Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance her Department provides to highway authorities on how the place before movement principle should be operationalised in rural transport assessments, particularly where multiple developments exert cumulative impacts across neighbouring settlements.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My officials work closely with counterparts in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on national planning policy, including how transport is considered in plan‑making and decision‑taking for new development.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework, published in December 2024, requires transport to be considered from the earliest stages of planning, using a vision‑led approach to support well‑designed, sustainable places. This includes integrating movement, streets and parking into scheme design, including in rural areas. The Government consulted on further changes to the NPPF between December 2025 and March 2026 and will publish its response in due course, alongside updated planning guidance.
The Department for Transport has also developed the Government’s Connectivity Tool, which combines land‑use and transport data to provide a consistent measure of access to jobs and essential services. This tool can support authorities and in understanding connectivity and potential changes to connectivity when assessing new development.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to establish a measurable framework for assessing when traffic materially undermines a village’s function as a place, rather than solely assessing vehicle capacity.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport’s Transport Analysis Guidance includes a qualitative methodology for assessing the impacts of transport schemes on townscape, defined as the physical and social characteristics that contribute to a sense of place.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework, published in December 2024, requires a vision‑led approach to transport from the earliest stages of planning, ensuring movement, streets and parking are integral to place‑making. Where significant impacts on the transport network or highway safety are identified, mitigation should be considered to an acceptable degree through this approach. The Government consulted on further changes between December 2025 and March 2026 and will publish its response in due course. Forthcoming updated Planning Practice Guidance on transport assessments will support local authorities in applying these policies.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many apprentices the Department recruited in 2025, compared with (a) 2022, (b) 2023, and (c) 2024.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Year | Number of New Apprentices Recruited | Total Apprenticeship Starts (New Recruits and Internal Conversions) |
|---|---|---|
2022 | 36 | 95 |
2023 | 35 | 126 |
2024 | 42 | 101 |
2025 | 29 | 65 |
The Department had a greater number of apprenticeship starts overall during this period, as the total figures include existing members of staff converting to an apprenticeship in addition to the new recruits shown above. These total apprenticeship starts were primarily composed of existing staff upskilling rather than new external recruitment.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consideration is given within national transport assessment guidance to cumulative and cross boundary impacts in rural areas, including rat running, school run congestion, and early network stress occurring prior to full occupation of approved developments.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport’s Transport Analysis Guidance provides a technical framework for assessing network‑wide transport impacts, including cumulative and cross‑boundary effects. Through its requirements on scenario testing, forecasting and appraisal of social impacts, Transport Analysis Guidance enables local authorities and developers to identify issues such as rat‑running, congestion at sensitive locations including villages and schools, and early network stress occurring before full occupation or mitigation is in place.
Alongside this, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Planning Practice Guidance on transport assessments makes clear that cumulative impacts from committed development should be taken into account where these affect the same parts of the transport network. MHCLG are currently updating this guidance and this will be published in due course.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many civil servants in their Department were found to have broken the Civil Service Code in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Civil Servants are appointed on merit on the basis of fair and open competition and are expected to carry out their role with dedication and a commitment to the Civil Service and its core values: integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.
Allegations of misconduct can be multi-faceted and have complex circumstances. Whistleblowing procedures include allegations of public interest and record whether an issue is deemed to be a Civil Service Code breach. To protect the personal data of employees, we do not report on small numbers of cases. The Department does not record the number of cases specifically relating to the Civil Service Code breaches outside of Whistleblowing procedures, but any allegations of such breaches are dealt with seriously as part of internal procedures.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many civil servants in her Department were found to have broken the Civil Service Code in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 9 January in response to Question 100981.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many and what proportion of foreign nationals are employed by her Department within its UK operations.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not routinely capture or hold nationality data. Nationality requirements arise only where necessary to meet security clearance criteria and are set out at recruitment. Visa information is not held centrally and, in the absence of a specified timeframe, could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many visas has her Department sponsored for foreign nationals employed in the UK.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not routinely capture or hold nationality data. Nationality requirements arise only where necessary to meet security clearance criteria and are set out at recruitment. Visa information is not held centrally and, in the absence of a specified timeframe, could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress has been made on reforming the ECHR.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Last month, the Steering Committee for Human Rights of the Council of Europe adopted elements for a Council of Europe Political Declaration on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and irregular migration. Negotiations on the Political Declaration continue based on these elements. We are active in negotiations and will continue to work with international partners to ensure that the ECHR remains effective whilst addressing challenges like illegal migration and cross-border crime.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what was the total value of non-contractual severance payments across the department in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings on 26 March 2026, PQ UIN 121696.