Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department will announce the full details of the new Places of Renewal Fund.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Further details regarding the eligibility criteria and application process for the Places of Worship Renewal Fund will be published in due course.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the new Places of Renewal Fund will function as a VAT reclaim scheme, in the same way as the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme previously worked.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Places of Worship Renewal Fund is a new capital fund announced on 22 January 2026. This will have an annual budget of £23m starting in 2026/27. This is providing certainty for the remaining years of the Spending Review until 2029/30, providing £92m over the period. Support will be targeted at places of most need. Further details regarding the eligibility criteria and application process, will be published in due course. The Places of Worship Renewal Fund will award grants for projects to cover capital works, rather than just the VAT element of a project, as is the case with the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. In some cases the amount granted could be greater than just the VAT element currently funded.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what financial support her Department will give to churches at risk of closure that cannot apply for VAT reclaims on repairs through the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, since it has allocated its budget for 2025/26.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This government is launching a new capital fund to support listed places of worship, the Places of Worship Renewal Fund. This will have an annual budget of £23m starting in 2026/27. This is providing certainty for the remaining years of the Spending Review until 2029/30, providing £92m over the period. Support will be targeted at places of most need. Further details regarding the eligibility criteria and application process, will be published in due course.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 118043, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of poster-based recruitment for driving examiner roles.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) advertises all driving examiner vacancies on Civil Service Jobs (opens in a new tab) on GOV.UK. Over the last 12 months, DVSA has used the following online job sites to reach a wider pool of applicants:
The agency also displays posters in driving test centres as part of a wider mix of recruitment activity. All driving test centres have access to a centrally produced recruitment campaign poster to be displayed in their waiting rooms. However, posters are displayed only if DVSA is actively recruiting in the area.
For campaigns up to November 2025, DVSA used the data available from the Civil Service recruitment standard applicants survey. This shows which advertising routes generate candidates, however the information is limited and does not give 100% coverage.
In December 2025, the agency introduced a DVSA specific survey. This is sent to everyone who is offered an interview. This is then followed by another survey sent to anyone who successfully moves onto training. The data will be crossed referenced, however DVSA currently has data for only one complete and one ongoing campaign. This survey might contain some data about how effective posters are in generating applications for driving examiner roles, but it is too early to say.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 118043, which online job sites the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has used to advertise driving examiner vacancies in the last 12 months.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) advertises all driving examiner vacancies on Civil Service Jobs (opens in a new tab) on GOV.UK. Over the last 12 months, DVSA has used the following online job sites to reach a wider pool of applicants:
The agency also displays posters in driving test centres as part of a wider mix of recruitment activity. All driving test centres have access to a centrally produced recruitment campaign poster to be displayed in their waiting rooms. However, posters are displayed only if DVSA is actively recruiting in the area.
For campaigns up to November 2025, DVSA used the data available from the Civil Service recruitment standard applicants survey. This shows which advertising routes generate candidates, however the information is limited and does not give 100% coverage.
In December 2025, the agency introduced a DVSA specific survey. This is sent to everyone who is offered an interview. This is then followed by another survey sent to anyone who successfully moves onto training. The data will be crossed referenced, however DVSA currently has data for only one complete and one ongoing campaign. This survey might contain some data about how effective posters are in generating applications for driving examiner roles, but it is too early to say.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2026 to Question 119471 on Vehicle Certification Agency, what estimate she has made of the additional annual revenue generated from proposed fee increases; what proportion of the deficit that revenue will cover; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of those fee increases on businesses using the Agency’s services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) reported a net deficit of £8.8m in its accounts for the 2024/25 financial year. Potential fee increases, if implemented would support the managing down of the deficit, with any remaining deficits are expected to be covered by efficiencies and additional income in other areas.
A consultation on the proposed fee increases has recently been completed, and the outputs are currently being evaluated.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate has been made of the annual cost to ferry operators serving the Isle of Wight arising from inclusion in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The expansion of the UK ETS to domestic maritime is designed to cut emissions and accelerate investment in cleaner vessels and technologies.
The Impact Assessment that accompanies the UK ETS Authority’s final response to the “UK Emissions Trading Scheme Scope Expansion: maritime sector” consultation, presents analysis on the overall cost of the UK ETS to shipping operators. The cost to each individual operator will depend on their level of emissions, whether they choose to invest in measures to reduce these emissions, and the carbon price trajectory over time. Costs for individual operators, including Isle of Wight services, will reflect their emissions profile, how quickly they adopt fuel saving or low carbon measures, and the trajectory of the carbon price over time.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on the Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor since January 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Oxford–Cambridge Corridor is a national priority for the Government. We believe that growth here will boost the whole UK economy, creating jobs, enhancing connectivity and opportunities across the UK.
On East West Rail (EWR), major construction work has completed for Connection Stage 1 and in June 2025 the line opened to freight trains. In March 2025 the Department announced Chiltern as the line operator and is working with partners to confirm a start date for the first EWR services between Oxford and Milton Keynes.
On future stages of the project, East West Rail Company completed its third non-statutory consultation in January 2025 and set out an update on proposals for the railway in November 2025. Work is currently progressing on a Spring consultation on East West Rail to take place shortly.
The new Cambridge South station is expected to open in June 2026, providing vital connectivity to the Cambridge biomedical campus and the wider region and enhancing travel options for both local residents and visitors. The station is expected to serve up to 1.8 million passengers each year, improving access to economic opportunities and housing development in the region. The station will also have built in-capacity to support future East West rail services.
In October 2025, the Government announced a £120 million funding contribution to reopen the Cowley Branch Line to passenger services. This will see regular services from Oxford starting in 2029/2030 and serving new stations at Littlemore and Cowley to support growth, housing and innovation in the city and across the region.
Turning to strategic roads, construction of the A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvement has continued and we expect it to open in 2027. When complete, the scheme will provide quicker, safer and more reliable journeys for thousands of road users every day and help give more access to jobs in Milton Keynes, Cambridge and everywhere in between.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2026 to Question 116554, whether she plans to assess the effectiveness of the analysis conducted by Thatcham Research.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has no current plans to undertake assessment of the effectiveness of the analysis conducted by Thatcham Research.
Where assessment and research are necessary to support policy development and decisions the Government draws on a broad range of evidence. This includes using existing independent evidence, where it is sourced from robust and reliable research, alongside commissioning specific Government-funded studies when necessary to fill evidence gaps or complement and corroborate existing findings.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 120369, in which month he expects to publish the statutory Private Parking Code of Practice.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government intends to lay the Private Parking Code of Practice in autumn 2026.