details of how this funding will be allocated and local authority funding allocations can be found on gov.uk.

The Department will also announce the outcome of its review of MRN schemes shortly, as well as next steps on the new Structures Fund.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to support low-income earners with transport to and from London following (a) the introduction of pay as you go ticketing in Dorking and Horley constituency and (b) price increases of between 3% and 24%.

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

The Department has commissioned independent evaluation on the trial, this research has not yet concluded. The current evidence is provided by LNER and is available at

https://assets.ctfassets.net/mxack5k9p2sw/6k2Evw4OmGsvywKgBg9U9j/e63a4ca09d2c4e01fada29f731d90f7b/Simpler_Fares_LNER_Website_Copy_Enhanced_Sept_2025.pdf .

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, further to written question 103034 answered on 8 January 2026, when she will conduct this post-delivery evaluation.

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

The Department is currently progressing the evaluation of the phases of Pay as you go roll out in the South East, following the launch of phase one stations last year. Once evaluation is complete, we will make the final reports public.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2026 to Question 103034 on Railways: Tickets, if she will make an assessment of the impact of cancelling evening out return fares between Dorking and London on commuters.

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

For stations in Dorking and Horley, we have simplified the complicated web of tickets by having one Peak and one Off-Peak price, with some fares changing and others being removed as part of improvements to ticketing via pay as you go with contactless expansion.   This will allow passengers greater flexibility in their choice of tickets, with some seeing a reduction in their ticket price.

On 23 November the Chancellor and Transport Secretary announced that regulated rail fares will be frozen for the first time in 30 years. Over a billion journeys are going to be affected by this freeze with season tickets, anytime returns on commuter routes, and off-peak returns on longer-distance routes all subject to the freeze.

The Department is currently progressing the evaluation of the phases of Pay as you go roll out in the South East. Once evaluation is complete we will make the final reports public.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what transitional protections are planned to be put in place for BN(O) applicants, dependants and children reaching 5 years’ residence from 2026 so they are not disadvantaged compared with the expectations when they entered the route.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, will raise the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years.

The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK. BN(O) visa holders will attract a five-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after five years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.

As part of the earned settlement model, we are proposing a series of tests that will measure a person’s contribution to this country and either reduce or increase the amount of time to settlement. This will include work undertaken by the individual. This earned settlement model and the tests which measure contribution are currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.

The consultation also seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement and we will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers.

Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following the close of that consultation. In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the government will ensure that any changes to BN(O) and wider settlement rules are matched by a plan to boost domestic skills and fill vacancies in the NHS and wider economy.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, will raise the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years.

The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK. BN(O) visa holders will attract a five-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after five years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.

As part of the earned settlement model, we are proposing a series of tests that will measure a person’s contribution to this country and either reduce or increase the amount of time to settlement. This will include work undertaken by the individual. This earned settlement model and the tests which measure contribution are currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.

The consultation also seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement and we will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers.

Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following the close of that consultation. In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the proposed earned settlement system will apply to Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders and their families; and whether new income, compliance or conduct requirements could extend the qualifying period or make some of those visa holders ineligible for settlement, particularly those with low or no taxable earnings, prior use of public funds or minor immigration breaches.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, will raise the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years.

The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK. BN(O) visa holders will attract a five-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after five years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.

As part of the earned settlement model, we are proposing a series of tests that will measure a person’s contribution to this country and either reduce or increase the amount of time to settlement. This will include work undertaken by the individual. This earned settlement model and the tests which measure contribution are currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.

The consultation also seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement and we will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers.

Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following the close of that consultation. In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the humanitarian and mental health impact of asylum delays for Hong Kongers fleeing political persecution; and what steps the Government will take to ensure their claims are processed swiftly.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office takes safeguarding issues extremely seriously. Protecting vulnerable people is a key cross-cutting departmental priority.

We recognise that that all asylum seekers are potentially vulnerable. During the asylum decision making process we aim to ensure that particularly vulnerable claimants are identified and that they are given help in accessing appropriate services.

A claimant or their legal representative can also request their case is prioritised by emailing or writing to the relevant decision-making unit responsible for their claim.

Individual claims may be prioritised on a case-by-case basis due to exceptional and compelling circumstances. Please see Case by case prioritisation on GOV.UK for further information about how individual asylum claims may be prioritised.

The Home Office continues to invest in a programme of transformation and business improvement initiatives, including innovative tooling to speed up decision-making, reduce the time people spend in the asylum system.

The number of people awaiting an initial decision as of September 2025 is down 54% from the peak in June 2023, and we continue to make good progress. This shows that the steps we have already taken to streamline the asylum process and increase our efficiency are paying off and is an important achievement in building an asylum system that is efficient, sustainable and flexible.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she has made an assessment of the potential impact of Stamp Duty on primary residences on (a) labour mobility, (b) housing supply and (c) house prices.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is an important source of government revenue, raising around £12 billion each year to help pay for essential public services. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) sets out some of the interactions between SDLT, house prices and the volume of transactions as part of its Housing Market Forecasts, available on the OBR website.

https://obr.uk/forecasts-in-depth/the-economy-forecast/housing-market/

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions the Government has had with HSBC and other UK linked financial institutions about reports that BN(O) status holders are being denied access to their pension savings in Hong Kong when they leave.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

This government is deeply committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK. We are aware that individuals who have chosen to take up the British National (Overseas) route are having difficulties accessing their Mandatory Provident Fund.

As documentary requirements for withdrawing funds are a matter for the Hong Kong authorities, officials have raised this issue directly with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Hong Kong MPF Schemes Authority. We have urged them to facilitate early draw down of funds as is the case for other Hong Kong residents who move overseas permanently and have made clear such discrimination of BN(O)s is unacceptable.

We will continue to raise the issue with the relevant authorities and work towards a solution.

Situation in Iran

Deregistration of international non-governmental organisations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Found: Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Chair) Dame Harriett Baldwin (Conservative; West Worcestershire) Chris Coghlan

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Meg Hillier (Chair); Dame Harriettt Baldwin; Chris Coghlan;

Found: Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Chair) Dame Harriett Baldwin (Conservative; West Worcestershire) Chris Coghlan

Found: Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Chair) Dame Harriett Baldwin (Conservative; West Worcestershire) Chris Coghlan

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Meg Hillier (Chair); Dame Harriett Baldwin; Chris Coghlan; Bobby