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.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the funding uplift necessary to restore the number of British Transport Police police officers to 2009/10 levels.
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 British Transport Police Authority will set the Force’s budget for 2026/27 this month.
Like other police forces the BTP has operational independence, so it is for the BTP Chief Constable and Chief Officers to use a variety of data to inform the deployment of officers and other resources, following the agreement of the budget.
The Department has no role in determining the optimal numbers of BTP officers to meet their strategic plans as agreed with the BTPA.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the age is of Grand Central Rail's current rolling stock.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In March 2025, the Office for Rail and Road reported that average age of Grand Central rolling stock was 23.2 years. In a letter of 26 March 2025, the regulator also approved an extension to Grand Central’s track access contract that included proposals for the phased introduction of new trains by Grand Central throughout 2028.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance has she given to the British Transport Police Authority on British Transport Police funding in the 2026-27 financial year.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not determine the budget for the British Transport Police. The British Transport Police’s (BTP) budget is set independently of the Department by the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA), following proposals from the Force and views from the industry.
Earlier this year, the Rail Minister convened two high-level roundtable meetings with senior rail industry stakeholders to ensure that funding decisions are informed by a broad range of perspectives. The BTPA has since formalised its industry engagement by creating a strategic forum bringing together representatives from BTP, BTPA, the Department for Transport and the key BTP funders. This provides a platform for constructive dialogue on balancing funding with service expectations, ensuring decisions reflect shared priorities and deliver value for passengers and taxpayers.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer to written question 85133 on 4 November 2025, if he will instruct the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to request that data from the Certifying Authorities.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As mentioned previously, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency do not hold this data directly, as inspections are delegated to Certifying Authorities. We will engage with the Certifying Authorities to request the relevant information and will provide an update once this data has been obtained.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of utilising alcohol interlock technology as part of judicial sentencing criteria.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We believe that the courts should have the flexibility they need to sentence offenders appropriately and, as part of a community or suspended sentence the courts have a range of robust powers to punish and rehabilitate offenders and protect the public. This includes the option for an Alcohol Abstinence and Monitoring Requirement (AAMR) which imposes an alcohol ban for up to 120 days, with compliance electronically monitored using an alcohol tag.
Published statistics show a compliance rate with the ban of 97.2% for days monitored, since introduction: Electronic Monitoring Statistics Publication, June 2023 - GOV.UK. The courts also have powers to include treatment requirements as part of a sentence served in the community, with the aim of addressing the root causes of offending.
The Ministry of Justice is committed to continuous improvement and innovation, and we will continue to assess the capabilities and reliability of technology.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her Department’s estimate is of the number of seafarers employed in the workboat sector.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport, in collaboration with the Workboat Association and the Chamber of Shipping, is working to expand the Seafarer Employment Survey in 2025 to include Workboat Association vessel-owning members. The results of the expansion of the survey will be used to provide a more accurate picture of employment in this sector in the future.
At present, the Department does not have a published estimate of the number of seafarers employed in the workboat sector.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce the 10 trial local authorities for the Kinship Allowance Pilot paid at an equivalent rate to the fostering National Minimum Allowance.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children, and the role of local authorities to support them.
The department recently closed the expression of interest process for local authorities to apply to deliver the Kinship Allowance Pilot in their areas. This will be for eligible kinship carers within the pilot areas to apply for via their local authorities. The department will announce the successful local authorities in due course.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the adoption of alcohol interlock technology in other jurisdictions.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads.
We are considering a range of policies under the new Road Safety Strategy; the first for ten years. This includes the case for changing the motoring offences, such as drink driving. We intend to publish this by the end of the year.
In 2019 the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) was awarded a grant from the Department for Transport to undertake research into the feasibility of the using alcohol interlocks (“alcolocks”) as part of drink-drive offender rehabilitation programmes.
The research was published by PACTS and can be found at:
www.pacts.org.uk/new-pacts-research-project-alcohol-interlocks/
This research examined alcohol interlock usage in other countries.