Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many primary schools she estimates will receive less funding for PE and school sport under the Sport Partnerships Network than they would have received through the Primary PE and Sport Premium.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay to the answer of 21 August to Question 11571.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2026 to Question 15858 on Network Rail: Biodiversity, which sites or projects do the standard licenses for (a) badgers, (b) bats, (c) great crested wewts, (d) hazel dormice and (e) roman snails relate to.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As protected species can be vulnerable to disturbance, persecution or collection Network Rail does not publicly publish a project or site list of where its protected species licences apply.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2026 to Question 16088 on Department for Transport: India, what the (a) destination and (b) cost to the public purse was of each of the 12 additional journeys approved from the Department's overseas posting in New Delhi under the qualifying hardship post policy since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport follows the hardship policy set by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, including the entitlement to additional journeys. Since 4 July 2024, 12 additional journeys have been approved from the Department's overseas posting in New Delhi under this policy. The cost to the public purse is limited to flights only.
The destinations and costs were:
Destination | Number of journeys | Total Cost (£) |
Tokyo, Japan | 2 | £3575.00 |
Mumbai, India | 2 | £217.70 |
Singapore | 2 | £897.70 |
Da Nang/Hanoi, Vietnam | 2 | £1997.30 |
Kathmandu, Nepal | 2 | £332.10 |
Dehradun, India | 2 | £250.90 |
The total cost of all additional journeys was £7,270.70.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to WPQ 17035, on what date will the Masterplan for Euston be published.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Answer of 16 July 2026 to Written question 16520.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2026 to Question 14939 on Large Goods Vehicles: Electric Vehicles, what use cases her Department considered when assessing the purchase price differential between diesel heavy goods vehicles and equivalent zero-emission heavy goods vehicles.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The assessment of purchase price differential was made by comparing zero-emission HGVs with diesel equivalents across the main heavy goods vehicle weight categories eligible for the Zero Emission Truck Grant, including rigid trucks from above 4.25 tonnes to 12 tonnes, above 12 tonnes to 18 tonnes, above 18 tonnes to 26 tonnes, and both rigid and articulated trucks above 26 tonnes.
Operational assumptions such as average annual mileage are relevant to total cost of ownership analysis, rather than to the upfront purchase price differential itself.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to WPQ 17032, at what level are the charges expected to be set for the Lower Thames Crossing.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The level of charges has not yet been set and is subject to ongoing analysis and development of the project. Under the Regulated Asset Base model, which is the government’s preferred funding structure for Lower Thames Crossing, the charge levels will be set to cover the economic and efficient costs of service provision, including a fair return on investment for the private sector, with a regulator in place to protect user interests.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of Heathrow Airport's current economic regulatory framework to provide incentives for investment in infrastructure resilience.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Civil Aviation Authority is the independent economic regulator of Heathrow Airport and is responsible for establishing the regulatory framework within which Heathrow operates. The framework is intended to provide incentives for efficient investment, including investment that supports the resilience of airport infrastructure, while protecting the interests of consumers. The Government continues to engage with the CAA on aviation resilience whilst respecting its operational and regulatory independence.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2026 to Question 12229 on Railways: Infrastructure, what the total number is of rail infrastructure projects in England with an anticipated capital cost of less than £50 million that are currently delivering on site; and what proportion of those projects are forecasting completion after their original baseline completion date.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Of the rail infrastructure projects in England currently delivering on site with an anticipated capital cost of less than £50 million, 144 projects are forecasting completion after their original baseline completion date, out of a total of approximately 500 projects.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2026 to Question 4161 on Government departments: marketing, how much has been spent on branded goods and merchandise by the Department since the Government Chief Commercial Officer letter was sent; on what items, and at what cost.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Spend data for this category of cost is not held and the requested data could only be collated and verified at disproportionate cost. Senior managers are aware of the revised guidance and their responsibilities relating to branded goods and merchandise. The Department has implemented processes to ensure compliance and continues to review and adapt these as needed.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 6 July 2026 to Question 16056 on Government Communication Service: Staff, how many headcount staff in her Department are (a) members of the Government Communication Service and (b) are embedded communicators but are not counted as members of the Government Communication Service.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
For the 2026 Government Communication Service annual data collection return, the central Department for Transport reported 80.83 full-time equivalent staff headcount who are members of the Government Communication Service.
All embedded communicators are members of the Government Communication Service.