Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people aged 18 and over immigrated to the UK in each year from 2022 to 2025 from (a) Pakistan, (b) Kuwait, (c) Afghanistan, (d) Qatar, (e) the United Arab Emirates, (f) Sudan, (g) Mauritania, (h) Iraq, (i) Yemen, (j) Iran, (k) Saudi Arabia, (l) Libya, (m) Oman, (n) Syria, (o) Bahrain, (p) Egypt, (q) Jordan, (r) Guinea, (s) Lebanon, (t) Sri Lanka, (u) Algeria, (v) Turkey, (w) Tunisia, (x) Nigeria, (y) Morocco, (z) Bangladesh, (aa) Israel and (ab) India by nationality.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Rt. Hon. Gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 20th April is attached.
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 24 March 2026 to Question 120039 on Department for Transport: Aviation, what the purpose was of the flight to Lebanon; which Ministers and senior officials approved the visit; how many officials travelled on that occasion and at what grade; what the cost was of the visit; and whether an assessment was made of whether those engagements could be (a) conducted remotely and (b) combined with other travel.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - 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, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2026 to Question 120039 on Department for Transport: Aviation, what the purpose was of each flight to Netherlands Antilles; which Ministers and senior officials approved each visit; how many officials travelled on each occasion and at what grade; what the cost was of each visit; and whether an assessment was made of whether those engagements could be (a) conducted remotely and (b) combined with other travel.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - 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, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2026 to Question 120039 on Department for Transport: Aviation, what the purpose was of the flight to Colombia; which Ministers and senior officials approved the visit; how many officials travelled on that occasion and at what grade; what the cost was of the visit; and whether an assessment was made of whether those engagements could be (a) conducted remotely and (b) combined with other travel.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - 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 Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of people who were employed in the automotive manufacturing sector in each month since September 2025 up to and including the most recent month for which figures are available.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Rt. Hon. Gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 14th April is attached.
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 20 April 2026 to Question 125029 on Department for Transport: Annual Reports, in respect of the £398 million Capital DEL expenditure attributed to the Decarbonisation, Technology and Strategy Group in 2024-25, if she will publish (a) a breakdown of the projects and programmes funded, (b) the amount allocated to each project, (c) a description of the purpose and remit of that Group, including its organisational structure, and (d) the planned Capital DEL and Resource DEL budget for that Group in 2025-26.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - 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 Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of equipping all police cars with defibrillators.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Provision of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in police vehicles is currently an operational matter for police forces to decide at local level. I have had several meetings on the value of equipping all police cars with defibrillators and I am carefully considering next steps.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average number of days taken by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to reach a licensing decision was in cases where a medical condition required investigation, in each month from January 2024 to April 2026.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The table below shows the average number of days to make a licensing decision for driving licence applications where a medical condition required investigation before a licence could be issued in each month from January 2024 to March 2026. The final figures for April 2026 are not yet available.
2024 | Group 1 (car and motorcycle) | Group 2 (lorry and bus) |
January | 50.9 | 50.6 |
February | 46.3 | 49.3 |
March | 43.3 | 48.9 |
April | 41.9 | 35.0 |
May | 37.5 | 34.1 |
June | 51.1 | 46.9 |
July | 45.7 | 49.4 |
August | 43.3 | 40.1 |
September | 43.3 | 41.0 |
October | 46.1 | 47.3 |
November | 43.4 | 40.0 |
December | 45.3 | 46.7 |
2025 |
|
|
January | 46.1 | 46.3 |
February | 42.7 | 40.6 |
March | 45.5 | 40.6 |
April | 41.6 | 43.5 |
May | 42.3 | 41.5 |
June | 48.1 | 37.9 |
July | 54.4 | 39.1 |
August | 49.3 | 41.7 |
September | 52.5 | 49.0 |
October | 78.4 | 55.8 |
November | 80.3 | 47.7 |
December | 73.2 | 47.0 |
2026 |
|
|
January | 59.7 | 42.5 |
February | 71.4 | 46.3 |
March | 55.9 | 56.2 |
Driving licence applications where a medical condition(s) must be investigated before a licence can be issued can take longer than applications where there is no medical condition as the DVLA is often reliant on information from third parties, including medical professionals, before a licence can be issued.
The DVLA has seen sustained growth in the volume and complexity of medical licence applications, increasing waiting times for some customers. To improve its services, the DVLA has introduced a new casework system and launched a new medical services portal, so most customers can now apply online through the DVLA’s driver and vehicles account. Details on how to sign up for an account can be found at www.gov.uk/driver-vehicles-account.
These enhancements alongside the recruitment of additional staff to deal with these applications and answer telephone calls will deliver real improvements in services and turnaround times for customers.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what expenditure has Network Rail undertaken on public affairs companies, and for what purposes, since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
From July 2024 to March 2026, Network Rail spent £372,914 on its Stakeholder Engagement Services contract.
This contract supports Network Rail's duties as a public body to ensure that a wide range of statutory consultees, national and regional representatives are informed of the work to operate and improve the rail network.
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 24 March 2026 to Question 118920, if she will develop new Outline Business Cases for a) the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement and b) Haughley Junction upgrades and c) whether she has plans to undertake a BCR assessment for the dualling of single sections of the Clitheroe to Manchester Victoria line.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government’s commitment to a significant programme of railway investment was announced as part of Spending Review 2025. We will set out our plans for further investment in rail infrastructure in due course.