Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what additional costs were incurred by his Department as a result of Net Zero or sustainability requirements applied to procurement contracts over £10,000 in 2024-25.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My department did not incur any additional costs as a result of Net Zero or sustainability requirements applied to procurement contracts over £10,000 in 2024-25.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department’s Efficiency Delivery Plans, what proportion of the forecast reduction in the rail passenger services subsidy over the period covered by the Spending Review is attributable to (a) quantified administrative efficiencies arising from the creation of Great British Railways, (b) efficiencies delivered through regulated settlements, and (c) assumptions on passenger ridership and revenue growth.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department’s Spending Review settlement and additional commentary were set out on gov.uk. As is usual, the Department does not publish further detail on those budgets. The reduction in the rail passenger services subsidy over the Spending Review period will be enabled through delivery of the public ownership programme, a relentless focus on improving operational performance and improvements for customers, and by driving passenger revenue growth.
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 12 January 2026 to Question 101846, how many station staff were employed by TransPennine Express on (a) 4 July 2024 and (b) the most recent date for which figures are available; and what the percentage change in station staffing levels has been over that period.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
For 2024-25 rail period 4 (23 June-20 July 2024) TransPennine Express reported 153.5 full-time-equivalent (FTE) staff at stations, including barrier staff. That figure for 2025-26 rail period 10 (7 December 2025-3 January 2026) was 178 FTE, representing a 16 per cent increase. The increase over 2024-25 were mainly due to filling vacancies that had been paused pending the previous Government’s proposed closure of ticket offices which they subsequently reversed.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what internal data Network Rail collects on level crossings, including a) barrier activation and down-time duration, b) complaints or reports from road users relating to barrier down-time, and c) overruns caused by incidents, failures, or timetable disruption; and whether any such data is shared routinely with her Department.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail collects a range of data regarding level crossings on its network, which helps inform the management of risk at each location. If there are complaints or feedback from members of the public in relation to level crossings, Network Rail has processes in place to respond to these. However, as the safety and management of level crossings are the legal responsibility of Network Rail, this information is not routinely shared with my department.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the letter from the Permanent Under-Secretary of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to the Rt hon Member for Basildon and Billericay on 24 July 2025, whether the application of the Civil Service and Diplomatic Code applies to political appointees.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Yes. Where such appointments are made, individuals are appointed on a standard Civil Service Fixed Term Contract and are subject to the provisions of the Civil Service Code.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the current level of port and bunkering infrastructure on the uptake of e-fuels by UK-operating vessels; what steps the Government is taking to help increase the domestic (a) production and (b) supply of e-fuels for maritime transport; and what steps her Department has taken to help increase investment in port and bunkering infrastructure.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government provides the port sector with the right regulatory environment it needs to support investment, providing targeted support where there are clear public benefits, such as decarbonisation. In September 2025 the Government announced a further £448 million to the UK SHORE research programme, the biggest ever Government investment in commercial maritime across the UK. In addition, the Government is working with the National Wealth Fund, which has committed at least £5.8 billion of its capital to five sectors, including ports.
The Government has not conducted an assessment of the impact of an uptake in e-fuels on the current level of port and bunkering infrastructure in the UK, however we are taking action through policies set out in the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy.
This Strategy includes a range of fuel scenarios, underpinned by a maritime emissions model, illustrating the varying ways in which the UK domestic maritime sector could transition from traditional fuels, such as heavy fuel oil, to zero and near-zero GHG emission fuels. Additionally, we intend to publish a consultation on a domestic maritime fuel regulation later this year which will help set the direction of UK maritime fuels policy and reduce uncertainty for the sector.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress she has made on the development of a UK draft Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships Code; when she expects a draft to be published; and what engagement her Department has had with industry and international partners on the alignment of the UK framework with international standards.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Workboat Code Edition 3, including its annex for remotely operated unmanned vessels, came into force in December 2023. This followed public consultation, during which the Maritime and Coastguard Agency engaged extensively with the industry through meetings, conferences and post‑consultation briefing sessions. This code is already informing the domestic frameworks of international partners, including some of our close collaborators and co-signatories of the North Sea MASS (Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships) Memorandum of Understanding.
The UK has been a leading participant in international negotiations at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), coordinating several chapters of the non-mandatory IMO MASS Code expected in June 2026. The code will provide guidance for a rapidly developing autonomy industry, enabling the commercial use of autonomous ships. The UK will work with international partners and leading industry players throughout the IMO’s “experience-building phase” to shape the IMO MASS Code ahead of its anticipated enforcement in 2032.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much his Department spent on measuring, reporting or validating greenhouse gas emissions across its estate in 2024-25.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government Property Agency (GPA) is responsible for collecting and providing all greenhouse gas emissions data for the estate occupied by the department.
The Department for Business and Trade did not incur any third-party costs in 2024–25 for measuring, reporting, or validating greenhouse gas emissions across its estate. The department does not separately record the staff time spent analysing or processing this data.
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 October 2025 to Question 78707, whether her Department has made a recent updated estimate of the additional cost per passenger per flight arising from the requirement for airlines to use 10% sustainable aviation fuel by 2030.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I refer the Right Honourable Member to the answers I gave on 20 October, 23 October and 5 November 2025 to PQs UIN78707, UIN83374 and UIN85910.
The estimated costs of the requirement were assessed and published prior to the introduction of the SAF mandate in January last year. We will monitor the market to update our assumptions where necessary and to inform formal reviews.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to retain the Vehicle Excise Duty exemption for vintage motorcycles.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Budget 2014 the Government at the time announced that it would introduce a rolling 40-year exemption from Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for historic vehicles, including motorcycles. This means that currently vehicles constructed before 1 January 1985 are exempt from paying VED. From 1 April 2026 vehicles constructed before 1 January 1986 will become exempt from VED.
The Government annually reviews the rates and thresholds of taxes and reliefs to ensure that they are appropriate and reflect the current state of the economy.