Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's document entitled Local highways maintenance: additional funding from 2023 to 2034, updated on 23 January 2025, whether the £132 million of Network North funding for Hampshire County Council will be provided between the 2023-24 and 2034-35 financial years.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government is determined to help local authorities such as Hampshire County Council tackle the poor state of our roads. The previous Government made a series of questionable funding promises in its Network North plan, and this Government has had to review their affordability. We have already announced a £500 million funding uplift for local highway authorities for 2025/26 and will say more on future years’ funding after the conclusion of the Spending Review. Hampshire County Council will benefit from an additional £14.1 million in 2025/26, an increase of around 36% on top of the Network North uplift in 2024/25, to help it carry out vital preventative maintenance works across the county.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the proposed expansion of Heathrow Airport will be privately funded.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is clear that Heathrow expansion will be financed by the private sector.
Heathrow costs are regulated by the independent CAA, who are set up to ensure costs balance between airlines and the consumer. The specifics would need to be considered at the point proposals came forward.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 Heathrow Airport (a) expansion and (b) increased flight traffic on reducing emissions to meet net-zero targets.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is committed to reaching net zero by 2050 and meeting our climate change obligations, as set out in the Climate Change Act. Delivering greener transport to help make Britain a clean energy superpower is a Department for Transport priority.
DfT analysis shows that we can achieve net zero 2050 for aviation under a range of assumptions about future technology development.
We have been clear that any airport expansion proposals will need to demonstrate they contribute to economic growth and can be delivered in line with the UK’s legally binding climate change commitments, as well as meeting strict air quality and noise standards.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to (a) support British companies bidding for electric bus contracts and (b) ensure that (i) BYD, (ii) Yutong and (iii) other foreign companies do not have a disproportionate share of Government electric bus (A) contracts and (B) grants.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The transition to zero emission buses represents a great opportunity for UK bus manufacturers, both to supply the zero emission buses needed here in the UK and to win export orders abroad as other countries upgrade their bus fleets.
On 8 October, the Department announced plans to create a new UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel. This panel will bring together industry experts and local leaders to explore ways to ensure the UK remains a leader in bus manufacturing. More details on this will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve bus services in rural areas.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is committed to delivering better, more frequent and more reliable bus services for passengers. We have already made significant progress, introducing the Bus Services Bill to help give local leaders the powers they need to take control of their local services if they choose to do so, and announcing investment of over £1 billion to support and improve bus services.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All manufacturers must demonstrate that their vehicles and equipment comply with international vehicle approval requirements before they are permitted to offer their products for sale, and these include detailed provisions for vehicle lighting. The approval requirements are complemented by the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 to ensure that vehicles operating on the roads of Great Britain continue to have effective and safe lighting systems whilst in service.
All vehicle lighting requirements, including the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989, are kept under review and amended as necessary to account for advances in vehicle lighting technologies and emerging evidence to ensure regulatory effectiveness is maintained.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of raising the bus cap to £3 on pensioners.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Those of state pension age, currently sixty-six, have access to free off-peak bus travel under the terms of the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require drivers to report cat killings under Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are no plans to amend section 170 of the Road Traffic Act to make it mandatory for drivers to report road collisions involving cats.
Although there is no obligation to report all collisions with animals on roads, Rule 286 of The Highway Code advises drivers to report any collisions involving an animal to the police, and if possible, they should make enquiries to ascertain the owner of domestic animals and advise them of the situation.
Since June this year, all cats in England over 20 weeks of age must be microchipped and registered on a compliant database, unless exempt or free-living. This will increase the likelihood that cats can be reunited with their owners.