Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department provides (a) funding and (b) any other support for increasing (i) grid capacity and (ii) enabling electrification at Portsmouth International Port.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy, published in March 2025, sets out domestic goals and commitments to decarbonise maritime transport, and a call for evidence on Net Zero Ports was launched to assess future energy demand at ports such as Southampton and Portsmouth International.

While the Government does not directly fund increases in electricity network capacity, we support Ofgem in their work to incentivise electricity network companies to invest strategically, ensuring plans reflect emerging demands from electrifying sectors. Through the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions, Portsmouth International Port received nearly £20m of R&D funding to support a shore power trial.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 106337, what estimate her Department has made of the number of public electric vehicle chargepoints required to meet the 2030 target that will be delivered by the private sector.

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

The Department has not made an estimate of how many electric vehicle chargepoints will be delivered by the private sector. Many chargepoints are delivered through a combination of public and private sector funding. This includes the estimated 100,000 chargepoints expected to be delivered under the Government’s £400 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Scheme, which is leveraging significant private sector investment alongside public funding.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 106335, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of public electric vehicle chargepoints that have been installed but are not operational due to electricity grid connection issues.

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

The Department for Transport does not have such an estimate.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2026 to Question 101827, if she will publish the estimates of future passenger demand being used to inform strategic planning across the Essex Thameside area, including an assessment of the potential impact of proposed housing growth in Basildon Borough on c2c and Greater Anglia rail services.

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

Network Rail is responsible for developing estimates of passenger and freight future demand, working closely and collaboratively with train operating companies, local authorities, freight operators and other relevant stakeholders.

The Eastern region planning documents, including the Essex Thameside Strategic Advice, are made available on Network Rail’s website -https://www.networkrail.co.uk/our-work/long-term-planning/

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to pages 30 and 31 of the Government's report entitled Motor Insurance Taskforce: final report, published on 10 December 2025, whether the Department has concluded its consideration of penalties for the offence of driving a vehicle without motor insurance; and whether she has plans to increase the fixed penalty fine for this offence.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Government does not intend to commission a specific review into the motorcycle insurance market, as motor insurers are responsible for setting the terms and conditions of the policies that they offer. It is for them to decide the level of risk that they take in issuing any policy to a given applicant. Motor insurers use a wide range of criteria to assess the potential risk a driver or rider poses including the age of the applicant, the type of vehicle being insured, the postal area where the applicant lives and their driving or riding experience. The setting of premiums is a commercial decision for individual insurers based on their underwriting experience. The government does not seek to control the motor insurance market.

The Motor Insurance Taskforce focused on identifying actions that address the factors that contribute to the cost of claims and consequently, the cost of insurance premiums paid by drivers. Given the number of factors involved in pricing motor insurance, the government has not sought to estimate figures for individual consumer savings. However, the government is confident that the taskforce’s collective actions will help to reduce claims costs and, by extension, premiums.

The Government’s Road Safety Strategy was published on 7 January. Alongside the strategy, five consultations have been launched, one of which proposes reforms to motoring offences, including introducing tougher penalties for driving without insurance: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-penalties-for-motoring-offences

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will commission a specific inquiry into the motorcycle insurance market to examine underwriter withdrawals, geographic exclusions and pricing anomalies.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Government does not intend to commission a specific review into the motorcycle insurance market, as motor insurers are responsible for setting the terms and conditions of the policies that they offer. It is for them to decide the level of risk that they take in issuing any policy to a given applicant. Motor insurers use a wide range of criteria to assess the potential risk a driver or rider poses including the age of the applicant, the type of vehicle being insured, the postal area where the applicant lives and their driving or riding experience. The setting of premiums is a commercial decision for individual insurers based on their underwriting experience. The government does not seek to control the motor insurance market.

The Motor Insurance Taskforce focused on identifying actions that address the factors that contribute to the cost of claims and consequently, the cost of insurance premiums paid by drivers. Given the number of factors involved in pricing motor insurance, the government has not sought to estimate figures for individual consumer savings. However, the government is confident that the taskforce’s collective actions will help to reduce claims costs and, by extension, premiums.

The Government’s Road Safety Strategy was published on 7 January. Alongside the strategy, five consultations have been launched, one of which proposes reforms to motoring offences, including introducing tougher penalties for driving without insurance: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-penalties-for-motoring-offences

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has measurable targets for helping to reduce average motor insurance premiums.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Government does not intend to commission a specific review into the motorcycle insurance market, as motor insurers are responsible for setting the terms and conditions of the policies that they offer. It is for them to decide the level of risk that they take in issuing any policy to a given applicant. Motor insurers use a wide range of criteria to assess the potential risk a driver or rider poses including the age of the applicant, the type of vehicle being insured, the postal area where the applicant lives and their driving or riding experience. The setting of premiums is a commercial decision for individual insurers based on their underwriting experience. The government does not seek to control the motor insurance market.

The Motor Insurance Taskforce focused on identifying actions that address the factors that contribute to the cost of claims and consequently, the cost of insurance premiums paid by drivers. Given the number of factors involved in pricing motor insurance, the government has not sought to estimate figures for individual consumer savings. However, the government is confident that the taskforce’s collective actions will help to reduce claims costs and, by extension, premiums.

The Government’s Road Safety Strategy was published on 7 January. Alongside the strategy, five consultations have been launched, one of which proposes reforms to motoring offences, including introducing tougher penalties for driving without insurance: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-penalties-for-motoring-offences

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department provides (a) funding and (b) any other support for increasing (i) grid capacity and (ii) enabling electrification at the Port of Southampton.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy, published in March 2025, sets out domestic goals and commitments to decarbonise maritime transport, and a call for evidence on Net Zero Ports was launched to assess future energy demand at ports such as Southampton and Portsmouth International.

While the Government does not directly fund increases in electricity network capacity, we support Ofgem in their work to incentivise electricity network companies to invest strategically, ensuring plans reflect emerging demands from electrifying sectors. Through the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions, Portsmouth International Port received nearly £20m of R&D funding to support a shore power trial.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many full-time equivalent driving examiners recruited by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency were (a) in post and (b) delivering practical car driving tests in January 2026.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The national average waiting time for a practical car driving test in January 2026 was 21.2 weeks.

Data for January 2026 on the number of full-time equivalent driving examiners recruited by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), that are in post and delivering practical car driving tests, will not be available until later in February.

As of 30 December 2025, there were 1,618 full-time equivalent (FTE) driving examiners (DE) in post. Of those, 1,542 FTE were available to deliver practical car driving tests.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time for a practical car driving test was in January 2026.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The national average waiting time for a practical car driving test in January 2026 was 21.2 weeks.

Data for January 2026 on the number of full-time equivalent driving examiners recruited by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), that are in post and delivering practical car driving tests, will not be available until later in February.

As of 30 December 2025, there were 1,618 full-time equivalent (FTE) driving examiners (DE) in post. Of those, 1,542 FTE were available to deliver practical car driving tests.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government Property Agency’s total expenditure was in 2024–25 on measuring, collecting, reporting or validating greenhouse gas emissions across the Government estate; and what the Agency’s projected annual expenditure is for each of the next five financial years on those activities.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

This information is not available. GPA do not manage the greenhouse gas emissions data across all of the government estate.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the cost to UK Export Finance was in 2024–25 of expanding its climate stress testing models and scenarios using Network for Greening the Financial System scenarios; what the estimated cost of this work was to the public purse; and whether an estimate has been made of the resulting compliance or financing costs on UK exporters and suppliers.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The work to update UKEF’s climate stress testing models in 2024-25 is in line with industry good practice on financial risk management and uses tools at no extra cost. This work is part of our ongoing responsibilities to meet government risk management requirements and was carried out by UKEF staff within existing resources. As this is an internal risk management exercise, it does not create compliance obligations or financing costs for UK exporters or suppliers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many practical car driving tests were conducted in (a) July 2024 and (b) each subsequent month up to the most recent month for which data is available.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) publishes data on the number of practical driving tests conducted on GOV.UK.

The number of practical driving tests conducted by month, including from July 2024, is available on report DRT121G This data is updated monthly and currently shows data to January 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has conducted a comparative assessment of Air Passenger Duty rates in the UK with aviation passenger taxes and equivalent charges in other European countries; and whether such analysis is used to inform decisions on Air Passenger Duty policy.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Air Passenger Duty (APD) applies to airlines, not individual passengers, and is the principal tax on the aviation sector. It is expected to raise £4.7 billion in 2025-26.

The Government is clear that APD is an appropriate tax that ensures airlines make a fair contribution to the public finances, particularly given that tickets are VAT free and aviation fuel incurs no duty. Other countries also have different forms of aviation taxes.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2026 to Question 108798 what the British Business Bank’s total programme expenditure, staffing costs, and consultancy and professional services costs were in 2024–25, broken down by programme or business line.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The British Business Bank’s total staffing costs in 2024-25 were £71.591 million. In the same year, the BBB incurred total expenditure of £26.456 million on professional fees. These comprise fees relating to investment scheme design and transactions and other operational professional services.

A breakdown by business line is provided below, taken from the British Business Bank’s annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2026 to Question 107769, what estimate he has made to the Insolvency Service of compliance with Net Zero, sustainability and climate-related disclosure requirements.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

I have made no such assessment, however the Insolvency Service’s total emissions have been reported in the Agency’s Annual Report and Accounts since 2012/13. Progress on wider sustainability requirements is reported quarterly to the Department for Business and Trade through the Agency’s Greening Government Commitment (GGC) returns. The Agency adheres to the Greening Government Commitments and the Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) guidance.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the cost to UK Export Finance was of mitigating operational emissions arising from (a) its office footprint and b) business travel in 2024-25.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

UKEF’s office footprint is managed by the Government Property Agency, which is responsible for the provision of all energy and utility services. UKEF mitigates operational emissions arising from business travel through policies to reduce the cost of business travel; these measures do not place additional costs on UKEF.

Full details regarding expenditure on UKEF’s office footprint and business travel for 2024-25 can be found in the UK Export Finance Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, pursuant to the Answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 48266 on Equality, whether the proposed socio-economic duty will apply to the Law Officers.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The public sector duty regarding socio-economic inequalities will apply to the public authorities listed in section 1(3) of the Equality Act 2010. That list includes a Minister of the Crown. The duty will therefore apply to the Law Officers as Ministers of the Crown.

The duty is not yet in force in England. Once in force, the duty will require public authorities, when making decisions of a strategic nature about how to exercise their functions, to have due regard to the desirability of exercising them in a way that is designed to reduce the inequalities of outcome which result from socio-economic disadvantage.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 104865, whether her Department plans to improve the frequency and granularity of bus passenger journey data collection, including collection by calendar month.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport publishes bus passenger data at a range of frequencies and levels of detail.

Annual local bus passenger journey statistics are published on a financial year basis, with the latest release covering April 2024 to March 2025: https://www.gov.uk/government/statisticaldata-sets/bus-statistics-data-tables#local-bus-passenger-journeys-bus01.

In addition to the annual statistics, the Department publishes more frequent information on bus use through two separate statistical releases.

The Department publishes daily bus passenger data for Great Britain outside London and London as part of the daily domestic transport use by mode publication, which is updated monthly: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/transport-use-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic.

The Department also published daily local bus passenger and trip data by Local Transport Authority as Official Statistics in Development last year: https://www.gov.uk/government/statisticaldata-sets/bus-statistics-data-tables#local-bus-passenger-journeys-bus01. These are undergoing further development and testing with users, in line with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Current data limitations include no data held for London and incomplete coverage for England outside London.

For this latter release, the Department plans to continue developing the data source, publish an updated set in due course and move towards more regular updates in future. Decisions on the precise timing, frequency and level of detail, including the potential production of statistics monthly, will be informed by ongoing work to improve data quality, coverage and user value.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the additional cost to the public purse of the Royal Air Force transitioning to 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel by 2040; and whether his Department has undertaken any assessment of the long-term fiscal implications of sustainable or synthetic aviation fuel prices for Defence aviation.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Royal Air Force (RAF) procures its aviation fuel in the UK from commercial suppliers at market rates. As a result, this makes accurate long-term cost forecasting challenging. The price of aviation fuel, including Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), is subject to market fluctuations, and the level of RAF fuel consumption varies due to numerous factors.

The RAF has not committed to transitioning to 100% SAF by 2040. The RAF will follow the incremental transition to sustainable aviation fuel as set out in the UK Government's SAF mandate, which requires aviation fuel to contain 22% SAF by 2040. This date aligns with the RAF's aim to become a net-zero air force.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 4.3.2 of the draft National Policy Statement for Ports, what guidance will be available to decision-makers to support their interpretation of the terms compensation for as a last resort; and what guidance will be provided on the scale and proportionality of any compensation required.

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

The Government provides guidance on Habitats Regulations Assessments, including compensatory measures, from time to time. We are considering the Transport Committee’s report and responses to the consultation and will shortly lay a final text of the NPSP alongside a response to the Committee.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department issues to Natural England on the circumstances in which staff may not attempt to fight wildfires on land they manage.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Decisions on when and how Natural England (NE) staff respond to wildfire on land they manage are made by NE, and are dependent on the size of the fire, the training and equipment staff on site can access, and advice from the local Fire and Rescue Service. Defra has not issued any direct guidelines to NE on this subject but operational staff working on NE’S reserves at high risk of wildfire undertake Lantra-certified wildfire management training that Defra commissioned the Forestry Commission to develop.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to publish the final National Policy Statement for Ports..

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

The final text of the revised National Policy Statement for Ports will be laid in Parliament in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government’s view, as set out in paragraph 4.5.10 of the draft National Policy Statement for Ports dated 4 June 2025, that there is no national resilience case for requiring climate resilience standards beyond those needed for commercial viability, will be applied consistently by decision-makers when considering development consent for port infrastructure.

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

Section 104(3) Planning Act 2008 requires the Secretary of State to decide an application in accordance with any relevant national policy statement, except to the extent that one or more of subsections (4) to (8) applies.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2026 to Question 105289, how many meetings of the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce have taken place since July 2024; on what dates those meetings occurred; and who was present.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The first meeting of the reconvened Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce was held on 30 January 2025, and a further meeting of the Taskforce will be convened in the near future to discuss next steps. Attendees at the 30^th January meeting included representatives from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, the Greater London Authority, Transport for London, the Department for Transport, the Port of London Authority, the London Borough of Wandsworth, Historic England and the Environment Agency, as well as local Members of Parliament attending as observers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104872, when her Department expects to conclude its assessment of Transport for London’s proposal for Great Northern inner services.

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

The Department is continuing to review the proposal and is working with Transport for London to assess its benefits and wider implications, including the financial and operational impacts. No timeline for a decision has yet been set, but this work is continuing. This assessment will not affect preparations to bring Govia Thameslink Railway services into public ownership on 31 May 2026.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to page 19 of the Final stage impact assessment entitled UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Scope Expansion - Domestic maritime, published on 25 November 2025, for what reason no quantified analysis was undertaken on the regional and equalities impacts.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Impact Assessment did not include quantified regional or equalities analysis because the available evidence did not support robust estimations of impacts at that level of granularity.

The Assessment finds that compliance costs are modest relative to operators’ overall costs and, as a result, a qualitative assessment found that regional or distributional impacts are expected to be limited.

The Government will review the maritime element of the United Kingdom Emissions Trading Scheme in 2028 with further consideration of regional or distributional impacts.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what schemes and programmes her Department has in place to help support zero-emission in (a) shipping and (b) aviation.

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

The Government recognises the potential decarbonisation and growth benefits that new forms of zero-emission maritime vessels and aircraft could provide.

The Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy, published in March 2025, sets out our policies and commitments to decarbonise the sector. We are already meeting these commitments through the expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to domestic maritime from July 2026, and we will consult on maritime fuel regulations later this year.

We have announced a further £448 million of funding of the UK SHORE programme, the biggest government investment ever in the UK’s commercial maritime sector, which will unlock innovation and investment potential in UK technologies, ports and shipyards.

We will continue to work closely with maritime industry partners to help the sector unlock the investment it needs to transition to zero, and near-zero, emission fuels and technologies.

We have already made significant progress on aviation decarbonisation, with considerable support for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), airspace modernisation and development of new technologies.

Alongside other measures, zero emission flight has a role to play in decarbonising the sector. In January, we announced up to £43m of R&D funding for aviation decarbonisation, including confirming our continued support of the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) Hydrogen in Aviation Regulatory Challenge. This is informing the development of a regulatory framework for zero-emission hydrogen aircraft. Also, the Department for Transport (DfT) will publish shortly a report into the barriers and opportunities to commercialising hydrogen in aviation, completed by a Jet Zero Taskforce Task and Finish Group.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104866, what is the expected month and year of publication of the new Plan for Freight.

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

The Government intends to publish the plan in spring this year.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2026 to Question 101488, what information her Department holds on revenue lost due to fare evasion by individual train operating companies.

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

Deliberate fare evasion reduces revenue needed to support the railway and disadvantages passengers who pay the correct fare. The Department does not hold data on revenue lost to fare evasion at the level of individual train operating companies. Industry estimates from the Rail Delivery Group indicate that fraud and ticketless travel result in at least £350–£400 million in lost revenue annually.

In June 2025, the Office for Rail and Road published its independent review of revenue protection practices. The Department has accepted the review’s recommendations in full and will publish its formal response shortly.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 Janaury 2026 to Question 104987, what forms of legislative modification a Harbour Revision Order is capable of making.

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

Harbour Revision Orders can amend, repeal, or consolidate existing harbour legislation.

These take the form of works orders or non-works orders. Works orders authorise a project, starting works or other installations or schemes. Non-works orders typically alter harbour boundaries, modernise governance arrangements, borrowing powers, or management structures to improve efficiency.

Any changes that are proposed must be consulted on and then must be considered and approved by the Marine Management Organisation, which is the body in that oversees this process in England.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has included the foregone Dartford Crossing toll revenues in the Lower Thames Crossing project’s cost–benefit analysis.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

In line with departmental guidance, cost-benefit analysis for the Lower Thames Crossing is ongoing and incorporates potential impacts at the Dartford Crossing. These include the loss of toll revenue and the transfer of operations, maintenance and renewal costs to a new regulated private sector entity under the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the costs to port developers of the requirement in paragraph 4.7.23 of the draft National Policy Statement for Ports to provide infrastructure to support alternative fuels and zero-emission HGVs.

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

The costs of providing appropriate infrastructure will be determined on a case-by-case basis as applications progress. The final text of the National Policy Statement for Ports will be published in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2026 to Question 100958, whether her Department (a) receives or (b) reviews data on the proportion of rail journeys using fully digital tickets for each train operating company owned or operated by DfT Operator Limited.

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

The Department does not receive or review data for journeys using digital ticketing for train operating companies owned or operated by DfT Operator Limited. The Department does have data for all industry digital ticketing but not broken down by journeys on specific train operating companies or owning groups.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential costs to port developers of setting target modal shares for rail or coastal shipping, as referenced in the draft National Policy Statement for Ports; and what further assessment she has made of how such targets would be designed to ensure that developers are not required to fund measures beyond those that are cost-effective and directly attributable to the development.

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

The costs of requirements and obligations for rail and/or coastal shipping can only be determined in the specific circumstances of individual applications for development consent. The draft National Policy Statement for Ports makes clear that such requirements should be directly related to the prospective impacts of the developments, and that while target modal shares may sometimes be appropriate, they are not automatically mandatory. The final text of the National Policy Statement for Ports will be published in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Department has made of the potential impact of higher electric vehicle repair costs on insurance premiums, and by when it expects its proposed battery health measures to reduce those costs for consumers.

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

The Government works closely with the insurance sector to ensure the transition to zero emission vehicles is sustainable and affordable. The setting of premiums is a commercial decision for individual insurers and the Government does not seek to control the market.

The Government is exploring options to adopt battery health regulations which would provide consumers with clearer information on an electric vehicle’s remaining battery capacity. These measures would aim to raise consumer confidence in second-hand electric vehicle purchases.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how her Department assesses how effectively local highway authorities are spending pothole funding.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department assesses how effectively local highway authorities are spending highways maintenance funding through a combination of transparency requirements, incentive funding and rating mechanisms, enabling the provision of targeted support. The Department published a new traffic light rating system for local highway authorities on 11 January. Under this system, all local highway authorities in England received a red, amber or green rating based on the condition of their roads, how much they spend to maintain their roads, and whether they do so using best practice. These ratings are designed to promote good asset management and encourage a preventative approach to highways maintenance.

For the 2025/26 financial year, 25% of the £500 million funding increase was contingent upon local highway authorities demonstrating how they were complying with certain criteria aimed at driving best practice and improvement of highways maintenance. This included publishing transparency reports setting out how they are spending their highways maintenance funding and how they are complying with best practice, including preventative maintenance.

Looking ahead, a proportion of highways maintenance funding will continue to be allocated as incentive funding, linked to authorities’ transparency and performance, to support continuous improvement across the network. The Department is also providing dedicated support to authorities, including a peer review offer for red-rated authorities. This is alongside the extension of Live Labs 2, the Department’s highways innovation programme.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Driving innovation – 38,000 jobs on the horizon as pilots of self-driving vehicles fast-tracked, published on 10 June 2025, whether the autonomous vehicle pilot schemes supported by her Department are intended to operate on a national basis, and what consideration has been given to the inclusion of towns, cities, and rural areas across all regions of the UK.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The government intends to launch the Automated Passenger Services (APS) permitting scheme in Spring 2026; this scheme applies to Great Britain.

The scheme will allow developers and potential operators to evaluate different areas for pilot deployments and test the commercial viability of this new mode of transportation. This includes in towns and rural areas where there may be a lack of transport provision.

Through this scheme, the government aims to create the right enabling framework for services to be able to deploy across a range of locations.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 105746, what her planned timetable is for (a) developing and (b) consulting on regulatory proposals for micromobility vehicles, including e-scooters.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As set out in our answer to question 105746, the Government has made a commitment to pursue legislative reform for micromobility vehicles when parliamentary time allows. The Government will fully assess and consult on potential regulatory requirements ahead of introducing legislation.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which driving test centres the DVSA have proposed for closure.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

DVSA has no current plans to close any driving test centres.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, since 1 January 2024, how many additional civil servants have been recruited into DfTO on a headcount basis; and for each quarter in the period January 2024 to the most recent quarter for which figures are available, what the net change in total civil service headcount has been at DfTO.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

DFT Operator Limited (DFTO) is a public corporation. It is not a Crown employer and it does not employ civil servants.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many new buses were registered in the UK broken down by country of manufacture in each of the last 10 years.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Information regarding Buses & Coaches (including minibuses) registered for the first time in the UK by country of manufacture, as recorded by DVLA, from 2015 to 2024 can be found in the attached Excel document.

Data, supplied by DVLA, regarding new registration of vehicles in the UK is unable to distinguish between Buses, Coaches, or other vehicles, with nine seats or more (excluding the driver), constructed for passenger carrying purposes.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 105302, whether the proposed primary legislation to enable the Regulated Asset Base model for the Lower Thames Crossing will be introduced before construction begins.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Construction enabling works for the Lower Thames Crossing have commenced north and south of the River Thames. At Autumn Budget 2025 the Government committed a further £891m to complete the publicly funded works for the Lower Thames Crossing, the final tranche of government support to enable the private sector to take forward construction and long-term operation. The Government's preferred financing option at this stage is the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model. New primary legislation is required to enable the RAB model to be utilised to deliver roads. We intend to bring forward legislation, when parliamentary time allows.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to rail fares in England, what the average percentage change was between July 2024 and the current fares period for a) Advance fares b) First Class fares c) Super Off-Peak fares, and what methodology was used to calculate these averages.

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

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) publishes annual statistics measuring the change in prices charged by train operating companies to rail passengers in Great Britain. The annual statistical release is presented by sector, ticket type, class and regulated status. The rail fares index statistical release includes the methodology that the ORR uses.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Rail Delivery Groups' updated fare search limits on (a) passenger choice, (b) the cost of rail fares and (c) levels of passenger demand.

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

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) plays an important role in managing functions and services upon which train operators, retailers and passengers rely. The configuration of these systems is a matter for the RDG.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) Notices to Improve and (b) written instructions her Department issued to train operating companies for which the Department is the operator in relation to (i) service performance and (ii) financial control in January 2026.

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

The Department has not issued any Notices to Improve on any of the DfT Operator train operating companies in January 2026 because none have been in breach of their formal contractual terms.

The Department regularly engages with all operators on service performance and financial management, aligned with this Government's priorities on improving performance and reducing subsidy.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2026 to Question 106604, whether growing revenue and delivering value for money for passengers carry equal priority in the rollout of Great British Railways branding.

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

As set out in the answers to the questions 100962 and 106604, both growing revenue and delivering value for money for passengers are priorities Ministers have set industry leaders delivering the rollout of the Great British Railways brand. These are not mutually exclusive. Industry leaders will balance revenue growth with value for money as we move towards a railway that delivers better for customers and taxpayers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2026 to Question 108459 on Department for Transport: Artificial Intelligence, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of AI-enabled initiatives operating on a test-and-learn basis not delivering the expected benefits on the corporate initiatives efficiency target.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Please see the previous response to Question 108459 which answers this question.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what percentage weighting is given to social value in the evaluation of bids under each Government-funded scheme supporting the procurement of new buses, including zero-emission, electric, hydrogen and hybrid buses.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Social value, through community benefits, was one of the criteria considered when assessing the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) 2 funding announced in March 2024. The strategic case, including community benefits, had a 10% weighting. The published criteria can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-zero-emission-bus-funding-zebra-2/apply-for-zero-emission-bus-funding-zebra-2 . Previous rounds of ZEBRA funding did not explicitly assess social value.

Through the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel, which this Government launched in March 2025, my department is working with the sector to explore how best to consider social value in future bus procurement.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 105302 on Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Privatisation, what steps she is taking to mitigate for the loss of revenue to her Department from the privatisation of the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Under the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model, ownership and operation of the Dartford Crossing would transfer to a new regulated private sector entity. This entity would be responsible for operating and maintaining both the Dartford Crossing and the new Lower Thames Crossing, ensuring a consistent and reliable service across both.

The entity would be overseen by an independent regulator to ensure it performs effectively and protects the interests of users. Charges collected from both the Dartford Crossing and the new Lower Thames Crossing would be received by the entity and used to maintain the crossings and support more reliable journeys.

This approach is designed to bring in private capital to fund the majority of construction, delivering better value for taxpayers and reducing pressure on public budgets. The Department has incorporated the effects of this approach into its financial forecasts and funding settlements with HM Treasury.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 104858 on Roads: Biodiversity, what information her Department holds on the (a) estimated cost, (b) estimated cost range and (c) modelling of the biodiversity net gain for (i) existing and (ii) planned projects related to the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project on the Strategic Road Network.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

DEFRA’s forthcoming biodiversity net gain impact assessment, which is expected to be published shortly, will set out the impact of applying biodiversity net gain to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2026 to Question 99801, what the estimated annual amount (a) accrued in interest and (b) repaid by British citizens with students loans was in each of the last five financial years.

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

The Department for Education and the Student Loans Company (SLC) are undertaking work to improve the quality and consistency of demographic data held across their systems, to support the timely answering of parliamentary questions. Changes in the application process over time, including the transition to electronic applications, mean that demographic data held for earlier cohorts can be held differently across multiple SLC systems and repayment and interest calculations continue to include these early borrowers.

As a result, it is not currently possible to produce robust repayment figures broken down by British citizen status within the required timescales. Once this work is complete, the department expects to be able to provide more detailed information in response to such questions.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2025 to Question 82998, whether the Department plans to extend the HGV Parking and Driver Welfare Grant Scheme beyond March 2026; and what assessment has been made of the impact of project withdrawals, scope reductions and planning refusals on the delivery of additional HGV parking capacity.

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

There are no plans for further windows of the HGV Parking and Driver Welfare Matched Funding Scheme (MFGS).

To date 16 projects have been withdrawn by the operators. It is estimated that this is a reduction of up to 177 proposed additional HGV parking spaces.

There are no significant impacts on the number of parking spaces where projects have undergone scope reduction.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's report entitled Rail customer experience survey pilot report, published on 25 April 2024, what plans she has to use the survey findings to inform performance standards for public sector rail operators.

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

The Department uses customer insight data, including emerging findings from the newly introduced Rail Customer Experience Survey, to inform performance management of all train operating companies, including those which are publicly-owned. The Services Agreement for publicly owned operators also states that performance will be measured using the new survey when data allows.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2026 to Question 101484 on Electric Vehicles: Charging Points, what estimate she has made of the average amount of public funding provided per chargepoint.

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

Information on the average amount of public funding per public chargepoint is not available. Most public chargepoints have not received any public subsidy.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Royal Train will be treated as a Great British Railways service for the purposes of network access, charging and operational control once Great British Railways is established.

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

The 2024-2025 Sovereign Grant and Sovereign Grant Reserve Annual Reports and Accounts, published by the Royal Household, confirmed that the Royal Train will be decommissioned ahead of the current contract expiring in 2027, following a thorough review into its use and value for money. As such it will not become part of Great British Railways (GBR).

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what staffing or system costs are associated with monitoring, reporting and compliance activity relating to official travel emissions in his Department.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We can confirm that the Department for Business and Trade does not hold any information associated with monitoring, reporting and compliance activity relating to official travel emissions in his Department.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the Competition and Markets Authority’s total expenditure was in 2024–25, broken down by project and function.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Competition and Markets Authority’s published Annual Report and Accounts contains details of its expenditure, including a breakdown of total gross expenditure by operating segment. It can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department issues guidance to teams on the proportion of staff time or budget that should be allocated to net zero strategy or corporate sustainability activity.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The department does not issue guidance to teams on the proportion of staff time or budget that should be allocated to net zero strategy or corporate sustainability activity.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2026 to Question 108800, what projects undertaken by the Competition and Markets Authority in 2024–25 related to net zero, sustainability and climate policy.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The following projects undertaken by the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) in 2024 to 2025 related to net zero, sustainability and climate policy, carried out consistently with its statutory duty and functions:

Sustainability Taskforce – supporting businesses to comply with competition law when engaging in collaboration to achieve outcomes related to sustainability.

An investigation into anti-competitive conduct in the advertising of recycling-related features of new cars, and in the recycling of old or written-off (or ‘end-of-life’) cars and vans.

Guidance to help fashion businesses comply with consumer protection law when making environmental claims.

An investigation into environmental claims made about products in the consumer goods sector.

An investigation into Worcester Bosch over concerns it may have been misleading consumers in its marketing of boilers as ‘hydrogen-blend ready’.

Other work has included a review and report on the impact of restrictions on the sale of single use plastics on the UK Internal Market, and 13 reports on referrals of subsidies under the UK Subsidy Control Regime.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of vacancies in the automotive manufacturing sector in (a) January 2024 and (b) each subsequent month up to and including the most recent month for which data is available.

Answered by Josh Simons

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Rt Hon. gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 4th February is attached.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2026 to Question 108300, when the rollout of the Fire and Rescue Data Analysis Platform (FaRDAP) will be completed; and from what date Fire and Rescue Services will be required to record whether fires involve lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Fire and Rescue Data Platform (FaRDaP) Version 1 was successfully rolled out to 48 Fire and Rescue Services in England, Scotland and Wales by 14 November 2025. At present, Fire and Rescue Services are not required to record whether fires involve lithium-ion batteries or electric vehicles in national incident data, and no date has been set for when such recording will become mandatory. However, work is underway on FaRDaP Version 2 to update the data collected, including the development of categories to capture incidents involving lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles (including e-bikes and e-scooters).

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of airport surface access planning conditions and sustainability requirements on the level of car parking and drop-off charges paid by passengers.

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

Surface access strategies give airports the tools they need to stay connected, cut congestion and meet environmental targets. The Department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the potential impact of airport surface access planning conditions and sustainability requirements on the level of car parking and drop-off charges paid by passengers. We continue to engage with operators to ensure that, where airports do choose to charge, they do so in a way that is fair and transparent.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she intends to make changes to the existing Airports National Policy Statement in the context of the potential of a third runway at Heathrow; and what assessment she has made of the likelihood of securing planning consent for a third runway by 2029.

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

Government launched a review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) on 22 October, to reflect changes in legislation, policy and data. We will consult on any proposed amendments to the ANPS in summer 2026.

When the ANPS has been reviewed, and depending on the outcome of the review, it will be for scheme promoters to decide when to submit a Development Consent Order application for a third runway scheme but the government’s ambition is for a planning decision this parliament.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2026 to Question 110889, when the shore power trial at Portsmouth International Port began; what the outcomes have been; and whether any evaluation has been produced.

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

The shore power demonstrator trial at Portsmouth International Port was publicly awarded nearly £20m of R&D funding in September 2023. Portsmouth International Port began delivery of the project shortly afterwards as part of the UK SHORE Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure (ZEVI) competition.

Most civil and electrical infrastructure works within the port side boundaries of Portsmouth International Port are now complete and the multi-berth shore power units are now on the berths. In November 2025, a successful dry connection test (without the provision of electricity) was completed, where one of the shore power units was plugged into Britanny Ferries’ Guillaume de Normandie vessel.

Separate to the UK SHORE funded project, Portsmouth International Port accepted a connection offer from Scottish and Southern Electricity (SSE). This connection offer was for a 15 Megawatt grid upgrade to secure the grid capacity for the shore power units. The Port is awaiting final details from SSE on energisation of the grid upgrade.

No specific evaluation for this project has yet been completed as the demonstration phase isn’t complete. A technical study is underway for all ZEVI projects, including Portsmouth, that will analyse the data generated throughout the multi-year demonstration period.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is tacking to help tackle anti-social behaviour on the bus network.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department is working across government and with partners, industry and local transport authorities, to ensure that everyone feels and is safe when travelling by bus. Through the Bus Services Act 2025 we have introduced measures to combat anti-social behaviour (ASB) on the bus network. This includes mandating training for staff working in the bus industry, introducing a power to enable the Secretary of State to publish statutory guidance on the inclusivity of bus stations and stops and giving local transport authorities the power to create byelaws and deploy officers who can deal with ASB and fare evasion on the bus network.

In addition, the Department previously provided £2.5 million to pilot five Transport Safety Officer (TSO) teams on the network. The pilots ended in March 2025, and a full evaluation of the programme will be published in due course. We have also recently published TSO practitioner guidance for local authorities wanting to implement a scheme in their area.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the provision of central reservation barriers on the National Highways motorway and trunk road network, how many crossover accidents, where vehicles have breached the central reservation, occurred in 2024 and 2025 on sections equipped with a) steel barriers, and b) rigid concrete barriers; and what is the total length and number of assets of life expired steel central reservation barrier on that network that require replacement.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Data on road traffic casualties on the roads in Great Britain is collected via the STATS19 process. The most recently available STATS19 dataset is for 2024 and was published by DfT in September 2025:

https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/cb7ae6f0-4be6-4935-9277-47e5ce24a11f/road-safety-data.

STATS19 does not record the barrier type and so it is not possible to ascertain the answers to points (a) and (b).

Based on the available asset data, there are approximately 10,400km of vehicle restraint barriers on the Strategic Road Network (SRN) operated by National Highways, which is made up of barriers in the central reservation and verges. This comprises 9,300km of steel barrier, 870km of concrete barrier and 230km of wire barrier.

1% (equivalent to approximately 100km of barrier) is categorised as the worst condition banding (i.e 'severely corroded / unserviceable / at end of life'). National Highways prioritises for intervention those assets in the worst condition and barriers in higher risk locations, such as the central reservation.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers of 1 December 2025 to Questions 93461 and 93459, if she will publish the locations, route sections and lengths for a) the 52.6 km of rigid concrete barrier installed in each of the periods 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25, b) the 14 km of forecast steel to concrete barrier replacement projects proposed for the Interim Settlement period 2025-26, and c) the projected total length of steel to concrete barrier replacement during RIS3 (2026 to 2030), including any year by year profile held.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The data requested in parts (a) and (b) is currently undergoing verification and will be supplied to the Rt. Hon Member shortly. With respect to part (c), the projected total length of steel to concrete barrier replacement has not yet been finalised for Road Period 3.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when her Department plans to publish the updated Traffic Advisory Leaflet 1/24; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of recommending that local authorities permit motorcycles to use bus lanes.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport does not currently have plans to update Traffic Advisory Leaflet 1/24.

The Department for Transport undertook a consultation on the potential merits of recommending that local authorities permit motorcycles to use bus lanes in 2024. The responses received to the consultation did not provide a robust evidence base on which to amend the current policy that it is for local authorities to determine whether to allow motorcycles to use bus lanes in their areas.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 105288 on Railways: Repairs and Maintenance, what criteria is used to determine which rail infrastructure schemes are included in the Department’s longer-term rail infrastructure pipeline.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This government believes in the importance of rail investment to support economic growth and bring connections to people all across the country. The type and level of investment is determined by the needs of passengers, rail users and the network, while delivering value for money and meeting the government’s priorities.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what is the policy of (a) the Cabinet Office people group and (b) the Office for Equality and Opportunity, on white privilege.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government wants to ensure that whoever you are, wherever you come from, Britain is a country that will respect your contribution and give you a fair chance to get on in life.

The Government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and improving outcomes for everyone.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2026 to Question 108300, how many fires involving road vehicles of all types were recorded by Fire and Rescue Services in England in each of the last 15 years.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

MHCLG collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) in England through the Fire & Rescue Data Platform (FaRDaP), and previously through the Incident Recording System (IRS). This includes information on primary fires, fire-related fatalities, and non-fatal casualties in road vehicles. Data covering the year ending March 2025 is published here: Fire statistics data tables - GOV.UK, see FIRE 0302 ‘Primary fires, fatalities and non-fatal casualties in road vehicles by motive and vehicle type, England’. These tables present the number of primary fires for each recorded type of road vehicle per year.

Data is also available on the number of accidents involving fire and rescue authority vehicles, by fire and rescue authority, in the FIRE1402 data table.

Incident level data for road vehicle fires can be found here: Fire statistics incident level datasets - GOV.UK, see ‘Road vehicle fires dataset’ for the raw data, and ‘Road vehicles fire dataset guidance’ for guidance on the dataset.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2026 to Question 110095, whether the Department plans to publish route-specific or island impact assessments before domestic maritime is brought into scope of the UK ETS in 2026.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Impact Assessment set out that it is not possible to robustly break down compliance costs to the level of individual routes or service types, as ticket prices, fare structures and commercial operating decisions vary widely. The Assessment therefore considers impacts at the sector and scheme level.

The Authority consulted extensively with all operators, including those serving island mainland and shortsea routes, to ensure all perspectives informed policy development.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to respond to the publication of the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Part 1 of Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts was published on 9 July 2025, which contained a number of recommendations for structural reform of the criminal courts. On 2 December, the Deputy Prime Minister set out the reforms Government intends to pursue, alongside investment and modernisation.

On 4 February 2026 Sir Brian Leveson published Part 2 of his report, where he makes 135 recommendations to improve efficiency and modernise the criminal courts. The report is thorough and I welcome his ambition to see real improvements in the system.

We will urgently consider the latest recommendations, alongside Sir Brian’s remaining recommendations from Part 1, and respond to them in the coming months.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average grant-supported cost per bus was under each bus procurement scheme in each of the last five years; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of social value weightings on tendered prices.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

My Department is not responsible for the procurement of buses and so does not hold this information.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has assessed the potential impact of the Wheels to Work scheme on youth unemployment; and what steps she is taking to support that scheme.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

I refer the Rt Honourable Gentleman to the answer given on 3 February 2026 to question number 108310.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2026 to Question 108309, in which month the upcoming national strategy for integrated transport is expected to be published.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department is committed to publishing the integrated national transport strategy shortly, which will set the long‑term vision for domestic transport across England.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) the abolition of non-dom status and (b) increases in levels of taxation on the retention of international shipowners in the UK; what estimate she has made of the number of shipowning individuals or companies that (i) have relocated and (ii) are considering relocating as a result of these changes; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the UK remains an attractive base for global shipping and maritime businesses.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government’s priority is improving the UK’s competitiveness internationally and securing economic growth. The reforms to the tax treatment of non-domiciled individuals have been specifically designed to make the UK competitive, with a modern, simple tax regime that is also fair. The reforms establish a tax regime for new residents which is more attractive to new arrivals than the current rules.

The introduction of a residence-based tax system is expected to raise £39.5bn by 2030-31 (as costed by the OBR last autumn), and the OBR have said that there is no firm evidence to change the estimated impact of the reforms on migration. As set out at Budget 2025, the Chancellor has been clear that she will continue to assess the regime to ensure it strikes the right balance, including on competitiveness.

The Government published a Tax Information and Impact Note for this policy on 30 October 2024, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tax-changes-for-non-uk-domiciled-individuals/reforming-the-taxation-of-non-uk-domiciled-individuals

Regarding global shipping and maritime businesses, the Government is maintaining the Tonnage Tax regime, introduced in 2000 to improve the competitiveness of the UK’s shipping industry. This is designed to make it easier for shipping companies to move to the UK and ensures they are not disadvantaged compared with firms operating in other countries.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025 to Question 95968, for what reason there is a difference between the estimates of the fiscal cost of freezing rail fares (a) as set out in that Answer and (b) the figures published in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook, November 2025.

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

The difference is due to a difference in rounding. The estimates provided in the Department’s previous response were sourced from the published Budget document, where numbers are rounded to the nearest £5m. The OBR choose to round figures to the nearest £1m in their own publications, including their Economic and Fiscal Outlook published in November 2025.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how paragraph 3.9.2 of the draft National Policy Statement for Ports will be applied by decision-makers when considering development consent for port infrastructure.

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

We are currently considering the views received from consultation on, and Parliamentary scrutiny of, the draft revised National Policy Statement for Ports, and will lay a final text in Parliament in due course.

In line with the recommendation of the Transport Select Committee, we are considering further guidance on how developers assess carbon emissions as part of Environmental Impact Assessments.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Motor Insurance Taskforce examined motorcycle insurance as part of its work leading to the Final Report published on 10 December 2025.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The taskforce was given a strategic remit to set the direction for government policy, in order to identify short- and long-term actions that may stabilise or reduce motor insurance premiums, but not the cost of motorcycle insurance specifically. The scope of the taskforce was agreed by ministers at the Department for Transport and HM Treasury, as the co-chairing departments.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2026 to Question 108796, where the portrait of William Shakespeare formerly displayed in the Pillared Room at 10 Downing Street is located.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government Art Collection (GAC) is a working collection, used across government buildings in the UK and the global estate, which means that artworks may change their display location from time to time. The GAC removed this portrait from the Pillared Drawing Room at No.10 to install a refreshed display of artworks celebrating 125 years of the Government Art Collection, planned prior to the General Election in July 2024. Locations of artworks in the collection can be found on the GAC’s website.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether trains carrying Greater Manchester Bee Network branding or livery will remain rail assets of Great British Railways or the Secretary of State, rather than assets of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

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

Livery reflects who is responsible for the service, not who owns the trains. Aside from some devolved services, where there are instances of ownership by the devolved authority, rolling stock is leased from rolling stock companies and managed day-to-day by the train operator. There is currently one Northern unit in temporary promotional Bee Network livery operating on Manchester‑area services, highlighting the forthcoming tap‑and‑go contactless integration on local rail; this is a branding exercise only and does not change ownership or leasing arrangements. As there are currently no rail services devolved to Greater Manchester, any trains operating on the GBR network would carry GBR livery rather than Bee Network branding. Through partnerships with GBR, there could be opportunities for external co-branding of rolling stock where Mayoral Strategic Authorities take a financial stake in service provision.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2025 to Question 93460 on Roads: Safety Barriers if she will publish the (a) location and route section, (b) date granted, c) reason of each departure from standard; what plans she has for upgrades to rigid concrete barrier.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The locations, routes and dates of approval for the departures from standard allowing steel crash barrier to be replaced with new steel barrier, rather than concrete, are as follows:

• M4 Junctions 13-14: 20/08/2025

• M6 Junction 37-38: 12/05/25

• M5 Junctions 23-24: 24/04/24

• A1(M) Junctions 37-38: 02/12/24

The reason for permitting departures from standard allowing the replacement of life-expired steel barrier with new steel barrier and not concrete barrier is due to the affordability of concrete barrier schemes – this can be either due to the cost of the concrete barrier in isolation or the additional works which would be required in order to change the barrier provision from steel barrier to concrete barrier.

Plans for upgrades to rigid concrete barrier:

Given the availability of new higher-containment modular precast concrete barriers, and higher-containment steel barriers, a tiered approach has now been adopted for the renewal of existing central reserve barriers.  The highest tier is the provision of rigid, higher-containment concrete barrier.  This can be relaxed to the provision of a non-rigid, higher-containment concrete barrier or a higher-containment steel barrier. However, this is only permitted if supported by a documented justification and risk assessment.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2026 to Question 110095, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the absence of route-level ferry fare modelling risks on consumer price impacts for ferry-dependent communities.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government has not undertaken route level ferry fare modelling for the UK ETS domestic maritime expansion. This is because, as we set out in the Impact Assessment, operators’ commercial decisions, vessel utilisation and fare structures vary widely. The qualitative assessment indicates that any passthrough to consumers is likely to be modest.

The Government will review the maritime element of the UK ETS in 2028 with further consideration of regional or distributional impacts.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has she made of requiring (a) regulatory and (b) policy frameworks to be in place before the Heathrow third runway project can proceed to its next phase.

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

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as the independent economic regulator, is currently considering options for the future regulatory framework for Heathrow, including how costs are controlled and risks are allocated, with a decision on a preferred regulatory model for expansion expected in the summer. The government is aware of the need for a clear direction of travel to enable investment.

In parallel, the Government launched a review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) on 22 October which is the policy framework that any future development consent order for expansion at Heathrow will be examined against. The Government expects to consult on any proposed amendments to the ANPS by the summer, alongside Parliamentary scrutiny in line with statutory processes.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2026 to Question 107165, in which month the final text of the National Policy Statement for Ports is expected to be published.

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

I expect the final text to be laid in March 2026.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many Memorandums of Understanding the UK has signed since 5 July 2025, broken down by (a) the countries with which countries they were signed and (b) the policy areas covered by each agreement.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

This Department has signed a range of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) since 5 July 2025 to help drive economic growth. However, these are not routinely published or notified to Parliament in line with HMG policy on non-legally binding instruments and in some cases to respect the confidentiality requirements of partner countries. It is, therefore, not possible to provide a full list of MoUs by country and subject area as requested.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2026 to Question 105894, what estimate the Department has made of the proportion of efficiency savings attributed to regulated settlements that arise from funding constraints imposed by the Office of Rail and Road rather than from operational productivity improvements.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As set out in Question 105894, the Office for Rail and Road do not set funding constraints as these are determined via the overall funding settlement.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104868, what the service standard wait times at passport control are, and what assessment the Department has made of the economic impact of passenger delays at the border.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Border Force publish data on the percentage of sampled measurements cleared within service standards, with the target of 95%.

The service standard is 25 minutes for passengers using eGates or queues where the majority of passengers are GBR/ EEA/ B5JSSK nationalities / 45 minutes for passengers using queues dedicated to other nationalities.

The latest published data was Quarter 3 2025 (Jul-Sept) which showed 97.9% of sampled measurements were cleared within service standards.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2026 to Question 107278, what items of hospitality were provided at that reception; and if she will publish the relevant food and drink invoices and procurement contracts.

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

The items of hospitality provided at the Department for Transport Operator Group’s (DFTO) parliamentary reception on 19 January 2026 were: canapés, tea and coffee, bottled water, and various soft drinks totalling £1,646.99. As this was below the contractual minimum catering spend of £2,365, an additional charge of £718.01 was applied. Room hire, a service charge, a facility fee, and an AV package made up the remainder of the cost published in the Answer to Question 107278.

Relevant documents including invoices and the procurement contract will be published in due course, as set out in Cabinet Office guidance for electronic invoicing and payments under the Procurement Act 2023.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2026 to Question 105895 on National Highways and Network Rail: Finance, what estimate he has made of the net efficiency savings attributable to Network Rail after accounting for the up-front and ongoing costs of the technology and systems investments cited.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The technology and systems investments cited contribute to Network Rail’s £3.9 billion Control Period 7 efficiency target but their costs are not directly comparable, given that the investments confer benefits beyond financial efficiency as well as contributing to Network Rail’s overall delivery of its settlement.

Found: inquiry: David Baines (Labour; St Helens North) Graeme Downie (Labour; Dunfermline and Dollar) Mr Richard Holden