Oral Answers to Questions

Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts

Thursday 12th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Heidi Alexander]

I am surprised that the right hon. Gentleman talks about U-turns. I am sure that I should not be doing this, but I reviewed his tweets from none other than the 2019 general election, in which he was very excited about decarbonisation schemes, electric vehicle infrastructure and clean energy. Perhaps his constituents will be surprised by his flip-flopping on this issue. This Government remain committed to the ZEV transition, and it is precisely the certainty of this Government’s policy that means we will meet the transition targets. Yet again, he is showing that his party cannot be trusted with the economy and the environment.

[Mr Speaker]

Let me just say to the Secretary of State that if you are struggling to sleep, read a few more tweets.

[Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)]

Meur ras ha myttin da, Mr Speaker. I declare an interest as chair of the electric vehicle all-party parliamentary group.

The entire UK charge point industry is united in supporting the Government’s passenger car ZEV mandate to send a signal to motorists that this Government will not follow the lead of the climate change-denying luddites in the Opposition. Does the Secretary of State agree that the ZEV mandate is proving to be a fundamental, market-shaping policy that is driving investment, expanding choice and delivering cheaper motoring?

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[Heidi Alexander]

I know that my hon. Friend takes an active interest in this issue, given the importance of bus manufacturing to his constituents in Falkirk. We are backing Britain’s bus manufacturers with long-term certainty through the 10-year zero emission bus pipeline and the work of the bus manufacturing expert panel. We have also legislated through the Bus Services Act 2025 to set a date after which no new non-zero emission buses can be used, and we will set that date in due course.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

The latest Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders data reveals that EVs are losing market share. The president of Hyundai’s European arm has been quoted in The Telegraph as arguing that the ZEV mandate no longer makes sense and needs to be rethought. Without change, he said, the policy could cause manufacturers to become loss-making and prompt some to stop selling both internal combustion engine and electric cars in the United Kingdom. When will the Government understand that people just do not want EVs, and no amount of taxpayer-funded bribes to try to make them do so are going to work?

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[Lilian Greenwood]

We do appreciate the impact that being unable to access a practical driving test has on young people. That is precisely why we are taking the further measures that I have described, and we are starting to see signs of improvement. Between June and December last year, the DVSA conducted 1,158,458 car practical driving tests. That is an increase of over 102,000 compared to the same period in 2024. I appreciate that people are impatient for improvement. We are working hard, and we are determined to deliver that improvement.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Jerome Mayhew (Broadland and Fakenham) (Con)]

When these Ministers came to power, they promised that they would act to reduce the waiting time for a driving test, and not just by a little bit; they said they would get it down to seven weeks. A year later, the waiting time is now 21.9 weeks. In fact, it has gone up by three weeks since they came into power. That is not really a sign of competence, is it?

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[Keir Mather]

I could not agree more with my hon. Friend, who continues to be a determined advocate for his constituents in Harlow. GBR will allow us to rationalise the way the railway is run, think about it holistically and make sure that passenger services are run in the interests both of the passengers who use them and of the British taxpayer.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Jerome Mayhew (Broadland and Fakenham) (Con)]

The Government claim to be simplifying rail fares, but we are beginning to see what they mean by that. London North Eastern Railway is scrapping off-peak and super-off-peak tickets, doubling the price of some journeys; it says that that is in the name of simplification. c2c has cut a 40% off-peak discount, straight after nationalisation. Elsewhere, analysis by The Daily Telegraph has revealed that rail passengers are now spending 40% more on some journeys than before the general election. Does the Minister accept that removing the cheapest fares in pursuit of a political slogan is not always in the best interests of the travelling public?

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[Heidi Alexander]

My hon. Friend is a great champion for young people in her constituency. I was pleased to sit down with her just last week to discuss the opportunities that this Labour Government are providing for people across Luton South and South Bedfordshire. We are determined to open up opportunities for young people through our investment in transport. Just this week, we laid before Parliament legislation to reduce the age at which someone can train to become a train driver from 20 to 18, meaning that young people do not have to wait around for years after finishing school and college before they can embark on a career on the railways.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Father of the House.

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

The Secretary of State probably knows what I am going to ask. The single best thing we could do to promote economic growth in North East Lincolnshire and Lincolnshire, and particularly in Grimsby, which is one of the largest towns in England without a through-train to London, is to get our through-train to London from Grimsby and Cleethorpes, via Market Rasen and Lincoln. My hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers) and I have campaigned relentlessly for this. We went to see Lord Hendy, who gave us a very good interview, didn’t he?

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[Heidi Alexander]

The hon. Lady is, of course, right that when people are stood on a platform on a Sunday, the train should turn up as reliably as it does on a Monday morning. The truth of the matter is that there is a raft of different practices across train operating companies. We have a plan to ensure that drivers and train crew are available. We will continue to work on that, specifically on the Great Western route.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Transport Committee.

[Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)]

On Tuesday, the Committee published, as well as the report on the Railways Bill, a report called “Rail investment pipelines: ending boom and bust”, which includes discussion of the rolling stock that we need to run our trains. We found a pattern of boom and bust in investment decisions. No strategy means fluctuating orders, and that threatens small and medium-sized enterprise viability in the UK supply chain. When will the Government publish the promised long-term rolling stock investment strategy?

[Heidi Alexander]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question, and her Committee for its work on the important report that it published this week. We all want to see an end to the boom and bust in our rail supply chain, which damages capacity and skills retention and does not provide value for money. I can tell my hon. Friend that the Department plans to publish its rolling stock and infrastructure strategy this summer. That will set out how Great British Railways will help smooth demand and generate a steady pipeline of work for the supply chain.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mark Pritchard. I was going to call Rebecca Smith, but she is not standing.

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[Lilian Greenwood]

That is just not true. I can assure the right hon. Gentleman that the Government are determined to provide the road infrastructure that the public want. That is why we are providing public funding to start that project. We will say more in the coming weeks and months.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Olly Glover (Didcot and Wantage) (LD)]

Over 130,000 motor vehicles are now stolen every year in the UK; there has been a 75% increase in England and Wales in a decade. Much of that theft happens through the exploitation of weaknesses in remote key fobs. Does the Minister agree that this crime trend is a major risk for users of motorised vehicles on our roads, and what steps will her Department and its agencies take to improve vehicle and fob design standards and regulation, as well as driver awareness, to prevent such crimes?

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[Heidi Alexander]

I see that Reform Members care so much about the state of our roads that they cannot even be bothered to turn up to Transport questions.

[Mr Speaker]

Just to put the record straight before I get a load of emails, Andrew Rosindell, who is a Reform Member, was here and did ask a question.

[Heidi Alexander]

Forgive me, Mr Speaker—they change so much at the moment that I have lost track.

The facts speak for themselves when it comes to Reform. Of the 13 local authorities that were rated red last month for their action on fixing local roads, three were Reform-led councils. That is a quarter of all councils that are run by Reform failing to get the basics right. By contrast, Labour councils came out top.

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[Brian Mathew]

I thank the Minister for his answer. Network Rail’s Wiltshire strategic study identifies a clear strategic and economic case for upgrading the railway through Melksham, with a new passing loop unlocking capacity for an hourly passenger service, increased freight movements and improved network resilience when other lines are closed. The study also highlights how the proposed gateway station would deliver economic growth for Devizes and boost connectivity for towns and villages along the Kennet valley. Does the Minister—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. One of us has to sit down, and it is not going to be me. The question is too long. I have all your colleagues to get in—they are going to be upset. I am sure the Minister has a good idea of what the question was.

[Keir Mather]

I thank the hon. Member for his important question. I am aware of both the Bath and Wiltshire metro scheme and the Devizes gateway project. While there are currently no specific plans to deliver on those aspirations, we would encourage both him and local stakeholders, including local authorities, Great Western Rail and Network Rail to continue to work together to develop those plans, including sourcing funding opportunities. I am sure the hon. Gentleman will play his part as they do so.

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[Heidi Alexander]

I will ask my hon. Friend the Minister for Aviation to meet my hon. Friend to discuss her concerns, as I appreciate that this is a sensitive issue for many people. Airspace modernisation will provide huge benefits for air passengers, businesses and the UK economy, and the move to more efficient flight paths will be done in such a way as to ensure that any impacts on local communities are properly managed.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

[Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

Passengers want safe and reliable journeys, and those who work on our public transport system deserve to be safe at work, especially when they do the right thing in difficult circumstances. However, bus driver Mark Hehir, who was praised by the police for stopping a thief, was sacked. I have met Mark and the lady he saved from a robbery, but has the Secretary of State or anyone from the Department met him? Indeed, has anybody from the Department made representations on his behalf?

More broadly, passengers deserve to feel safe on our railways. What are the most recent British Transport police figures?

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[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Lilian Greenwood)]

We published the motor insurance taskforce report in December, highlighting the actions being taken to tackle claims costs and, ultimately, to help reduce motorists’ premiums. We are also consulting on a minimum learning period for learner drivers, which may help to reduce premiums if the number of collisions involving young and novice drivers falls.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Olly Glover (Didcot and Wantage) (LD)]

The Government have big ambitions for active travel, but their targets in the third cycling and walking investment strategy are neither bold nor measurable. Over 40 organisations, including some Labour mayoral authorities, have called for a target of 50% of short urban journeys being walked, wheeled or cycled by 2030, as well as planning for a national active travel network. What does the Secretary of State say in response?

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[Sarah Edwards (Tamworth) (Lab)]

T9. Residents in my constituency have faced years of disruption from High Speed 2, and the saga continues. Upcoming works on the A38 include an 11-day closure at the Swinfen interchange and a year-long closure of the northbound slip road at Streethay in neighbouring Lichfield. These measures will inevitably push traffic on to the A5 bypass and through villages including Hints, Weeford, Whittington and Swinfen, causing significant disruption to my constituents. [Interruption.] Will the Secretary of State outline when my constituents can expect these works to be completed? What assurances can be given that the disruption will be minimised?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I do not need advice from the Opposition Benches that somebody is reading. Members should not just pick on one side—it is happening on both sides of the House. I do not like reading, but I expect the House to be tolerant on both sides. I am sure Opposition Members will also shout when they see someone on their own side doing it—not!

[Heidi Alexander]

I recognise that for local people, road closures can be one of the most disruptive aspects of major projects. I know that HS2 works very closely with highways authorities to minimise the impacts. Doing the essential work on the A38 in a single 11-day closure will avoid around six months of repeated full-weekend closures.