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 changes to transport-related taxation at the Autumn Budget 2026 on (a) motorists, (b) road haulage operators, (c) bus and coach operators, (d) airlines, (e) airports and (f) maritime operators.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Decisions made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Budget have benefitted transport users and operators. In particular, the fuel duty freeze has been extended again, and the planned inflation increase deferred, both to July 2027. Taken together, the Government’s decisions on fuel duty since 2024 are expected to provide significant savings across the transport sector. This includes saving the average car driver £230, the average light goods driver £472 and the average heavy goods vehicle driver nearly £4,000, compared with plans under the previous government, and means petrol and diesel will be 15p per litre cheaper from April 2027.
The Government publishes assessments of Budget impacts through Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs), available at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-information-and-impact-notes-tiins.
The latest TIINs were published as part of the Budget 2026 announcement to provide an assessment of the impacts of individual measures.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of current traffic signals on the roads are classed as (i) outdated compared to present regulations (ii) have components which are no longer produced and (iii) are at risk of cybersecurity attacks.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not hold data on the three aspects in the question.
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 21 October 2026 to Question 34083, what requirements must be completed before Winslow station can be handed over; which organisation is responsible for completing each requirement; and what her planned timetable is for the handover to take place.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 9 of the document entitled Cost of Public Electric Vehicle Charging Review, published by her Department on 28 October 2026, what assessment she has made of the level of variability in the cost of public charging against home charging.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Public charging costs depend on the type of charger used. Home charging costs vary depending on the driver’s domestic energy tariff.
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 document entitled No driveway? No problem: drivers set to save £150 a year on public EV charging, published on 29 October 2026, when she expects the first pilot enabling electric vehicle drivers to use domestic electricity tariffs at local public chargepoints to begin; and how many households she expects to participate.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is now establishing a taskforce to develop and pilot a solution that allows drivers to use their domestic electricity tariff at local, lower powered public charge points as soon as possible. Details of the taskforce and future pilots will be provided in due course.
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 27 October 2026 to Question 36436 on Bus Services: West Midlands, if she will list the specific programmes within her Department's Public Transport and Local Group that generated the underspends being used to fund the allocation in 2026-27 for the West Midlands Combined Authority to take public control of its bus network; and how much was underspent against each programme.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In 2026/27, £2.5m is being funded from pooled forecast underspends across the Public Transport and Local Group. Business planning for future financial years is underway, and specific funding lines have not yet been identified.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to VAT treatment of large private hire vehicle operators from January 2028 on (a) the level of passenger fares and (b) the number of private hire drivers.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
At Budget 2026 the Government announced that it will deem the larger operators with annual fare turnover above a certain threshold liable for 20% VAT on the full value of their fares from 2 January 2028.
The government will shortly publish a consultation to confirm the level of annual fare turnover threshold this will apply to.
The measure itself does not place any new VAT obligations on drivers nor does it change existing employment or worker status protections. Decisions about fares, commission rates and commercial arrangements are matters for individual businesses.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed VAT changes for private hire vehicle operators on (a) passenger fares and (b) drivers' earnings.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
At Budget 2026 the Government announced that it will deem the larger operators with annual fare turnover above a certain threshold liable for 20% VAT on the full value of their fares from 2 January 2028.
The government will shortly publish a consultation to confirm the level of annual fare turnover threshold this will apply to.
The measure itself does not place any new VAT obligations on drivers nor does it change existing employment or worker status protections. Decisions about fares, commission rates and commercial arrangements are matters for individual businesses.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of linking the UK and EU Emissions Trading Schemes on the alignment of UK and EU exemptions for island ferry services.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK is currently negotiating with the EU on linking the UK and EU Emissions Trading Schemes. We are aiming to conclude negotiations ahead of a UK-EU Summit on 20 November, securing an agreement which is aligned with the UK's interests. Following the UK-EU Summit, we will update stakeholders on the outcomes of the negotiations.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to exempt ferry services to islands with fewer than 200,000 permanent residents and no fixed road or rail connection to the mainland from the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As set out in our 2025 Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy, emissions pricing and the expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to UK domestic maritime is a vital policy to decarbonise the sector. A uniform carbon price applied consistently ensures that emissions reductions are delivered at the lowest overall economic cost and market distortions are minimised.
Exemptions apply to ferry services to Scotland’s islands and certain peninsular communities. These are based on the unique and pressing challenges faced by these communities due to exceptional reliance on ferries for essential goods, healthcare, education, and employment, as well as additional legal duties under the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018.