Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has considered the potential merits of conducting a review into the Transport for London zoning of (a) Watford Junction, (b) Watford High Street, (c) Bushey railway station and (d) Watford Underground station.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and Transport for London, and it is for them to make decisions regarding the zoning of their services.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2025 to Question 44558 on Luton Airport, whether her Department sought legal advice on the compatibility of its decision to expand Luton Airport with commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The full reasons for the Secretary of State’s decision on 3 April 2025 to grant consent to the London Luton Airport Expansion scheme are set out in her decision letter which is published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website. As an application has been made for judicial review of the decision and the matter is a live litigation case, unfortunately I am unable to provide any further comment.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing the measures set out in the Street Works (Penalties for Utility Companies) Bill.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I understand that the second reading of this Bill is scheduled for 11 July. The Government will set out its position as part of that debate.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2025 to Question 44560 on Luton Airport and with reference to the expiration of the period for applications for judicial review, if she will publish the modelling that underpins her assessment of the potential impact of expanding Luton Airport on economic growth.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I cannot at this stage confirm when litigation will end, however the full reasons for the Secretary of State’s decision on 3 April 2025 to grant consent to the London Luton Airport Expansion scheme are set out in her decision letter which is published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website and there is nothing outside of this to add. As an application for judicial review of the decision has been received and the matter is a live litigation case, unfortunately I am unable to provide any further comment.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that train station car parks offer alternatives to online payment methods.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Decisions regarding car parking at stations, including charges and payment methods, are an operational matter for train operators and Network Rail to make based on their local knowledge of the passengers and communities they serve. We encourage train operators to consult local communities and to consider each station’s needs and customer base when making decisions on charging at the car parks they manage.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2025 to Question 29802 on Parking: Software, what recent discussions her Department has had with the parking industry on the future rollout of the National Parking Platform.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport continues to engage with the parking sector regarding alternative options for taking forward delivery of a national parking platform.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason she announced the expansion of Luton Airport before publishing a climate emissions framework.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State’s considerations on the London Luton Airport Expansion scheme are explained in the Decision Letter, published 3 April 2025 on the Planning Inspectorate website, and this sets out the Secretary of States reasoning. Decisions on applications for development consent for nationally significant infrastructure projects are taken independently of the timing of policy announcements on other issues. The Honourable Member will understand that following the decision to grant consent, there is now a period when applications for judicial review may be made and during that period, I am unable to comment further on the decision.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department sought legal advice on the compatibility of its decision to expand Luton Airport on the UK's commitments under the 2015 Paris climate accord.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The full reasons for the Secretary of State’s decision on 3 April 2025 to grant consent to the London Luton Airport Expansion scheme, including consideration of carbon emissions and the Paris climate accord, are set out in her decision letter which is published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website. Following the decision to grant consent, there is now a period when applications for judicial review may be made and during that period, I am unable to comment further on the decision.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 expanding Luton Airport on economic growth; and if she will publish the modelling that underpins that assessment.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The full reasons for the Secretary of State’s decision on 3 April 2025 to grant consent to the London Luton Airport Expansion scheme, including assessment of the potential impact of expanding Luton Airport on economic growth, are set out in her decision letter which is published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website. Following the decision to grant consent, there is now a period when applications for judicial review may be made and during that period, I am unable to comment further on the decision.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2025 to Question 32060 on Electric Vehicles: Charging Points, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to publish a cross-departmental consultation on measures to help tackle delays facing (a) transport and (b) other infrastructure organisations in securing permission to install a distribution network operator connection from highways authorities.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We continue to work with other government departments, such as MHCLG and DESNZ, to understand what changes are required to remove barriers to installing chargepoints and obtaining grid connections.
In December 2024, we announced further changes to planning permission for off-street locations and published a grid connections review specifically focused on electric vehicle charging. We continue to work with industry stakeholders to streamline relevant processes.