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.

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.

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.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) people and (b) businesses have positive tax balances with HMRC due to overpayments of tax broken down by tax type; what the total value of those balances are; and (i) how many accounts and (ii) the total balances in those accounts will be held over into future tax years.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) does not hold readily available summary information on taxpayers with positive tax balances.

Several regimes require taxpayers to make payments on account or settle tax liabilities ahead of filing returns, and subsequent to filing returns, claims for reliefs or notification of a change in circumstances may further impact amounts repayable to taxpayers.

For these reasons the time taken to extract information on positive balances from the various databases and to produce and quality assure the data to answer the questions would be disproportionate on cost grounds.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Mauritian counterpart on maintaining the British Indian Ocean Territory Marine Protected Area; and what representations he has received from his Mauritian counterpart on fishing (a) activities and (b) rights in the territorial waters of the British Indian Ocean Territory (i) now, (ii) in the future and (iii) in the proposed UK-Mauritius Treaty.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK and Mauritius are committed to cooperating on combatting environmental threats such as illegal fishing, with a shared objective of protecting of the world's most important marine environments. This will include the establishment of a new Mauritian Marine Protected Area after entry into force of the Agreement.

Before the signature and ratification of the Agreement, we have no plans to change the British Indian Ocean Territory marine protected area which is fully compatible with United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea obligations.

The British Indian Ocean Territory Administration operates a system of permits to control access to and activities within the Marine Protected Area. We also work closely with the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission to limit illegal fishing.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he last had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the (a) financial implications and (b) costs of the proposed UK-Mauritius Treaty.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign Secretary continues to hold regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues, including the Chancellor, on issues related to a treaty with Mauritius on the British Indian Ocean Territory and the base on Diego Garcia. The UK Government remains committed to reaching an agreement with Mauritius which is in the best interests of both parties.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which ministers across Government have (a) been consulted and (b) taken part in negotiations on the UK-Mauritius Treaty.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign Secretary continues to hold regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues on issues related to a treaty with Mauritius on the British Indian Ocean Territory and the base on Diego Garcia. The UK Government remains committed to reaching an agreement with Mauritius which is in the best interests of both parties.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Official Development Assistance will be used to fund the (a) trust fund for Chagossians and (b) economic partnership with Mauritius in the proposed UK-Mauritius Treaty.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The treaty with Mauritius will include an economic partnership with Mauritius, of which one component will be the Trust Fund for Mauritius to use in support of Chagossians. Details of the Trust Fund will be published as part of the implementation of the Agreement after signature.

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.

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.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2025 to Question 28492 on the British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, whether he shared the (a) initial proposed Treaty and (b) revised Treaty following counter proposals received by the Mauritian government with the new US administration.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We shared the proposed treaty with the new US Administration upon them taking office.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, on what date he took the decision to formally invite the new US Administration to review the proposed treaty between the UK and Mauritius on the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We shared the proposed treaty with the new US Administration upon them taking office.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories on 5 February 2025, Official Report, col 760, on the future use of the electromagnetic spectrum, what discussions he has had with the International Telecommunications Union on this matter; and by what process the ITU could change the UK’s access.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The government does not routinely disclose private discussions with any organisation, nor disclose legal advice it may have received. International organisations, including UN Specialised Agencies such as the International Telecommunication Union, would be required to apply a binding judgment that the UK was not sovereign over the British Indian Ocean Territory. This would have real-world impacts on the protection and security of the base including our ability to operate the electromagnetic spectrum undisturbed.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether changes have been made to the mechanisms by which the proposed lease of the military base on Diego Garcia can be extended in the proposed UK-Mauritius Treaty since 3 October 2024.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Treaty will last for an initial 99 years and may be extended for a further 40 years (and beyond) by agreement between the UK and Mauritius. The UK will also have the right to first refusal on the use of Diego Garcia which, if exercised, would prevent the use of the base by any other party.

Found: police, empowering front-line officers and bringing swifter justice for retailers.143 However, Priti Patel

Found: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Cost Effectiveness 20 Dec 2024 | 18362 Asked by: Priti Patel

Found: police, empowering front-line officers and bringing swifter justice for retailers.143 However, Priti Patel