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 7 September 2026, to Question 26687, on Roads: Repairs and Maintenance, if she will list each road scheme which has had its delivery contract (a) terminated, (b) postponed or (c) rescheduled since July 2024, by (a) her Department and (b) National Highways, including the date of the decision to move the delivery date.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Detailed contractual information relating to projects that remain under active consideration, development or review is commercially sensitive and disclosure could prejudice future commercial activity and value for money. The Department therefore does not disclose contract-level information for such schemes.
For schemes that have been formally cancelled and will not proceed, Table 1 lists delivery contracts formally terminated by National Highways following cancellation of the associated scheme since July 2024.
Table 1
Scheme |
A47 Wansford to Sutton Dualling |
A358 Taunton to Southfields |
A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down (Stonehenge Tunnel) |
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with Birmingham City Council on introducing blanket 20mph speed limits across the local authority area.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has held no discussions with Birmingham City Council on introducing blanket 20 mph speed limits across its area.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency issues on the (a) early termination of compulsory basic training instructor check rides, (b) consideration of new evidence following an unsuccessful appeal and (c) availability of independent review where an instructor's authority to provide training has been withdrawn.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) publishes guidance on the monitoring of Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) instructors and approved training bodies on GOV.UK, including how standards checks are conducted and the action that may be taken where standards are not met.
DVSA does not publish specific guidance on the early termination of standards checks due to risk or on the consideration of new evidence following an unsuccessful review.
Published guidance provides for instructors and approved training bodies to make representations and submit supporting evidence before a decision is made. Where an instructor's authority to provide training has been withdrawn, DVSA's complaints process is available and, once that process has been exhausted, complaints about DVSA's handling of the matter may be referred to the Independent Complaints Assessor and subsequently to the Public Services Ombudsman through a Member of Parliament.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she will publish updated estimates of the impact of the SAF Mandate on average air fares, including the potential costs of buyout payments arising from insufficient fuel supply in (a) 2027, (b) 2028 and (c) 2030.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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 potential impact of Zero Emission Vehicle mandate compliance costs on UK automotive manufacturing investment and employment.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate sets a clear direction for the UK’s automotive sector, providing the certainty industry needs to unlock jobs and secure investment. Data from the ZEV Mandate shows the average cost of trading ZEV allowances to meet compliance in the UK in 2024 was approximately £4,000 per traded ZEV allowance for cars. DfT analysis estimates the average additional cost of discounting for ZEVs was around £2,800 per vehicle in 2025. Both are substantially lower than the Mandate’s compliance payment levels. The Government will continue to engage with manufacturers om UK investment, including through our ongoing ZEV Mandate review consultation.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, further to the No10 press release entitled Free bus travel 24/7 for disabled people as Prime Minister takes further action to ease cost of living, of 17 August 2026, whether this is (a) additional DWP spending, (b) spending from unallocated budgets and (c) from reductions to other budgets.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
The £60 million funding for Free bus travel 24/7 for disabled people comes from existing Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Department for Transport (DfT) budgets. It is made up of a £40 million contribution from DWP, and a £20 million contribution from DfT. Budgets for 2027/28 will be agreed through DWPs internal allocations process, which will conclude ahead of the new financial year.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations his Department has received in the last 12 months on proposals to vary Vehicle Excise Duty according to vehicle width.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
In the last 12 months, HM Treasury has received a variety of representations on possible changes to VED, including changes to take greater account of the dimensions or weight of cars such as Sport Utility Vehicles.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will list which members of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee contributed to the Committee's submissions to her Department on floating bus stops dated (a) 24 October 2025 and (b) 2 December 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In line with data protection requirements, names or other personal data of the members of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee who contributed to submissions relating to the floating bus stop statutory guidance will not be released.
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 15270, on Speed Limits: Cameras, whether any revenue from motoring fines is retained by the department.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No revenue from motoring fines is retained by the Department for Transport.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2026 to Question 18159 on Employees' Contributions and paragraph 1.27 of the Office for Budget Responsibility's document entitled Supplementary forecast information release: Costing of charging NICs on salary-sacrificed pension, published on 5 February 2026, if he will publish the calculation and assumptions used by HMRC to estimate that the mean average additional employee National Insurance contributions liability will be £84 in the first year.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The £84 average additional employee National Insurance Contributions (NICs) liability in the first year of impact (2029–30) is equivalent to the pre-behavioural salary sacrifice employee NICs yield divided by the number of affected employees.