Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department collects data on the average price paid by passengers travelling between Kemble and London Paddington using Advance tickets.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not centrally hold information on the average price paid by passengers using Advance tickets between Kemble and London Paddington. While detailed fares data exist within industry systems, the Department does not routinely compile journey‑by‑journey comparisons and producing this information would require bespoke analysis.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the changes in the cost of Advance rail fares for commuters travelling between Kemble and London Paddington over the last two years.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has not undertaken a specific assessment of changes in the cost of Advance fares for travel between Kemble and London Paddington over the last two years.
Advance fares are not regulated by the Government and are managed on a commercial basis by train operators. Advance fares are intended to provide discounted travel options for passengers who book ahead and travel on specified services. They are priced according to demand for a particular service, and their price and availability can vary depending on the route, date and time of travel, and when the ticket is purchased. The Department continues to monitor fare levels and passenger demand across the network through regular engagement with train operators, including Great Western Railway (GWR).
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of passenger numbers on peak Great Western Railway services between Kemble and London Paddington during the last 12 months.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There has been passenger growth on services between Kemble and London Paddington over the last year. Great Western Railway is responsible for ensuring that sufficient capacity is provided to meet passenger demand and there is regular engagement with the operator to review service provision.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of passenger numbers on peak Great Western Railway services between Kemble and London Paddington during the last 12 months.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There has been passenger growth on services between Kemble and London Paddington over the last year. Great Western Railway is responsible for ensuring that sufficient capacity is provided to meet passenger demand and there is regular engagement with the operator to review service provision.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of the reduction in the UK's Official Development Assistance budget on programmes aimed at reducing extreme poverty; and what plans he has to restore Official Development Assistance spending to 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Reducing the overall size of the UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will necessarily have an impact on the scale and shape of the work we do to reduce extreme poverty. While it is not possible to mitigate all negative impacts of reductions, equalities impact assessments informed decision-making and ensured that allocations across multilateral programmes and central programme spending do not cause disproportionate negative equalities impacts. The Government remains committed to returning to spending 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income on ODA when the fiscal circumstances allow.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
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 increasing Advance rail fares on passengers who commute two or three days per week.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Advance fares are not regulated by the Government and are managed on a commercial basis by train operators. They are priced according to demand for a particular service, and their price and availability can vary depending on the route, date and time of travel, and when the ticket is purchased.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that passengers paying premium Advance fares on peak services are provided with sufficient seating capacity.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The provision of Advance fares is a commercial decision for train operators. Advance fares are priced according to demand for a particular service and vary by route, date, time of travel and time of booking.
Advance fares are sold with a seat reservation and are therefore limited in number. Train operators manage the availability of Advance fares alongside the capacity available on each service.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that any future reforms to the SEND system do not weaken the statutory rights of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, including rights to assessment, appeal and appropriate provision.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for South Cotswolds to the answer of 22 June 2026 to Question 5520.