Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to the email of 18 December 2025 from the hon. Member for Dorking and Horley on Surrey County Council's management of their statutory SEND responsibilities.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department attaches great importance to the handling of correspondence from parliamentarians and is working to provide a response to the email from the hon. Member for Dorking and Horley.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she plans to undertake a public awareness campaign to promote the new Highway Code rules as part of the Road Safety strategy.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Improving road safety is one of my Department’s highest priorities. Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users.
That is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all.
Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.
Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.
However, as set out in the strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.
As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. As announced in the strategy to support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK, the government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to close asylum hotels, particularly the Four Points Hotel in Horley.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government inherited a broken asylum system, with tens of thousands stuck in a backlog and claims not being processed, wasting millions in taxpayer money. We will empty asylum hotels as soon as possible, and by the end of this Parliament. That is a complex process that must be delivered through a controlled, managed and orderly plan of work.
For the safety, security, and wellbeing of those we accommodate, we do not publicly comment on individual hotels which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office, nor do we provide details of those we accommodate at any site.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many non-commissioned officers ranked Staff Sergeant or above, have left the Army in the last 3 years, broken down per year.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Figures for outflow of non-commissioned officers ranked Staff Sergeant or above can be found below.
Army Trade Trained Regular Non-Commissioned Officer Outflow, Staff Sergeant to Warrant Officer 1 | ||
Financial Year (FY) | Numbers Outflowing | Outflow Rate |
2022-23 | 1,250 | 12.6% |
2023-24 | 1,148 | 11.8% |
2024-25 | 1,091 | 11.2% |
| ||
Notes/Caveats
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2026 to Question 104026 on 7 January 2026 on Channel Tunnel: Fares, what discussions she has had with the Office for Road and Rail on (a) consumer protection and (b) customer oversight.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Office of Rail and Road is the independent economic and safety regulator for Britain's railways, including international rail services, and is also responsible for some consumer protection matters.
The Minister of State for Rail recently met with the ORR’s Chair, Declan Collier, and the Board to discuss a range of matters within the ORR’s remit, including facilitating competition within the international rail passenger market given the consumer benefits this is expected to bring for passengers. DfT officials also engage regularly with ORR counterparts to discuss these matters.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to help improve reciprocal visa-waiver arrangements with the EU.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
HMG officials and Ministers, including myself, regularly engage the EU and EU Member State counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals. The UK and the EU allow for visa-free, short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals.
The UK allows EU citizens visa-free travel for up to six months; the EU allows for visa-free travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period which is standard for third nationals travelling visa-free to the EU. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State. The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what are the restrictions on officer roles for late entry officers in the Army; and why those restrictions are in place.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Late Entry (LE) officers are eligible to apply for the same appointments as Direct Entry (DE) officers, and since 2023 all officers have been considered together for roles under a single, merit-based system.
There are no formal restrictions preventing LE officers from being appointed to particular posts. However, in practice some roles require specific experience or career pathways that DE officers are more likely to have, while other posts-particularly those drawing heavily on soldiering experience-are better suited to LEs. Selection is always based on the needs of the Army and the knowledge, skills and experience required for each role.
The Army is currently reviewing how to improve parity between LE and DE career structures, including how LE officers might access a broader range of roles and development opportunities, while ensuring operational effectiveness remains the priority.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what alternative schemes she is considering that will address the capacity issues on the Brighton Main Line, namely around Reigate and the Selhurst Triangle, which would have been addressed by the Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are focused on prioritising the schemes that will make the greatest difference for passengers and support economic growth as quickly as possible. The previous government had committed to a number of projects that were unfunded, including the Croydon Area Remodelling scheme.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2026 to Question 104371 on Electricity, how he plans to meet that demand.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In December 2024 we published our Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, setting out how we will meet future electricity demand and deliver a clean power system by 2030.
We are making strong progress: recent CfD allocation results secured significant new capacity; grid connection reforms are accelerating project delivery; and supply chain investments are creating high-quality jobs across the UK.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will further accelerate clean power infrastructure deployment, ensuring we meet growing demand while achieving our 2030 goals whilst the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) will support a more actively planned approach to energy infrastructure to meet demand across England, Scotland and Wales, on land and sea between 2030 to 2050.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, further to 2 January 2026 written questions 102231: Crossrail 2 Line and 102232: Crossrail 2 Line, if she will use the analysis of the lessons learned from the success of the Elizabeth Line to assess other rail infrastructure projects, such as reassessing Crossrail 2.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Yes – I can confirm that every effort is made to learn lessons from other projects, including from the Elizabeth Line, when assessing plans and proposals.