Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding to Derbyshire County Council for bus routes in rural areas.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Government funding for bus services in Derbyshire has been allocated to the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA). The government allocated £40.6 million to EMCCA in 25/26 to support and improve bus services. This is an increase on funding allocated to EMCCA’s constituent authorities in 24/25, including Derbyshire County Council, which totalled £39.5 million. This funding can be used whichever way the local transport authority wishes to deliver better bus services for passengers, including supporting bus routes in rural areas.
Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that all communities in (a) rural and (b) semi-rural areas have access to public transport.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government knows that integrated public transport is vital to keeping communities connected. We also know that in rural and semi-rural areas, bus services can be a lifeline for many and can be the only means of accessing services, including other modes of transportation such as rail links.
The government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December to put the power over local bus services back into the hands of local leaders. In addition, the government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. East Midlands Combined County Authority has been allocated £40.6 million of this funding, helping to improve bus services across the area.
Rail services, including those in rural and semi-rural areas, are supported by requirements on train operators to plan services and design timetables to meet both current and future passenger demand, while also ensuring value for money for the taxpayer. The government commitment to public ownership through Great British Railways will also help to deliver a unified system that focuses on reliable, affordable, high-quality, and efficient transport services, whilst also ensuring safety and accessibility. Under public ownership, passenger services can be operated in the interests of passengers, not shareholders.
Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many barring orders have been made by family courts to prevent a parent from applying for child arrangements orders where (a) rape and (b) domestic abuse have been cited as the reason in each of the last five years for which data is available.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Data on the number of barring orders made in the family courts and on the number of applications made to strip people convicted of rape and other serious crime of their parental responsibility are not held.
Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications have been made to the courts to strip people convicted of (a) rape and (b) other serious crime of their parental responsibility in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Data on the number of barring orders made in the family courts and on the number of applications made to strip people convicted of rape and other serious crime of their parental responsibility are not held.
Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help promote private funding for new EV charging infrastructure at motorway service areas.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Access to a comprehensive charging network will enable more consumers to confidently purchase electric vehicles. Government is committed to supporting industry deliver a visible, reliable charging infrastructure on the Strategic Road Network, ahead of need, and support industry's own investment in transport decarbonisation.
There has been great progress on the rollout of chargepoint infrastructure on our Strategic Road Network. Rapid and ultra-rapid chargepoint numbers at motorway service areas have increased by around 125% over the last 18 months (based on industry data). Within one mile of the Strategic Road Network, there are over 5,250 open-access rapid and ultra-rapid chargers - an increase of around 100% in the last 18 months (based on data from Zapmap).
Industry has already committed over £6bn investment to support the rollout of public chargepoints across the UK, and government is working closely with industry to target government support where it is needed, including gaps in provision on the Strategic Road Network due to barriers such as high connection costs.
Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he expects the Trade Remedies Authority to report the results of its investigation into imports of lubricant and engine oil from Lithuania and the United Arab Emirates.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) initiated an investigation into the alleged dumping of engine oils and hydraulic fluids from the UAE and Lithuania on 17 June 2024.
Whilst this investigation remains an ongoing process I cannot comment further as doing so may prejudice the investigation. The TRA will publish its provisional affirmative determination on the public file according to the timeline published on the cases public file.
All importers of oil products into the UK must be able to provide evidence to demonstrate that goods are not of Russian origin. In line with WTO rules of origin, Russian oil which has been substantially processed in a third country is no longer considered to be of Russian origin. However, activities such as processing oil products solely to mask their Russian origin are prohibited under UK law.
Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the impact for his policies of the dumping of imported products from the UAE in the (a) lubricant and (b) engine oil market.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) initiated an investigation into the alleged dumping of engine oils and hydraulic fluids from the UAE and Lithuania on 17 June 2024.
Whilst this investigation remains an ongoing process I cannot comment further as doing so may prejudice the investigation. The TRA will publish its provisional affirmative determination on the public file according to the timeline published on the cases public file.
All importers of oil products into the UK must be able to provide evidence to demonstrate that goods are not of Russian origin. In line with WTO rules of origin, Russian oil which has been substantially processed in a third country is no longer considered to be of Russian origin. However, activities such as processing oil products solely to mask their Russian origin are prohibited under UK law.
Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help ensure that sanctioned Russian (a) oil and (b) oil products are not being sold in the UK lubricant and engine oil market.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) initiated an investigation into the alleged dumping of engine oils and hydraulic fluids from the UAE and Lithuania on 17 June 2024.
Whilst this investigation remains an ongoing process I cannot comment further as doing so may prejudice the investigation. The TRA will publish its provisional affirmative determination on the public file according to the timeline published on the cases public file.
All importers of oil products into the UK must be able to provide evidence to demonstrate that goods are not of Russian origin. In line with WTO rules of origin, Russian oil which has been substantially processed in a third country is no longer considered to be of Russian origin. However, activities such as processing oil products solely to mask their Russian origin are prohibited under UK law.
Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of 18 year olds achieving three or more A level passes in (a) Bolsover constituency and (b) its neighbouring constituencies.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The requested data can be found in the attached table. The table shows the number and proportion of students entering at least 3 A levels, broken down by the number of A level entries in the Bolsover constituency and the bordering constituencies of Amber Valley, Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Chesterfield, Derbyshire Dales, Mansfield, North East Derbyshire, and Rother Valley.
There were zero A level students in the Bolsover constituency in the 2023/24 academic year.
Data is based on students attending schools and colleges located in, rather than those resident in, each constituency who have reached the end of 16-18 study.
Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to encourage public-private collaboration in the (a) investment and (b) delivery of welfare facilities for HGV drivers.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport (DfT) and industry are jointly investing up to £43.5 million to upgrade HGV parking and driver welfare facilities across England, including at independent truck stops and motorway service areas. This is on top of up to £26 million joint investment by National Highways and industry in lorry parking facilities, including Motorway Service Areas, along the strategic road network.
This investment is supporting operators across 30 counties in England to improve security, toilets, showers and refreshment facilities and increase lorry parking spaces.
DfT also established an industry-led Task and Finish Group (TGF) on HGV facilities, which commenced in February 2024. The TFG was a 12-month, industry-led forum focused on increasing capacity for safe and secure HGV parking, and driving industry adoption of existing HGV parking standards. DfT is considering the conclusions of this group.