Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether an impact assessment regarding safety on trains following Royal Assent of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership Bill) has been undertaken.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has not undertaken a specific impact assessment of the safety implications of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill following Royal Assent, as the safety regime is not changing. However, the Government continues to monitor safety across the rail network, tracks emerging issues, and conducts five-yearly post-implementation reviews of rail safety regulations to ensure these remain fit for purpose. As we establish Great British Railways, arrangements are in place to ensure that this transition is managed and implemented safely. These include rigorous validation processes overseen by the Office of Rail and Road, supported by expert advice from across the industry, to ensure that any changes are introduced safely and effectively.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the future funding arrangements for the British Transport Police in the context of rail nationalisation; and whether responsibility for its funding will transfer to central Government.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The British Transport Police’s (BTP) budget is set annually by the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA), following proposals from the Force and views from industry. BTP's costs are passed on to individual Train Operating Companies, Network Rail, and all other bodies who provide railway services. This is set out in the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003.
We are not planning any changes to this primary legislation and so the cost of BTP will continue to be passed on to the rail industry.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department will produce a specific passenger focused plan on train travel post rail-reform as recommended by the Public Accounts Committee.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Public Accounts Committee recommendation referred to the draft legislation of the previous Government. This Government has been clear it is committed to a relentless focus on passengers, as set out for example in the response to the consultation on the Railways Bill in November 2025. Through this Bill we are putting in place a clear passenger-focused framework for the reformed railway, including new duties on the Great British Railways (GBR) to promote the interests of users and potential users of railway passenger services. The Bill also provides for the Secretary of State to issue a Long-Term Rail Strategy, that will set out the overarching vision for the railway, and GBR will then reflect this in its business plan that will cover both track and train. The combined effect of the Long-Term Rail Strategy, the integrated business plan, statutory passenger duties - plus the creation of a new Passenger Watchdog - together provide a comprehensive and coherent passenger-focused framework.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of levels of public resource available where constabularies act upon intelligence or referrals generated by industry-funded vehicle crime units.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We fully recognise the serious and growing threat that freight crime poses to businesses, drivers, and the wider economy. The Government does not fund NaVCIS. Instead NaVCIS is funded by the industry, including finance and leasing companies, insurers and hauliers.
NaVCIS is a national policing unit that provides dedicated specialist intelligence, and it engages with a range of partners to tackle organised vehicle crime.The Governance arrangements for NaVCIS are a matter for the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what safeguards are in place to ensure that outcome-linked funding arrangements do not give rise to perceived conflicts of interest in operational decision-making.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We fully recognise the serious and growing threat that freight crime poses to businesses, drivers, and the wider economy. The Government does not fund NaVCIS. Instead NaVCIS is funded by the industry, including finance and leasing companies, insurers and hauliers.
NaVCIS is a national policing unit that provides dedicated specialist intelligence, and it engages with a range of partners to tackle organised vehicle crime.The Governance arrangements for NaVCIS are a matter for the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Department intends to review transparency requirements for nationally operating police-associated units funded by private industry bodies.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We fully recognise the serious and growing threat that freight crime poses to businesses, drivers, and the wider economy. The Government does not fund NaVCIS. Instead NaVCIS is funded by the industry, including finance and leasing companies, insurers and hauliers.
NaVCIS is a national policing unit that provides dedicated specialist intelligence, and it engages with a range of partners to tackle organised vehicle crime.The Governance arrangements for NaVCIS are a matter for the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of the governance arrangements applying to the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS), including its industry funding model.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We fully recognise the serious and growing threat that freight crime poses to businesses, drivers, and the wider economy.
The Government does not fund NaVCIS. Instead NaVCIS is funded by the industry, including finance and leasing companies, insurers and hauliers.
NaVCIS is a national policing unit that provides dedicated specialist intelligence, and it engages with a range of partners to tackle organised vehicle crime.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Ministers have received information regarding funding arrangements for both fixed contributions and payments calculated by reference to the value of vehicles recovered.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Vehicle recovery Statutory fees are prescribed in secondary legislation under road traffic vehicle recovery powers.
The statutory framework provides for both fixed charges and variable payments that reflect the size, condition and recovery requirements of the vehicles involved.
The Home Office does not collect data on the fees collected by forces.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of barriers to adopting a unified national safeguarding framework for extracurricular activities involving children; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of frameworks such as the National Safeguarding Framework for Extracurricular Activities on sector-led implementation across micro providers, community organisations, and recognised governing bodies.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to safeguarding children and protecting them from harm across all extracurricular activities.
These activities often take place within out-of-school settings, however, some are run directly by schools and, if so, the schools’ existing child protection and safeguarding arrangements will apply, as set out in ‘Keeping children safe in education’.
Where extracurricular activities do take place in out-of-school settings, we believe that the majority of providers sufficiently deliver safe and enriching education and activities. However, to ensure that this is the case for all, the department launched a call for evidence on 29 May 2025 to better understand current practice and invite views on possible approaches to further strengthen safeguarding.
We are currently analysing responses and given the significance of the issue, this analysis is being supported by independent external analysts.
The department intends to supplement the call for evidence with further engagement, including through focus groups with parents and smaller providers, and sector roundtables with safeguarding experts, national governing bodies and other community representatives, prior to issuing a full response.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of evidence from public inquiries, serious case reviews and independent safeguarding reports on risks associated with unregulated extracurricular settings involving children; and whether she has considered introducing statutory safeguarding principles for this sector.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to safeguarding children and protecting them from harm across all extracurricular activities.
These activities often take place within out-of-school settings, however, some are run directly by schools and, if so, the schools’ existing child protection and safeguarding arrangements will apply, as set out in ‘Keeping children safe in education’.
Where extracurricular activities do take place in out-of-school settings, we believe that the majority of providers sufficiently deliver safe and enriching education and activities. However, to ensure that this is the case for all, the department launched a call for evidence on 29 May 2025 to better understand current practice and invite views on possible approaches to further strengthen safeguarding.
We are currently analysing responses and given the significance of the issue, this analysis is being supported by independent external analysts.
The department intends to supplement the call for evidence with further engagement, including through focus groups with parents and smaller providers, and sector roundtables with safeguarding experts, national governing bodies and other community representatives, prior to issuing a full response.