Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of capacity on Chiltern Railways services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department continues to work closely with Chiltern Railways to support the delivery of an improved passenger experience. In response to passenger demand and to reduce overcrowding, Chiltern periodically adjusts its timetable.
The Department is fully engaged with Chiltern’s fleet renewal programme. We are considering the option to procure additional trains to increase capacity, whilst ensuring value for money for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate she has made of the cost of HS2 Phase 1.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As reported in the last HS2 report to Parliament published in November 2023, HS2 Ltd indicated that its projected cost to deliver Phase 1 would significantly exceed the current Funding Envelope of £44.6 billion (2019 prices). Following the significant scope changes and deferrals made under the previous government, the Department is working with HS2 Ltd to review the Estimate at Completion (EAC) for HS2 Phase 1 and will report to Parliament in due course.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with the DVLA on the call for evidence entitled Registering historic, classic, rebuilt vehicles and vehicles converted to electric: call for evidence, updated on 9 December 2024.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The summary of the responses to the call for evidence was published on 9 December.
As part of the ongoing engagement regarding this matter, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency held a positive meeting with representatives of the Historic Vehicle User Group on 12 December, in which the DVLA updated the Group on potential next steps in reviewing the policies in this area.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of construction inflation on mitigation projects linked to the building of HS2 Phase 1.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The funding provided to HS2 Ltd includes allowances for inflation based on inflation forecasts set at spending reviews. HS2 Ltd has been impacted by high levels of inflation in recent years alongside all major construction projects. However, HS2 Ltd continues to bear down on its costs to mitigate this, manage pressures within its annual budgets, and is working to reduce the impact to any mitigation projects linked to the building of Phase 1.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she last met with the HS2 (a) Construction Commissioner and (b) Residents Commissioner.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State, who was appointed on 29th November 2024, has not yet met the Construction or Residents’ Commissioners. However, Minister for Rail Lord Hendy met both Commissioners on Monday 16th December.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in the Autumn Budget on the professional services sector.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Chancellor has been clear that the government had to take difficult decisions in budget. To fix the foundations of the economy, and provide a platform for growth.
The government is creating a fairer business rate system and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities.
Through the Professional and Business Services Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector. In addition, Professional and Business Services is one of the Industrial Strategy’s growth-driving sectors. We will work with businesses to co-create a Professional and Business Services Sector Plan which will identify key barriers to growth and describe how government and industry intend to achieve long-term growth for the sector.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in the Autumn Budget on the retail sector.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Chancellor has been clear that the government must take difficult choices. This was a budget to fix the foundations of the economy, and these tough decisions are intended to provide a platform for growth.
Government is focused on its five-point plan to breathe life back into Britain's high streets. We understand how important the high street is to our businesses which is why our plans include tackling retail crime, ensuring a level playing field between online and high street businesses, stamping out late payments and ending the blight of empty spaces. The government is creating a fairer business rate system and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities.
Through the Retail Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector related to high street regeneration, skills and sustainability. This work will be supported by the publication of The Small Business Strategy Command Paper next year.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in the Autumn Budget on the hospitality sector.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Hospitality businesses are at the heart of our communities and vital for economic growth. Following the budget I have met extensively with hospitality sector stakeholders including a meeting of the Hospitality Sector Council where we discussed the budget
The Government is creating a fairer business rate system, reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities. All of these measures have been consistently demanded by the sector.
This work will be supported by the publication of The Small Business Strategy Command Paper next year.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in the Autumn Budget on the consumer goods sector.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Chancellor has been clear that the government had to take difficult decisions in budget. To fix the foundations of the economy and provide a platform for growth.
Government is focused on its five-point plan to breathe life back into Britain’s high streets supporting the consumer goods sales in particular. We understand how important the high street is to our businesses which is why our plans include tackling retail crime, ensuring a level playing field between online and high street businesses, stamping out late payments and ending the blight of empty spaces. The government is creating a fairer business rate system and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities.
The Small Business Strategy Command Paper, which we will publish next year, will set out our plan to boost scale-ups, grow the cooperative economy, create thriving high streets, make it easier to access finance, help break into overseas and domestic markets, build business capabilities, and provide a strong business environment.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in the Autumn Budget on the infrastructure sector.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Autumn Budget outlined The Government’s commitment to support the infrastructure sector to rebuild Britain. It included plans to increase capital investment by over £100 billion in the next five years. This investment spans the infrastructure sector, including rebuilding schools and hospital, improving roads and public transport, building homes, and launching Great British Energy. Strengthening our infrastructure will drive substantial increases to our national income, positively impacting GDP.
The Government will also introduce reforms to enable greater delivery of infrastructure projects. This includes publishing a 10-year infrastructure strategy, establishing the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority and reforming the planning system.