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, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) adequacy of the independence and (b) effectiveness of private parking appeals services.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is aware of concerns amongst some motorists that second stage appeals services are not independent of parking operators because these are facilitated by the trade associations who represent their members. Last summer, my department consulted on this issue to better understand concerns around the current model and consider if change is needed. The Department is considering the findings of the consultation very carefully and will set out further details as soon as possible.
The 2025 consultation document can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2026 to Question 118863, what the annual estimated cost of the Competition and Markets Authority’s Sustainability Taskforce is in (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27, (c) 2027-28 and (d) 2028-29.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) is not able to provide an estimated annual cost for the Sustainability Taskforce for 2025/26 before its accounts for the financial year are finalised. Its Annual Report and Accounts for 2025/26 will be laid before Parliament in the normal way.
The CMA does not allocate specific multi-year funding to individual workstreams such as the Sustainability Taskforce, which remain subject to wider prioritisation decisions. Budgets for 2026/27 and 2027/28 have not yet been formally delegated by HM Treasury or approved through the Main Estimate process. Estimated costs for these future years are therefore not available.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the National Audit Office's report entitled Department for Transport 2024-25, published in November 2025, whether capital spending on the High Speed Two programme is on track to fall by 7.9% in real terms between 2025-26 and 2029-30.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The figures within the National Audit Office’s report reflect table 5.18 within the 2025 Spending Review document. The HS2 programme will be required to align with the Spending Review settlement which, based on the annual capital Departmental Expenditure Limits between the period FY 25/26 - FY 29/30, reflects an average annual real growth rate of -7.9%.
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, what progress his Department has made on implementing the statutory Private Parking Code of Practice provided for under the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department is considering the findings of the Private Parking Code of Practice consultation very carefully and will set out further details on the private parking code of practice as soon as possible.
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 118263 on East West Rail Line, in which month will the first services operate from the new station at Winslow.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Chiltern is continuing to work closely with its partners and the Department to conclude the remaining train, infrastructure and staff issues. The start date for the first East West Rail (EWR) services at Winslow station will be announced as soon as it is possible to do so.