Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish a list of airport-based training colleges and academies in the UK, together with the tuition fees or course costs for each programme where this information is held.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority do not hold such a list at present but are exploring making a list of airport-based colleges public for the benefit of future students, working with DWP, Skills England, and DfE.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the proportion of students completing training at airport-based training colleges and academies who enter employment in the aviation sector within 12 months of completing their course.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority do not collect data on students completing training at airport-based training colleges and academies who enter employment in the aviation sector within 12 months of completing their course. This information may be held by individual airports.

The Department engages regularly with airports officials on a range of operational, strategic, and policy matters affecting the sector.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many members of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee who contributed to its submissions on floating bus stops dated (a) 24 October 2025 and (b) 2 December 2025 were blind or partially sighted.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We cannot provide details of individual impairments.

Under the Transport Act 1985, so far as reasonably practicable, at least 50 per cent of DPTAC’s membership should be made up of people who identify as disabled, making sure that lived experience informs advice to the Department.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2026 to Question 13301 on Air Routes, what metrics are used by her Department to monitor specialist workforce shortages affecting delivery of the Airspace Modernisation Strategy.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Specialist resource, such as airspace designers, for the delivery of Airspace Modernisation are provided by private companies such as NATS. NATS is a private company, and it is for its management to decide how to resource its operation and provide its services.

Officials and the Civil Aviation Authority are working closely with NATS to strengthen the pipeline of specialist airspace design capability, including through NATS internal training schemes and use of external expertise.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Hammersmith and Fulham Council and (b) Transport for London since on funding options for the restoration of Hammersmith Bridge since 1 January 2026.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

My Department engages regularly with London local highway authorities on matters related to their local highways networks, including both the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and Transport for London.

The technical advisory body to the Structures Fund is also having conversations on behalf of the Department about the future of bridges that local highway authorities have put forward to the structures fund; including Hammersmith Bridge.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the average total cost of obtaining a UK Commercial Pilot Licence, including associated flight training and examination costs.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority do not hold data from which an average total cost of obtaining a UK Commercial Pilot Licence can be determined.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the number of new air traffic controllers that will need to qualify each year over the next five years in order to maintain sufficient staffing levels.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

It is up to airport traffic control providers and en-route air navigation service providers to ensure they maintain sufficient technical capability, operational capacity, and appropriately qualified personnel to support current and future service requirements.

As part of its safety oversight responsibilities, the CAA requires that these providers can ensure they can deliver services safely, efficiently, continuously, and sustainably, in line with anticipated levels of airspace demand.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Department's press release of 2 March 2026, how much her Department and its arm's-length bodies have spent on (a) advertising, (b) public relations, (c) advertising on their announcement regarding changes to rail fares in England for the 2026-27 year.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

I refer the Hon Member to Question UIN 12840 answered on 30 June 2026.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2026 to Question 11486 on Driving Tests, which existing criminal offence may be committed by a person who falsely asserts that they are another person when booking, amending, cancelling or swapping a practical driving test; under which statutory provision that offence arises; and what the maximum penalty is upon conviction.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 make it against the law for anyone other than the learner to book their driving test. This is a civil law restriction, not a criminal one. Something that is "against the law" is not permitted under the relevant legislation. This is different to something being "illegal", which would constitute a specific criminal offence.

Fraud by false representation, contrary to section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006, may be committed where a person dishonestly makes a false representation that they are another person, intending to make a gain or cause a loss. The maximum penalty on conviction on indictment is 10 years' imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both. This would only be in a very specific set of circumstances where there is criminal intent, and ‘gain’ is considered significant and prosecution under Fraud Act would be a proportionate action.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2026 to Question 7525 on Railways: Standards, whether each state-owned Train Operating Company records service cancellations attributable to (a) short-notice staff sickness and (b) crew unavailability; and if she will list the systems used to record those causes.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Train operating companies monitor a range of management information locally in addition to official cancellation attribution data. This may include information on cancellations due to short notice staff sickness and crew unavailability. The recording and storing of this information requires a range of software – the detail of which is beyond the operational information held by the Department.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data Network Rail holds on the number of vegetation management works that were rescheduled following the identification of protected species in each of the last five years, broken down by species type.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Network Rail does not hold information on the rescheduling of vegetation work due to the presence of protected species. This is because teams are adaptable and are able to carry out essential maintenance activities whilst being aware of the legislative requirements. If work in one area is found not to be possible, then it may be that work elsewhere can be carried out instead.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consideration her Department has given to supporting the development of a high-speed rail connection between Belfast and Dublin capable of reducing end-to-end journey times to under two hours; and what discussions she has had with (a) the Northern Ireland Executive and (b) the Government of Ireland on that matter.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The railway in Northern Ireland is a fully devolved matter, including assessment of any new rail projects and proposals. The Northern Ireland Executive is responsible for their Infrastructure Strategy, including cross border cooperation with the Republic of Ireland.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason National Highways cancelled its contract with Skanska for the A46 Newark Bypass scheme; and whether the scheme remains part of the strategic roads programme.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The contract for the A46 scheme was awarded to Skanska in 2022. The Government inherited a series of unaffordable commitments in July 2024 and conducted a Spending Review. As a result, the A46 scheme was expected to be delivered later than previously assumed and the contract with Skanska was no longer optimal. National Highways informed Skanska that it would not be proceeding with the main construction works under that contract. National Highways is grateful to Skanska for its valuable contribution in progressing the A46 Newark Bypass scheme through the design and planning consent stages and continues to work with the company on a number of other schemes currently under construction.

Separately, to support the Government’s Defence Investment Plan (DIP), the Department for Transport has identified potential savings from its roads budgets which include the potential cancellation of the A46 Newark Bypass scheme, on which the Department will consult shortly. No final decision has yet been made on the cancellation of the scheme, and the Department will carefully consider the responses to the consultation before deciding the way forward.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance her Department issues to National Highways on ensuring that expenditure on external affairs and public affairs activities complies with Cabinet Office guidance on the use of public funds for lobbying.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Accounting Officers of DfT public bodies, including National Highways, are bound by Managing Public Money and Cabinet Office guidance. The Department reminds individual bodies, as necessary, of these rules and the expectations set out in section 4.1 of the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies (2019), which states, 'it will always be an improper use of public funds for public bodies to employ consultants or other companies to lobby Parliament, Government or political parties'.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2026 to Question 12905 on Large Goods Vehicles: Electric Vehicles, which duty cycles and use cases will have a lower cost of ownership for battery-electric heavy goods vehicles than equivalent diesel vehicles without support from the Zero Emission Truck Grant and Depot Charging Scheme.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

It is likely that vehicles which can recharge mostly or entirely at their own depot will reach a lower total cost of ownership than diesel first, whereas vehicles which rely more heavily on public charging, for example because they travel further from their depot, will likely take longer to reach total cost of ownership parity. We continue to monitor and refine our analysis as evidence becomes available.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement, of June 2026, what steps are being taken by her department and its agencies to support the Heathrow Southern Railway proposal to link South West Rail to Heathrow.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government recognises the importance of surface access to any future expansion of Heathrow Airport.

The draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement states that enhanced rail connectivity is necessary to support expansion and achieve public transport mode share targets. It requires any expansion promoter to set out in its surface access strategy, required as part of the development consent process, the rail enhancements it proposes to deliver, together with a credible delivery plan and how any necessary schemes will be financed, developed with Network Rail and other relevant stakeholders.

The Government has not identified a preferred rail scheme, giving promoters flexibility to develop proposals that support their wider surface access strategy. The Strategic Vision for Transport to an Expanded Heathrow sets out the criteria expected of new transport infrastructure, including improving access to areas without direct rail connections to the airport.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 15 June 2026 to Question 6815, on Chris Gibb, for what reason was the appointment of Mr Gibb terminated by Sir Andrew Haines.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Chris Gibb was dismissed as a non-executive director of DfT Operator Limited after breaching his contract. This led the Chair to lose trust and confidence in his ability to carry out the duties of a non-executive director.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 24 June 2026, to Question 10352, on EGNOS, whether the review is being undertaken in-house or by an external organisation; and whether HM Government would be required to pay the EU for rejoining.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport’s review of the transport case and the practicalities of rejoining the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System (EGNOS) will be conducted by officials.

Any decision to rejoin the EGNOS programme would be subject to agreement with the European Union.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2026 to Question 8653 on Large Goods Vehicles: Electric Vehicles, what estimate her Department has made of the average purchase price differential between a diesel heavy goods vehicle and an equivalent zero-emission heavy goods vehicle after application of the Zero Emission Truck Grant.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Zero emission heavy goods vehicles are currently more expensive than equivalent diesel models, though this varies across use cases and models.

To mitigate this, the government provides financial support through the Zero Emission Truck Grant, which covers up to 40% of purchase cost and is designed to make zero emission models competitive with diesel in terms of total cost of ownership.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 24 March 2026 to Question 119087 on Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Finance, when she expects the public consultation on the replacement for the Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2018 to be published.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

MCA is in the process of updating the agency’s Fees, with the replacement for the Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2018 under discussion with HM Treasury. MCA’s intention is to hold a public consultation on these replacement regulations in 2026. The precise timing of the consultation will be confirmed in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in which year does her Department expect upfront purchase costs of zero-emission heavy goods vehicles to reach parity with equivalent diesel vehicles.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 24 June to UIN 11454.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many reported road traffic collisions involving a minibus resulted in (a) fatalities, (b) serious injuries and (c) slight injuries in each of the last ten years, broken down by whether the minibus was being used for (i) commercial, (ii) community transport and (iii) other purposes, where such data are held.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department does not hold information on the purpose for which a minibus involved in a road collision was being used.

The number of reported personal injury road casualties in collisions involving a minibus by casualty severity from 2015 to 2024 in Great Britain can be found in the below table:

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 2 June 2026, to Question 3821, on Parking Offences: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, if she will place in the Library a copy of the request from the Council to levy higher parking fines.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

I have placed a copy of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council’s request to trial higher-level Penalty Charge Notices in the Libraries of the House.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many road schemes with Development Consent Orders granted are under review by (a) her Department and (b) National Highways.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

To support funding of the Government's Defence Investment Plan, it was announced the Department will consult on the potential cancellation of two schemes; A38 Derby Junctions and A46 Newark Bypass, both of which have been granted development consent orders. No final decision will be taken until after the consultation exercise has taken place.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the written statement of 23 April 2026, to Question HCWS1537, on Automated Passenger Services, whether the APS Accessibility Advisory Panel will be a new Arm’s Length Body.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Automated Passenger Services Accessibility Advisory Panel (APS AAP) is not an Arm's Length Body. It is a non-statutory panel of independent experts.

The Disabled Person’s Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC), the longstanding independent expert committee established by the Transport Act 1985, also continues to provide advice to the government on APS.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the answer of 5 June 2026, to Question 3763, on Government Communications Service: Staff, and of 19 January 2026, to Question 104195, on Government Communication Service: Staff, how many headcount staff in the department are (a) members of the Government Communication Network and (b) are embedded communicators but are not counted as members of the Government Communication Network.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

There is no Government Communication Network.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her department has had with (a) Oxford City Council and (b) Oxfordshire County Council on the introduction of traffic filters in central Oxford from September 2026.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department has not had discussions with Oxford City Council or Oxfordshire County Council on this matter. Responsibility for introducing and managing local traffic measures rests with the local highway authority.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of rail journeys used digital tickets in June 2026.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The approximate proportion of tickets fulfilled as Digital Tickets for June 2026 are:

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many full-time equivalent driving examiners recruited by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) were (a) in post and (b) delivering practical car driving tests in June 2026.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

In June 2026 there were 1,644 full-time equivalent (FTE) driving examiners (DE) in post, and out of those, 1,589 were available to deliver practical car driving tests.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2026 to Question 14930 on Railways: Standards, whether her Department has requested management information from any state-owned Train Operating Company on service cancellations attributable to staff sickness or crew unavailability since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.