Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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.
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 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.
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, 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.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 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.
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, 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.
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 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 - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
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.
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 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.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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).
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 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.