Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to review the legal status of letters of wishes in Disabled Person's Trusts, in the context of the increasing use of these structures for vulnerable beneficiaries under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 framework.
Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Trusts are commonly used to make long-term financial provision for family members, including children and vulnerable adults.
Trustees must exercise their powers in accordance with the binding terms of the trust instrument and are subject to broader statutory duties.
Letters of wishes can be used to complement the binding legal terms of a trust, by providing guidance about how the person creating the trust would like trustees to exercise their discretion. Letters of wishes are generally not legally binding, but trustees must give the letter of wishes necessary regard when making decisions on how to manage the assets within the trust.
As such, letters of wishes are designed to give guidance while preserving the trustee’s ability to make decisions based on circumstances that may change many years after the letter was written.
The Government currently has no plans to reform the law in this area.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to section 3.1 of Great British Railways' document entitled Rolling Stock and Infrastructure Strategy, published in September 2026, what assessment she has made of the relative cost, on a whole life long-term basis, of (a) battery trains and (b) full electrification and conventional electric trains.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Rolling Stock and Infrastructure Strategy does not prescribe a single preferred solution for all parts of the network. The relative whole-life costs and benefits of battery-electric trains, partial electrification and full electrification vary according to the characteristics and requirements of individual routes.
As set out in the Strategy, detailed route-by-route analysis will be undertaken to determine the optimum approach in each case. This will consider factors including passenger and freight demand, operational requirements, network connectivity, infrastructure constraints, affordability and value for money. Decisions on the appropriate level of electrification and the most suitable rolling stock technology will therefore be informed by the specific circumstances of each route rather than by a single national assessment.