Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how funding for the TransPennine Express will be allocated across maintenance and capital costs of trains.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The TransPennine Express rolling stock contract is worth around £800 million, with maintenance contracts worth around £200 million.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with (a) RNIB, (b) Guide Dogs, (c) Transport for All and (d) Living Streets on the potential impact of pavement delivery robots on disabled and older pedestrians; and whether an equality impact assessment has been carried out on any proposed trial framework.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Department officials have engaged with stakeholders representing disabled people and pedestrians, including the RNIB, Guide Dogs and Living Streets, to inform the development of the Government’s policy approach to pavement robot trials. Discussions have covered pavement obstruction, pedestrian safety in shared spaces, and service accessibility. Officials will continue to engage with stakeholders as policy development progresses.
The Department is in parallel developing an equality impact assessment to support consideration of the potential impacts of any proposed trial framework. This work will help ensure that equalities impacts are properly considered in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the a) cost of train orders, b) number of trainsets ordered and c) cost per trainset was over the last 10 years.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Between October 2016 and September 2026, 807 trainsets comprising 4,154 vehicles were ordered for use on the railway in Great Britain. Identified procurement costs for these orders total approximately £9.1 billion. This equates to an average procurement cost of approximately £11.3 million per trainset.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to respond to the emails of 18th May, 8th June, 24th June and 19th August on the Child Maintenance Service, case reference OG13220, from the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department recognises that response times to hon. Members’ enquiries on behalf of constituents have not been consistently adequate in recent months, as higher complaint volumes and increasingly complex cases have affected our response times. The Department is actively addressing these pressures and driving improvements in both timeliness and efficiency.
The Department is taking urgent action to improve complaint handling and response times, with a clear focus on resolving issues as quickly as possible, including at the earliest point of contact where appropriate.
To support this, we have deployed additional resources to complaints and correspondence teams and prioritised activity to strengthen performance monitoring and improve timeliness. We have introduced enhanced senior oversight and improved case management processes to support faster, more consistent responses.
Where a complaint requires formal investigation, the Department’s service standard aims to provide a full response within 15 working days. More complex cases may take longer; however, the Department seeks to keep customers informed of progress and expected timescales. CMS continues to investigate the case, and an update was provided to the hon. Member on 1 September 2026 outlining the current position.
The Department is clear that hon. Members must be able to rely on timely and accurate information when representing their constituents. Improving response times remains a key operational priority, and these measures are intended to deliver a more timely and efficient service for customers and hon. Members alike.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Department is taking to reduce the time taken to open cancer clinical trials in the NHS, and what assessment they have made of the potential impact of delays in opening cancer clinical trials for new treatments.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the Life Sciences Sector Plan and reinforced in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, the Department is committed to cutting the current time it takes to get a clinical trial set up, to under 150 days. I refer the Hon Member to the report, including actions and progress so far against the 150-day target, published by the Government on 9 July 2026, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/life-sciences-sector-plan-one-year-on
The National Cancer Plan, available at the link below, outlines actions to increase the speed, scale, and reliability of cancer clinical trials in detail:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-cancer-plan-for-england
The 10-Year Health Plan for England, available at the link below, commits to embedding research as a core component of care:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future
An update on the forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan will be available in due course.
In July 2026, the Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), published the Research Workforce Update for England which aims to ensure that research opportunities and careers are accessible to a broader range of professions and communities, helping to develop a sustainable and inclusive research workforce across all health and social care settings and geographies for the future. The Research Workforce Update for England is available at the following link:
https://www.nihr.ac.uk/research-workforce-update-england
All NIHR personal awards are open to foreign nationals. The Global Talent visa includes certain NIHR personal awards under the recognised list of personal fellowships that allows people to apply for a fast-track visa. Further details available at the following link:
https://royalsociety.org/grants/global-talent-visa-overview/route-2-individual-fellowships/
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to improve the recruitment and retention of international researchers working on clinical and cancer research in the UK.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the Life Sciences Sector Plan and reinforced in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, the Department is committed to cutting the current time it takes to get a clinical trial set up, to under 150 days. I refer the Hon Member to the report, including actions and progress so far against the 150-day target, published by the Government on 9 July 2026, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/life-sciences-sector-plan-one-year-on
The National Cancer Plan, available at the link below, outlines actions to increase the speed, scale, and reliability of cancer clinical trials in detail:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-cancer-plan-for-england
The 10-Year Health Plan for England, available at the link below, commits to embedding research as a core component of care:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future
An update on the forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan will be available in due course.
In July 2026, the Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), published the Research Workforce Update for England which aims to ensure that research opportunities and careers are accessible to a broader range of professions and communities, helping to develop a sustainable and inclusive research workforce across all health and social care settings and geographies for the future. The Research Workforce Update for England is available at the following link:
https://www.nihr.ac.uk/research-workforce-update-england
All NIHR personal awards are open to foreign nationals. The Global Talent visa includes certain NIHR personal awards under the recognised list of personal fellowships that allows people to apply for a fast-track visa. Further details available at the following link:
https://royalsociety.org/grants/global-talent-visa-overview/route-2-individual-fellowships/
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan will include measures to increase NHS capacity to deliver non-commercial clinical trials.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the Life Sciences Sector Plan and reinforced in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, the Department is committed to cutting the current time it takes to get a clinical trial set up, to under 150 days. I refer the Hon Member to the report, including actions and progress so far against the 150-day target, published by the Government on 9 July 2026, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/life-sciences-sector-plan-one-year-on
The National Cancer Plan, available at the link below, outlines actions to increase the speed, scale, and reliability of cancer clinical trials in detail:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-cancer-plan-for-england
The 10-Year Health Plan for England, available at the link below, commits to embedding research as a core component of care:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future
An update on the forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan will be available in due course.
In July 2026, the Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), published the Research Workforce Update for England which aims to ensure that research opportunities and careers are accessible to a broader range of professions and communities, helping to develop a sustainable and inclusive research workforce across all health and social care settings and geographies for the future. The Research Workforce Update for England is available at the following link:
https://www.nihr.ac.uk/research-workforce-update-england
All NIHR personal awards are open to foreign nationals. The Global Talent visa includes certain NIHR personal awards under the recognised list of personal fellowships that allows people to apply for a fast-track visa. Further details available at the following link:
https://royalsociety.org/grants/global-talent-visa-overview/route-2-individual-fellowships/
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service for parents.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Children have a right to be supported by both parents. The Child Maintenance Service helps ensure that happens. Information on CMS arrangements, payment compliance and enforcement is available in the Child Maintenance Service statistics to March 2026 and through https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which of the business cases (strategic outline; outline; or full) by East West Rail have been approved for (a) Bletchley to Bedford and (b) Bedford to Cambridge.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A Strategic Outline Business Case for the section of East West Rail between Bletchley and Cambridge was produced in 2019. An Outline Business Case is being prepared to support Government decision making on the project ahead of an application for a Development Consent Order. A Full Business Case will be put forward once planning consent is secured.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what level of business case has been submitted by East West Rail regarding traction power and rolling stock for the (a) Bletchley to Bedford and (b) Bedford to Cambridge components of the project.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
East West Rail Company set out the latest proposals for partial electrification of the railway as part of its consultation in Spring 2026. This will be considered as part of future stages of the business case approval process for the project.