Paul Kohler

This Government is committed to tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), and we have set out our unprecedented mission to halve it within a decade. Achieving this means concerted work on prevention and overhauling every aspect of society’s response to these devastating crimes.

The Department for Transport is working with partners across government and the transport industry to play its part in achieve this mission.

This includes working with the British Transport Police to encourage reporting via the 61016 text reporting number. We are also supportive of the Rail Delivery Group’s ‘Zero Tolerance Campaign’ which raises awareness of sexual harassment and encourages reporting and bystander interventions when safe to do so.

We are also bringing forward measures in the Bus Services (No. 2) mandating training for staff in the bus industry on how to recognise and respond to incidents of violence against women and girls, as well as anti-social behaviour (ASB).

This Government is committed to tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), and we have set out our unprecedented mission to halve it within a decade. Achieving this means concerted work on prevention and overhauling every aspect of society’s response to these devastating crimes. The Department for Transport is working with partners across government and the transport industry to play its part in achieve this mission.

We know that consistency of reporting is an important issue and we intend to look at this in more detail. However, we would always encourage victims of violence and anti-social behaviour to report these incidents to the police in the usual way.

This Government committed in its manifesto to tackle the high costs of motor insurance. To deliver on this commitment, the UK Government formed a cross-government Taskforce on motor insurance, co-chaired by the Department for Transport and His Majesty’s Treasury.

The Taskforce which met most recently on 28 April has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments that may contribute to stabilising or reducing premiums. It will look at the increased insurance costs on consumers and the insurance industry. The Government will provide updates on the Taskforce in due course.

Regarding fraudulent insurance claims, the Government is committed to tackling this threat and has worked in collaboration with the UK insurance sector to publish an insurance fraud charter. This is a voluntary agreement which aims to raise the visibility of insurance fraud, improve victim support and better detect and prevent scams, such as crash-for cash.

The Government is investing over £150 million to deliver the new £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London from 1 January until 31 December 2025 to help keep bus fares affordable. Under the plans of the previous administration, the £2 cap on bus fares had been due to expire on 31 December 2024, and prior to the Budget, there was no further funding available to maintain a cap on bus fares beyond this point.

The final monitoring and evaluation report into the impact of the £2 bus fare cap was published on 12 February. An evaluation of the £3 fare cap is due to be commissioned in due course.

This Government is committed to improving rail connectivity across the North and working with local leaders, as set out in our manifesto.

While we will not reverse the decision to cancel Phase 2 of HS2, we recognise concerns about connectivity between Birmingham and Manchester and continue to review the position we inherited on rail infrastructure. We will set out our plans in due course.

The Government’s current focus is the safe delivery of High Speed Two (HS2) between Birmingham Curzon Street and London Euston at the lowest reasonable cost. While we will not reverse the decision to cancel Phase 2 of HS2, we recognise concerns about connectivity between Birmingham and Manchester and continue to review the position we inherited on rail infrastructure.

The Department is currently reviewing options to collaborate with the private sector on the delivery of the HS2 Euston station. As part of this, officials are engaging with stakeholders to gain a comprehensive understanding of the available private finance options that could deliver value for money for taxpayers.

Minister Hendy met with Mayors Burnham and Parker last November, following the publication of the Midlands North-West Rail Link plan; the Mayors’ plan involved leveraging private capital to build a new Birmingham to Manchester railway line. The Department is currently reviewing a range of options for enhancing northern rail infrastructure while ensuring value for money for taxpayers.

The Government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country, consisting of both Bus Service Operators Grant and Bus Service Improvement Plan funding.

All future bus funding is being considered as part of the ongoing multi-year Spending Review, which provides the opportunity for the Department to assess the sector’s funding needs so that bus services are adequately funded to support the government’s missions on economic growth and overcoming barriers to opportunity.

We recognise that business travel is a significant reason for using the railways. Research just published has shown that 15 per cent of journeys on DfT-contracted rail passenger services were made for business travel.

On 18 February we launched the eight-week public consultation on the Railways Bill, which closes on 15 April. The proposals will put passengers back at the heart of our railways.

This consultation is very much the beginning of an ongoing process of engagement that will continue throughout the policy development and legislative process.

This consultation was conducted under the previous government. The Department for Transport is currently considering publication of a response.

The Secretary of State for Transport has no plans to remove Appendix B from the Persons of Reduced Mobility (PRM) NTSN.

The PRM NTSN is one of several measures that help make the railway more accessible and should be considered in conjunction with relevant National Technical Rules, Rail Industry Standards and operators’ Accessible Travel Policies amongst other measures. My Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of Appendix B on the availability of step free access at stations, but we keep all NTSNs under regular review.

The Secretary of State for Transport has no plans to remove Appendix B from the Persons of Reduced Mobility (PRM) NTSN.

The PRM NTSN is one of several measures that help make the railway more accessible and should be considered in conjunction with relevant National Technical Rules, Rail Industry Standards and operators’ Accessible Travel Policies amongst other measures. My Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of Appendix B on the availability of step free access at stations, but we keep all NTSNs under regular review.

During the period 2019 – 2024, 66 major accessibility interventions were delivered at 63 different stations under the Access for All Programme, 4 of which were fixed funding contributions through the Access for All mid-tier programme.

Ministers and officials have regular conversations with Transport for London on a variety of issues including accessibility of their network. Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor and TfL is responsible for managing the London Underground.

Following a recent nomination for step free upgrades at Haydons Road station, the Department and rail industry unfortunately identified limited passenger benefits. As such, limited funding is being prioritised to progress other stations which will deliver greater passenger benefits. Wimbledon station is already fully accessible and less than a mile from Haydons Road station and the TfL bus network in the local area is also fully accessible for wheelchair users.

The Government is strongly committed to making the oldest railway in the world accessible. We will continue to take the Access for All programme forward as fast as funds allow. The Government programme of rail reform will end years of fragmentation – bringing together track and train to deliver for passengers with more reliable, better-quality services and improved accessibility. Shadow Great British Railways (SGBR) will start to provide the opportunity to take joined up, whole system decisions that improve performance for the benefit of all passengers and taxpayers with accessibility of stations and trains always in mind.

We know that overcrowding can have an additional impact on those requiring assistance to complete their journeys. The Department for Transport publishes statistics on passenger numbers and overcrowding. The latest release was in September 2024. The Office of Rail and Road is responsible for making sure passengers are protected by train and station operators from any health and safety risks, such as crowding, and operators are responsible for managing the numbers and flow of passengers using their services. They must also ensure passengers are informed about potential overcrowding.

There was an increase of 22 per cent in the number of bookings for passenger assistance in 2023/2024. We want to see further increases in the number of people who are able to pre-book assistance by making improvements to the assistance that is offered as we know it can still too often fall short of expectations. In November 2024, the Government announced over £10 million in funding to improve the Passenger Assist scheme – the service that enables disabled passengers, or other people who may require help, to book and receive assistance to enable them to make a journey by rail. The improvements, to be delivered over the next two years, will see a step-change in how assistance is provided. For example, the ability for customers to communicate directly with staff on arrival and as they travel, as well as a help function to connect customers to staff in the event of feeling stranded or unsafe.

The Government has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer. Once proposals have been received, the government will review the Airports National Policy Statement, which provides the basis for decision making on granting development consent for a new runway at Heathrow. The Government has been clear that any airport expansion proposals need to demonstrate that they contribute to economic growth, can be delivered in line with the UK’s legally binding commitments on carbon and meet strict environmental requirements on air quality and noise pollution.

Feasibility work for step free access at Raynes Park station is underway. We expect all 50 of the feasibility studies announced last year to be complete in April. We expect to be able to confirm which stations will move forward over the summer.

Using £75m of government funding, Network Rail have recently completed a programme to install platform edge tactiles at all mainline stations that did not have them in place or where they were planned to be installed as part of another enhancement or renewal project. This leaves 20 stations across Britain without tactiles out of a total of 2585 stations, with the majority of these to be installed this year or early in 2026.

Various reviews of the Access for All programme have been undertake by the Department for Transport, the Government Internal Audit Agency and Network Rail. A number of changes to the programme have been implemented around Network Rail resourcing, governance and supply chain engagement. We are starting to see the benefits of these changes with the programme due to complete 27 projects in financial year 24/25.

The review has been completed in full. However, any decision regarding its publication will be a matter for the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA). The report has found that the governance structures are generally strong, with only minor recommendations for improvement.

After Network Rail’s failure to deliver a large number of Access for All projects between 2014 and 2019, various reviews of the Access for All programme have been undertake by the Department for Transport and Network Rail. A number of changes to the programme have been implemented around Network Rail resourcing, governance and supply chain engagement. We are starting to see the benefits of these changes with the programme due to complete 27 projects in financial year 24/25.

The main driver of electric vehicle uptake in the UK is expected to be the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate for cars and vans. This has legislated zero emission vehicle targets for sales of new cars, rising from 22% of new car sales in 2024 to 80% in 2030, and for sales of new vans, rising from 10% in 2024 to 70% in 2030. A cost benefit analysis was published alongside the regulation that estimates that this uptake of zero emission vehicles will deliver greenhouse gas savings of 29 Mt CO2e across carbon budget 5 (2028-2032), 79 Mt CO2e across carbon budget 6 (2033-2037), and a total of 420 Mt CO2e savings from 2024-2050.

The cross-Government motor insurance taskforce was launched in October. It is comprised of ministers from relevant government departments and the Financial Conduct Authority and Competition and Markets Authority. The taskforce is supported by a separate stakeholder panel of industry experts representing the insurance, motor, and consumer sector.

The taskforce has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments that may contribute to stabilising or reducing premiums, while maintaining appropriate levels of cover. It will look at the increased insurance costs on consumers and the insurance industry, including how this impacts different demographics, geographies, and communities.

We will provide updates on the taskforce’s work in due course.

The cross-Government motor insurance taskforce was launched in October. It is comprised of ministers from relevant government departments and the Financial Conduct Authority and Competition and Markets Authority. The taskforce is supported by a separate stakeholder panel of industry experts representing the insurance, motor, and consumer sector.

The taskforce has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments that may contribute to stabilising or reducing premiums, while maintaining appropriate levels of cover. It will look at the increased insurance costs on consumers and the insurance industry, including how this impacts different demographics, geographies, and communities.

We will provide updates on the taskforce’s work in due course.

The Government has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer. Once proposals have been received, the government will review the Airports National Policy Statement, which provides the basis for decision making on granting development consent for a new runway at Heathrow. The Government has been clear that any airport expansion proposals need to demonstrate that they contribute to economic growth, can be delivered in line with the UK’s legally binding commitments on carbon and meet strict environmental requirements on air quality and noise pollution.

On 27 February the Secretary of State has said she is ‘minded to approve’ the expansion of Gatwick Airport. Gatwick Airport is now asked to respond to the Secretary of State on the matters raised by 24 April 2025. The Secretary of State will make her final decision on or before 27 October. As this is a live planning application and the Secretary of State has a quasi-judicial role in this process we therefore cannot comment on it further.

The Government has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer. Once proposals have been received, the government will review the Airports National Policy Statement, which provides the basis for decision making on granting development consent for a new runway at Heathrow. The Government has been clear that any airport expansion proposals need to demonstrate that they contribute to economic growth, can be delivered in line with the UK’s legally binding commitments on carbon and meet strict environmental requirements on air quality and noise pollution.

The Government has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer. Once proposals have been received, the government will review the Airports National Policy Statement, which provides the basis for decision making on granting development consent for a new runway at Heathrow. The Government has been clear that any airport expansion proposals need to demonstrate that they contribute to economic growth, can be delivered in line with the UK’s legally binding commitments on carbon and meet strict environmental requirements on air quality and noise pollution.

The Government has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer. Once proposals have been received, the government will review the Airports National Policy Statement, which provides the basis for decision making on granting development consent for a new runway at Heathrow. The Government has been clear that any airport expansion proposals need to demonstrate that they contribute to economic growth, can be delivered in line with the UK’s legally binding commitments on carbon and meet strict environmental requirements on air quality and noise pollution.

On 27 February the Secretary of State has said she is ‘minded to approve’ the expansion of Gatwick Airport. Gatwick Airport is now asked to respond to the Secretary of State on the matters raised by 24 April 2025. The Secretary of State will make her final decision on or before 27 October. As this is a live planning application and the Secretary of State has a quasi-judicial role in this process we therefore cannot comment on it further.

The Government has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer. Once proposals have been received, the government will review the Airports National Policy Statement, which provides the basis for decision making on granting development consent for a new runway at Heathrow. The Government has been clear that any airport expansion proposals need to demonstrate that they contribute to economic growth, can be delivered in line with the UK’s legally binding commitments on carbon and meet strict environmental requirements on air quality and noise pollution.

On 27 February the Secretary of State has said she is ‘minded to approve’ the expansion of Gatwick Airport. Gatwick Airport is now asked to respond to the Secretary of State on the matters raised by 24 April 2025. The Secretary of State will make her final decision on or before 27 October. As this is a live planning application and the Secretary of State has a quasi-judicial role in this process we therefore cannot comment on it further.

The Government will take all necessary and appropriate actions to ensure a sound legal basis for its decisions.