Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 March 2026, HCWS1466, which schemes in the Major Road Network and Large Local Majors programme have been withdrawn on the grounds that the relevant local authority could no longer afford its funding contribution; and which schemes have been (a) withdrawn and (b) removed for other reasons, specifying those reasons in each case.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Information on the MRN/LLM Programme can be found at: Major Road Network and Large Local Majors programme.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Civil Aviation Authority on necessary regulatory arrangements to enable the testing of the interoperability of maritime unmanned surface vehicles and airborne drones.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency are in the process of initiating discussions with the Civil Aviation Authority on the appropriate regulatory arrangements to enable the testing of the interoperability of unmanned surface craft and airborne drones.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assurances she has sought from NATS that qualified engineers are available on site at its operational centres at all times to respond to critical system failures.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

I recognise the significant disruption this outage caused for passengers, airlines, and airports. The Government is taking steps to ensure the right lessons are learnt. This includes asking the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to conduct an independent review into the incidents.

As part of the independent review into NATS’ performance following the incidents that occurred on 8 and 21 September this year, the CAA will complete a broader assessment of NATS' resilience, which will include the adequacy of the resilience requirements, governance and assurance arrangements applied to NATS existing critical operational systems and supporting infrastructure. The review will also complete a broader assessment of NATS’ capital investment and modernisation plans, as well as the effectiveness of the CAA's own regulatory oversight. An initial findings report is due to be completed by end of January 2027, with a final report submitted by the end of March 2027. As a significant shareholder of NATS, the Government expects appropriate accountability and will consider the findings of the ongoing investigation carefully.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many outstanding supported accommodation registration applications have been awaiting determination for (a) fewer than six months, (b) six to 12 months and (c) more than 12 months; and what the median and longest waiting times are.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

These are matters for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for South West Devon and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many supported accommodation registration applications are currently awaiting allocation to an Ofsted inspector, and how many are allocated but awaiting determination.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

These are matters for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for South West Devon and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will commission a review of options to provide airlines with financial redress for costs incurred as a result of NATS technical failures.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

I recognise the significant disruption this outage caused for passengers, airlines, and airports. The Government is taking steps to ensure the right lessons are learnt. This includes asking the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to conduct an independent review into the incidents.

As part of the independent review into NATS’ performance following the incidents that occurred on 8 and 21 September this year, the CAA will complete a broader assessment of NATS' resilience, which will include the adequacy of the resilience requirements, governance and assurance arrangements applied to NATS existing critical operational systems and supporting infrastructure. The review will also complete a broader assessment of NATS’ capital investment and modernisation plans, as well as the effectiveness of the CAA's own regulatory oversight. An initial findings report is due to be completed by end of January 2027, with a final report submitted by the end of March 2027. As a significant shareholder of NATS, the Government expects appropriate accountability and will consider the findings of the ongoing investigation carefully.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the difference in industrial energy costs between UK automotive manufacturers and their principal international competitors.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government recognises the impact that high energy costs are having on the automotive sector. Through the launch of the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) the Government is committed to helping eligible businesses, including many from the automotive sector, to reduce their electricity costs to bring them more into line with other European economies.

Applications for BICS are now open until the 30^th November 2026. If approved, a business will begin to receive exemptions from April 2027. They will also receive an additional payment in 2027 to cover costs approximately equivalent to an extra year’s benefit.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the difference in industrial energy costs between UK automotive manufacturers and their principal international competitors.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government recognises the impact that high energy costs are having on the automotive sector. Through the launch of the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) the Government is committed to helping eligible businesses, including many from the automotive sector, to reduce their electricity costs to bring them more into line with other European economies.

Applications for BICS are now open until the 30^th November 2026. If approved, a business will begin to receive exemptions from April 2027. They will also receive an additional payment in 2027 to cover costs approximately equivalent to an extra year’s benefit.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what interim measures and additional funding are available to local authorities when suitable supported accommodation cannot be secured; and how many young people are being supported through each measure.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

​​Local authorities are responsible for ensuring they have sufficiency in their area. The government is providing £560 million to refurbish and expand children’s home placements. To enable the supported accommodation reforms, £123 million was provided to local authorities between 2023 and 2025. This has been incorporated into the Revenue Support Grant for 2026/27 to support local authorities in meeting their statutory duties, which includes supported accommodation.

​No specific funding is given to local authorities where Supported Accommodation cannot be secured. As of 31 March 2026, there were 370 ongoing applications from supported accommodation providers, down from 616 in 2025. While registered providers have capacity for a total of 24,700 places, only 7,520 looked after children live in supported accommodation.

​The department does not hold information regarding the number of placements ready to be offered by providers who are awaiting registration. While Ofsted has introduced a prioritisation policy for new children's home applications, no such policy currently applies to supported accommodation, although this remains under review.

​Programme funding from the department has enabled Ofsted to continue its registration and inspection activities to support compliance with regulatory requirements. It can take several months for Ofsted to process and come to a decision on an application, with timescales sometimes affected by factors outside of Ofsted’s control, such as incomplete applications. ​

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of supported accommodation places that are ready to open but unavailable because the provider’s Ofsted registration remains undetermined.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

​​Local authorities are responsible for ensuring they have sufficiency in their area. The government is providing £560 million to refurbish and expand children’s home placements. To enable the supported accommodation reforms, £123 million was provided to local authorities between 2023 and 2025. This has been incorporated into the Revenue Support Grant for 2026/27 to support local authorities in meeting their statutory duties, which includes supported accommodation.

​No specific funding is given to local authorities where Supported Accommodation cannot be secured. As of 31 March 2026, there were 370 ongoing applications from supported accommodation providers, down from 616 in 2025. While registered providers have capacity for a total of 24,700 places, only 7,520 looked after children live in supported accommodation.

​The department does not hold information regarding the number of placements ready to be offered by providers who are awaiting registration. While Ofsted has introduced a prioritisation policy for new children's home applications, no such policy currently applies to supported accommodation, although this remains under review.

​Programme funding from the department has enabled Ofsted to continue its registration and inspection activities to support compliance with regulatory requirements. It can take several months for Ofsted to process and come to a decision on an application, with timescales sometimes affected by factors outside of Ofsted’s control, such as incomplete applications. ​

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether additional staffing and resources have been provided to Ofsted to process supported accommodation applications; and by what date the backlog will be cleared.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

​​Local authorities are responsible for ensuring they have sufficiency in their area. The government is providing £560 million to refurbish and expand children’s home placements. To enable the supported accommodation reforms, £123 million was provided to local authorities between 2023 and 2025. This has been incorporated into the Revenue Support Grant for 2026/27 to support local authorities in meeting their statutory duties, which includes supported accommodation.

​No specific funding is given to local authorities where Supported Accommodation cannot be secured. As of 31 March 2026, there were 370 ongoing applications from supported accommodation providers, down from 616 in 2025. While registered providers have capacity for a total of 24,700 places, only 7,520 looked after children live in supported accommodation.

​The department does not hold information regarding the number of placements ready to be offered by providers who are awaiting registration. While Ofsted has introduced a prioritisation policy for new children's home applications, no such policy currently applies to supported accommodation, although this remains under review.

​Programme funding from the department has enabled Ofsted to continue its registration and inspection activities to support compliance with regulatory requirements. It can take several months for Ofsted to process and come to a decision on an application, with timescales sometimes affected by factors outside of Ofsted’s control, such as incomplete applications. ​

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish the number of 16 and 17-year-old looked-after children and care leavers (a) awaiting suitable supported accommodation, (b) in temporary accommodation while waiting for supported accommodation, (c) placed outside their home authority because no suitable local placement was available and (d) living in accommodation assessed as unsuitable for each local authority.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The available information relates to 17 and 18-year-old care leavers and whether their accommodation is deemed suitable or unsuitable by local authority. This is published in the annual statistical release which can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2025.

The latest information relating to the reporting year ending 31 March 2025 can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/a794424e-8e83-46a0-4c69-08df251b5373.

The department does not hold information centrally on the number of looked after children and care leavers (a) awaiting suitable supported accommodation, (b) in temporary accommodation whilst waiting for supported accommodation or (c) placed outside their home authority because no suitable local placements were available.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish the number of (a) outstanding applications proposing premises for supported accommodation, (b) existing accommodation places available for supported accommodation and (c) applications for supported accommodation outstanding for more than 12 months for each local authority with children’s social care responsibilities.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

These are matters for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for South West Devon and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of NATS funding for operational resilience relative to dividend distributions in each of the last five financial years.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

NATS is a private company, run by its own board. The Transport Secretary appoints three non-executive directors to NATS’ board to look after the Government's stake but does not run the company on a day-to-day basis.

NATS is required to submit plans relating to its investments in its systems and critical infrastructure upgrades to the CAA on a regular basis. This allows the regulator the opportunity to scrutinise these, and to ensure that safety and the efficiency of NATS operation is always prioritised. However, decisions made in relation to dividends for shareholders are a matter for NATS Board.

As part of the independent review into NATS’ performance following the incidents that occurred on 8 and 21 September this year, the CAA will complete a broader assessment of NATS' resilience, capital investment and modernisation plans, as well as the effectiveness of the CAA's own regulatory oversight. An initial findings report is due to be completed by end of January 2027, with a final report submitted by the end of March 2027.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the time taken to publish the Circular Economy Growth Plan on objectives to increase economic growth and support resilient supply chains.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is committed to delivering a more circular and resilient economy for good growth in every postcode. We have commissioned further analysis to understand the relationship between the circular economy, growth and resilience, and we will outline our next steps on the circular economy shortly.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much each train operating company has paid in Delay Repay compensation in each financial year since 2023–24 and in the current financial year to date; and how much of each total relates to the period since that operator entered public ownership.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Information on compensation paid by individual train operating companies is published by the Department, and is available here: Rail passenger compensation paid by train operating companies - GOV.UK

The latest published data provides figures by train operating company up to and including the 2024-25 financial year. The Department will continue to publish compensation data as it becomes available.

In addition, information on the Government’s public ownership programme, including the dates on which train operators have transferred into public ownership, is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/great-british-railways

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it remains Government policy to support the construction of a third runway at Heathrow Airport, subject to the relevant planning and environmental requirements.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Government delivered its commitment to consult on the draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement (HENPS) by the summer. The draft HENPS provides an updated policy framework against which any future proposal for Heathrow expansion would be assessed, including requirements relating to climate change, noise, air quality, surface access and community impacts.

The consultation on the draft HENPS closed on 1 September. We are carefully considering the responses, alongside the Transport Select Committee’s scrutiny of the draft HENPS, before setting out the Government’s response and next steps.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential contribution of a third runway at Heathrow Airport to economic growth (a) in London, (b) outside London and (c) across the United Kingdom.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As part of the consultation on the draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement (HENPS) the Department conducted analysis to look at the potential impact of Heathrow expansion on the economy. This analysis can be found in the Heathrow Expansion Appraisal Report (HEAR) located here: Draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement appraisal report - GOV.UK. The HEAR is supported by further economic impact modelling located here: Heathrow expansion economic impact modelling - GOV.UK. This analysis found that the scheme could add up to 0.05% to UK GDP in 2056, with up to 40% of these benefits accruing to regions outside of London and the South East.