Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential effect of the cost profile of (a) rail and (b) road freight operations on modal shift.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not hold data on relative changes to operating costs between road and rail freight. As part of continued support for the rail freight sector, the Department has operated the Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme since 2010. Network Rail also offers the Access Charges Discount Policy to stimulate growth, supporting new to rail traffic.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will list the total funding received to date by each freight transport company in the infrastructure development phase of the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) programme.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) R&D programme has provided £58 million to date to 18 UK freight transport companies across different project consortia to support the purchase and demonstration of the heaviest zero emission HGVs, and associated infrastructure.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the average age of (a) locomotives and (b) wagons on the rail freight network.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The rail freight industry is mainly privately owned and operated, so the Department does not keep data on the age of these privately owned assets.
The regulator for rail, the Office of Rail and Road holds some data on freight rolling stock which can be found here: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/infrastructure-and-environment/rail-infrastructure-and-assets/ .
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the fatal incident on the Valaris 121 jackup drill rig on 14 November 2025, whether the Maritime Accident and Investigation Branch (a) registered the UK as a Substantially Interested State and (b) provided assistance to the Liberian Shipping Registry.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) is aware of the accident on the Valaris 121 jack-up drilling rig that occurred on the 14 November 2025. The MAIB has been in contact with the Liberian Ship Registry and received confirmation that the registry is conducting a preliminary assessment into the incident, which is in the evidence gathering phase.
As Valaris 121 was jacked-up, immobile and carrying out drilling operations, its operations fall under the purview of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Offshore. The MAIB has received confirmation that HSE (Offshore) has commenced an investigation into the accident, and HSE’s contact details have been passed to the Liberian Ship Registry.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in light of the fatal incident on the Valaris 121 jackup drilling rig on the UK Continental Shelf on 14 November 2025, if she will provide an update on the Liberian Ship Registry’s investigation into its causes.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) is aware of the accident on the Valaris 121 jack-up drilling rig that occurred on the 14 November 2025. The MAIB has been in contact with the Liberian Ship Registry and received confirmation that the registry is conducting a preliminary assessment into the incident, which is in the evidence gathering phase.
As Valaris 121 was jacked-up, immobile and carrying out drilling operations, its operations fall under the purview of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Offshore. The MAIB has received confirmation that HSE (Offshore) has commenced an investigation into the accident, and HSE’s contact details have been passed to the Liberian Ship Registry.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the reliability of Northern's services on the East Durham coastline from (a) Seaham (b) Horden stations.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department, through the Rail North Partnership, has regular discussions with Northern and stakeholders to assess reliability and potential improvements to train services, including those from Horden and Seaham.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of planned cuts to British Transport Police (a) staffing and (b) stations due to the 2025/26 funding shortfall on the prevalence of crime, including anti-social behaviour, on the rail network.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The British Transport Police’s (BTP) budget is set by the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA). It is the executive non-departmental public body that oversees the Force and is their employer. BTPA sets the BTP’s budget annually following proposals from the Force and views from industry. BTP works closely with BTPA and industry operators to make final resourcing decisions with their agreed budget.
For the FY25/26, a budget increase of 5.9% was agreed. The BTPA will set the Force’s budget for 2026/27 this month.
Our railways remain safe for the vast majority of passengers and staff. Whilst total crime increased in 2024/2025, crimes per million passengers has decreased since 2023/2024 from 26.8 to 26.0. The reasons and drivers for crime on the railway network are complex, and yearly changes are not directly attributable to BTP funding levels.
The BTPA are responsible for delivering an effective and efficient police force and monitoring the performance of the force. Like other police forces the BTP has operational independence, so the BTP Chief Constable and Chief Officers use a variety of data to inform the deployment of officers and other resources, following the agreement of the budget. Decisions on staffing and stations resourcing are reviewed regularly by the BTP under their optimal policing model.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains on the East Coast Main Line have been cancelled due to train faults in 2025 to date.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
For the East Coast Mainline, between 5 January 2025 and 8 November 2025, there have been 1931.6 full or part cancellations attributed to Technical Fleet Delays (which includes train faults). This figure is weighted by the number of cancelled stops on the East Coast route for a cancelled train, which might only spend part of its journey on the route
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Grand Central Rail services have been cancelled due to train faults in 2025 to date.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The most recent data available from the regulator shows that out of 3365 planned Grand Central services between January and June 2025, 58 services were cancelled due to faults attributed to the operator.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of planned cuts to British Transport Police (a) staffing and (b) stations due to the 2025/26 funding shortfall on the level of (i) passenger and (ii) staff safety and security.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The British Transport Police’s (BTP) budget is set by the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA). It is the executive non-departmental public body that oversees the Force and is their employer. BTPA sets the BTP’s budget annually following proposals from the Force and views from industry. BTP work closely with BTPA and industry operators to make final resourcing decisions with their agreed budget.
For the FY25/26, a budget increase of 5.9% was agreed. The BTPA will set the Force’s budget for 2026/27 this month. BTP’s budget has increased by £87million since 2021/22.
Like other police forces the BTP have operational independence, so the BTP Chief Constable and Chief Officers use a variety of data to inform the deployment of officers and other resources, following the agreement of the budget. Decision over staffing and stations resourcing are reviewed regularly by the BTP under their optimal policing model.
The Department is committed to working with the BTP and rail industry to ensure the railway remains safe for passengers and staff, thanks to the efforts of officers and rail staff working tirelessly across the network.