Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of trends in the level of threats to (a) freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and (b) British (i) vessels and (ii) personnel in 2025.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The majority of international shipping ceased operating through the Red Sea after Houthi attacks began in November 2023 and has not returned. My Department continues to provide advice to UK-flagged shipping in the region, and this is kept under regular review.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, If she will assess the (a) economic and (b) road safety impact of delaying the (i) implementation and (ii) construction of the A12 widening scheme.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It was announced in the Autumn Budget that Phase 2 of the Spending Review will conclude in late spring 2025. Until this time, it is not possible to assess the full impact of the extremely challenging financial inheritance this Government received on the A12 widening scheme and in turn its impact on (a) the economy and (b) road safety.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34245 on Transport: Infrastructure, if she will publish Capital Review Panel's (a) terms of reference, (b) the dates it has met and (c) its budget; whether members of the Panel receive (i) remuneration, (ii) expenses and (iii) other financial recompense; and if the Panel has considered the (A) A12 widening scheme; and (B) the A120 dualling scheme proposals.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Capital Review is an internal review, therefore the Panel’s terms of reference and proceedings are internal to the Department. Panel members are providing their time voluntarily and have not received any expenses or other financial recompense. The Panel has no allocated budget and the only costs incurred are through a small official secretariat.
The Capital Review’s primary aim is to provide the Secretary of State with strategic advice, not to provide advice on individual schemes.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 30 July 2024, HCWS49 on Transport Infrastructure, when she expects the internal review of her Department’s capital spend portfolio to complete its work; and if she will give details of the external expertise brought in.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The capital review is an internal review, and its primary aim is to provide the Secretary of State with strategic advice across the whole of the transport portfolio to help inform her decisions on projects as part of Phase 2 of the Spending Review, which it is currently doing.
The full list of panellists is available on the Department’s website: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/department-for-transport-capital-review-panel.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 30 July 2024, HCWS49 on Transport Infrastructure, if she will list each of the transport schemes subject to the review of her Department’s capital spend portfolio.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The capital review is an internal review, and its primary aim is to provide the Secretary of State with strategic advice across the whole of the transport portfolio to help inform her decisions on projects as part of Phase 2 of the Spending Review, which it is currently doing.
The full list of panellists is available on the Department’s website: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/department-for-transport-capital-review-panel.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2024 to Question 18360 on Transport: Infrastructure, if she will list the transport projects (a) approved and (b) yet to be approved included in the 150 major infrastructure projects.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The 150 major infrastructure projects are defined as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs), which are decided through the Development Consent Order (DCO) process. Government has not identified what all of the 150 projects will be, rather this represents what we expect to come through the system over this Parliament, as well as projects currently in the pipeline. Further details on existing NSIP projects can be found on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.
Since the start of the current Parliament in July the department has issued decisions on two transport projects: Immingham Roll on Roll off facility and Immingham Green Energy Terminal.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has for the (a) future and (b) timetable for nationalisation of the Greater Anglia rail franchise; for (i) future investment and (ii) plans for (A) ticket offices and (B) steps free access in Greater Anglia railway station redevelopment; and for (1) overall investment, (2) rail fares, (3) investment in rail infrastructure, and (4) investment in rolling stock in the Greater Anglia region; and what recent estimate she has made of passenger numbers in each Greater Anglia station in each year for the next ten years.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department announced in December that South-Western Railway’s services will be the first to transfer into public ownership in May 2025, followed by c2c’s services in July 2025 and Greater Anglia’s in the autumn. The Department will issue an expiry notice to Greater Anglia in due course to confirm the exact transfer date. Public ownership will mean all parts of the railway can pull together for the benefit of passengers, and bringing passenger services into public ownership is the first step in the Government’s wider programme of reform. Through future legislation, we will set out the role Great British Railways will have in fares, ticketing, and other operational aspects of the railway. Fares and ticketing will continue to be the responsibility of train operators until Great British Railways is established.
The Access for All programme has delivered step free access at more than 250 stations across Britain. Ministers are carefully considering the best approach to the Access for All programme, including as it relates to Greater Anglia stations. Greater Anglia has taken steps to improve station accessibility with its work on virtual trains and station tours, and a new accessible footbridge will be installed at Stowmarket during 2025. The business planning round for 2025/26 is currently underway and proposals regarding redevelopments and rail infrastructure will be reviewed with decisions made in due course.
Greater Anglia invested £1.4 billion in new trains for the Anglia region and these new trains are delivering a real change in customer experience.
There has not been a recent estimate of passenger numbers in each of Greater Anglia’s stations in each year for the next ten years.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on future investment in strategic highway infrastructure.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) for the Strategic Road Network will cover the five-year period from April 2026 to March 2031. We plan to publish RIS3 by the end of 2025. The draft RIS, including the funding envelope, will be published in late spring 2025. An Interim Settlement for National Highways will be in place from April 2025, covering the 2025-26, as announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 2024 Autumn Budget.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2024 to Question 16758 on A12: Essex, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of delays to the implementation of the A12 widening Scheme on (a) the economy, (b) road safety and (c) the projected cost to the public purse of the A12 widening scheme.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As set out in the Fixing the Foundations policy paper, this government has inherited £22bn worth of unfunded pressures from the previous government, including £2.9bn of unfunded transport commitments. There has not been a spending review since 2021.
It was announced in the Autumn Budget that Phase 2 of the Spending Review will conclude in late spring 2025. Until this time, it is not possible to assess the full impact of the financial inheritance on the A12 widening scheme and in turn its impact on (a) the economy, (b) road safety and (c) the projected cost to the public purse of the scheme.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Written Statement of 4 December 2024, HCWS281 on Railway Passenger Services, whether she plans to (a) improve (i) step-free access and (ii) rail infrastructure for Greater Anglia services and (b) redevelop stations on the Greater Anglia route.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Access for All programme has delivered step free access at more than 250 stations across Britain. Ministers are carefully considering the best approach to the Access for All programme. We are unable to comment on next steps regarding specific stations including on Greater Anglia services at the moment.
Greater Anglia have taken steps to improve station accessibility with their work on virtual trains and station tours and a new accessible footbridge will be installed at Stowmarket during 2025. The business planning round for 25/26 is currently underway and proposals regarding redevelopments and rail infrastructure will be reviewed with decisions made in due course.