Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to provide incentives to Local Highway Authorities to achieve green ratings under traffic light rankings for pothole repairs; and whether she plans to impose consequences on authorities not achieving green ratings.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has provided a record investment of £7.3 billion for local highways maintenance over the next four years. A portion of this funding is incentive funding, which is subject to local highway authorities publishing their maintenance plans and meeting performance-based criteria. By meeting these criteria, local highway authorities will also be able to achieve better ratings. Any authorities that received a red rating under the Department’s rating system also receive access to a dedicated support programme to help them improve their rating and local road conditions.
At present, the Department has no plans to penalise or withhold resources from local highway authorities that do not achieve a green rating. We instead aim to support local highway authorities – through our record funding and wider support and guidance – so that they can achieve a better rating and to ensure road conditions improve nationwide.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the funding allocated to Local Highway Authorities for pothole repairs.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has announced a record £7.3 billion investment into highways maintenance over the next four years which will enable local authorities to invest in significantly improving the long-term condition of England’s road network, delivering faster, safer and more reliable journeys.
By confirming funding over a four-year period, local authorities will have greater certainty to plan ahead and move away from short-term fixes, enabling more proactive and preventative work to stop potholes from forming in the first place.
The Department will monitor how effectively local authorities use this record level of funding through annual transparency reports, incentive funding requirements which encourage authorities to follow best practice in highways maintenance, and the new traffic-light ratings system which was announced in January. Together, these measures will provide clearer oversight of local performance and help ensure that funding is used to deliver lasting improvements for road users.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding she has allocated to National Highways for ongoing repairs and maintenance of motorways and strategic A roads in addition to funding provided in the Autumn Budget 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) due to be published in March will set out the funding that will be provided to National Highways for the operation, maintenance and renewal of the strategic road network over the period from 2026/27 to 2030/31.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
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 diesel operation on the Midland Main Line north of Leicester on emissions and air quality in a) Leicester and b) the East Midlands.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Prior to the decision being made to pause the Midland Main Line Electrification programme as part of Spending Review 2025, the benefits of the scheme were being assessed. The benefits of fully electrifying the Midland Main Line (MML) are predominately those that would deliver greener transport, such as reducing carbon and improving local air quality, particularly at stations, through trains using electric traction rather than diesel.
Whilst not as clean as fully electric trains, the new intercity bi-mode trains currently being introduced by East Midland’s Railway are much cleaner and will contribute to improving air quality on the route.
Station managers in areas with poor air quality are required to develop and implement Air Quality Improvement Plans (AQIPs) which should outline feasible measures to improve air quality. The AQIPs for Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, and Sheffield stations on the MML have been developed and must be reviewed and updated annually.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department considers the level of rail infrastructure investment in (a) Leicester and (b) the East Midlands to be proportionate to its population.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Decisions made by the Government on investment in rail infrastructure are taken to ensure that the railways are funded to operate safely and efficiently and in line with our strategic goals.
The funding identified for rail infrastructure enhancements as part of Spending Review 2025 was not apportioned regionally. Schemes were prioritised for funding on a value for money basis and we needed to make difficult decisions to reach an affordable and sustainable position.
In addition to funding for rail enhancements, the Office of Rail and Roads’ periodic review process determines Network Rail’s funding allocation for the Operation, Support, Maintenance and Renewal (OSMR) of the network. The periodic review process is undertaken on a regional basis. Funding for Network Rail to operate, maintain and renew the railway in the East Midlands during Control Period 7 (from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2029) is included in their £9.6bn settlement for the Eastern region.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that local authority taxi and private hire licensing enforcement policies are brought into line with the Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We are currently reviewing licensing authorities’ compliance with existing guidance issued by the Department on actions they should take on licensing matters including safety. Where key safety recommendations from the guidance are not being followed, licensing authorities will be held to account.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the level of variation between local authorities in the discretionary provision of free bus passes for carers of disabled people; and what steps she is taking to ensure a consistent approach across England.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not have any plans to provide advice on offering a discretionary concession to carers of disabled people, as offering this is a choice for the individual local authority to make.
In the year ending March 2025, 66% of Travel Concession Authorities in England outside London offered a discretionary concession for those travelling with a disabled person. The decision on whether to offer discretionary concessions is for the local authority to make depending on their needs and circumstances.
As part of the Autumn 2024 Budget, the government allocated £955 million to support and improve bus services in 25/26. This includes £712 million for local authorities, of which Leicester City Council was allocated £9.4 million. Funding allocated to local authorities to deliver better bus services can be used in whichever way they wish to improve services for passengers, which could include funding discretionary concessions.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to issue guidance to local authorities on the discretionary provision of concessionary bus passes for carers of disabled people.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not have any plans to provide advice on offering a discretionary concession to carers of disabled people, as offering this is a choice for the individual local authority to make.
In the year ending March 2025, 66% of Travel Concession Authorities in England outside London offered a discretionary concession for those travelling with a disabled person. The decision on whether to offer discretionary concessions is for the local authority to make depending on their needs and circumstances.
As part of the Autumn 2024 Budget, the government allocated £955 million to support and improve bus services in 25/26. This includes £712 million for local authorities, of which Leicester City Council was allocated £9.4 million. Funding allocated to local authorities to deliver better bus services can be used in whichever way they wish to improve services for passengers, which could include funding discretionary concessions.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of additional lorry drivers required after the reduction in volumetric concrete mixers weight limits.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The call for evidence conducted from October to December 2023 was an opportunity for respondents to present evidence, but it did not reveal significant new evidence supporting a change in policy.
The outcome of my department’s review into VCMs was published on 18 March. This can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/volumetric-concrete-mixers-review.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase (a) automated announcements at railway stations and (b) assistance from platform staff for visually impaired passengers.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Ensuring accessibility for all passengers is at the heart of our passenger-focused approach. Whenever the industry carries out work at stations this must meet current accessibility standards, including for visual and audible announcements. Furthermore, all train and station operators are required to establish and comply with an Accessible Travel Policy which sets out, amongst other things, the arrangements and assistance that an operator will provide to protect the interests of disabled people using its services. We have recently funded the next phase of the Passenger Assist programme, this will build on the existing programme and deliver an improved and more consistent assistance offer for all passengers who require assistance.