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 the transfer of passenger services into public ownership on passenger revenue, fare yield and net subsidy.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department assesses the impacts of a variety of factors when forecasting passenger revenue and the cost of operating the railway, including the direct cost savings from public ownership through removing fees paid to private-sector operators, and the benefits, projects and programmes that the creation of Great British Railways (GBR) enables. Fare yield is one of the measures of passenger revenue that GBR will monitor; changes in yield are driven by various factors including average journey length, annual fares policy, and railcard use.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2026 to Question 14823 on Railways: Standards, what the average (a) 'Time to 3' performance and (b) cancellations rate for passenger rail services in Great Britain was in April to June of (i) 2025 and (ii) 2026.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In April to June 2025, the average 'Time to 3' punctuality was 86.3 percent and the cancellations score was 3.2 percent in Great Britain. Rail performance statistics have not yet been released for the equivalent period in 2026.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many passenger services operated by each train operating company were reported as having one or more defective toilets in each month since July 2024.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Information on individual rolling stock defects and the status of onboard facilities is held by train operators and rolling stock maintainers as part of their operational maintenance and asset management arrangements. Where toilets are fitted on board trains, the Department expects train operators to work with those maintaining them, to minimise any lack of availability and deliver facilities that passengers expect.
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 potential impact of recent infrastructure issues at Heathrow Airport on regulatory arrangements for future airport expansion.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government recognises the importance of resilient airport infrastructure for passengers and the wider economy. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as the independent economic regulator of Heathrow Airport, is responsible for setting the economic regulatory framework for the airport.
The government continues to engage with the CAA and Heathrow on matters relating to the airport's resilience and future investment, while respecting the CAA's independent statutory duties. Decisions on any future airport expansion will be considered through the appropriate planning and regulatory processes.
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 adequacy of the resources of British Transport Police to maintain a permanent policing presence at major rail interchange stations.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The British Transport Police (BTP) is operationally independent from Government. It is therefore for the BTP Chief Constable to determine the optimal number of officers required at major rail interchange stations, using the budget allocated by the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA). The BTPA recently agreed a three-year budget settlement for BTP which will see BTP’s budget increase from £418.5m in 2025/26 to £481.5m in 2028/29.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, at which railway stations live facial recognition technology has been deployed in each of the last five years; on what dates it was deployed at each station; for what purpose; and how many individuals were (a) matched to watchlists, (b) stopped by police and (c) arrested following its use.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The British Transport Police (BTP) commenced a six-month pilot of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) at certain railway stations in February 2026. The purpose of every deployment is to identify and apprehend individuals wanted for serious crimes.
BTP have reported that to date (a) no offenders have been matched to watchlists, (b) one individual has been stopped by police but this was a false alert which was resolved quickly and (c) no individuals have been arrested specifically following use of facial recognition technology.
BTP have reported 13 arrests linked to the deployment of LFR so far during the pilot, and the locations see a reduced level of crime whilst LFR is in use.
The following railway stations have had LFR deployed:
Deployment Location | Date (2026) |
London Bridge | 11-Feb |
Waterloo Rail | 13-Feb |
Euston Rail | 17-Feb |
Kings Cross | 24-Feb |
Kings Cross | 04-Mar |
Euston | 13-Mar |
St Pancras | 19-Mar |
Liverpool Street | 26-Mar |
Kings Cross | 02-Apr |
Victoria | 09-Apr |
Victoria | 20-May |
Waterloo | 22-May |
Liverpool Street | 28-May |
Euston | 11-Jun |
Victoria | 27-Jun |
Victoria | 2-Jul |
King’s Cross | 11-Jul |
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which representatives of the outbound travel and package holiday sector were consulted during the development of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate and its accompanying cost-benefit analysis.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The development of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate was subject to extensive consultation. Open consultations, which any individual or organisation could respond to, were conducted in both 2021 and 2023. The Department received responses from stakeholders from a broad range of sectors.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the cost of student visas on the finances of UK universities; and what steps her Department is taking to support higher education institutions facing financial pressures.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of the cost of student visas on the finances of UK universities. However, the government continues to monitor the financial sustainability of the higher education (HE) sector and works closely with the Office for Students (OfS), to understand risks and pressures facing providers.
The OfS, as independent regulator of English HE providers, has statutory duties in relation to the financial sustainability of the sector. The government has a clear interest in understanding the level of risk across the sector and continues to work closely with the OfS to understand the sector’s changing financial landscape.
We increased tuition fee caps in line with inflation in 2025/26 and are also increasing tuition fee caps in line with forecast inflation in 2026/27 and 2027/28 and will legislate to increase tuition fee caps automatically for future academic years. Over the next five years, these uplifts could generate around £6 billion extra income for the sector.
HE providers are independent from government and as such must continue to make the necessary and appropriate decisions to ensure their long-term sustainability.
More broadly, the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper sets out the government’s commitment to placing the sector on a more sustainable footing, supporting providers to drive efficiency, strengthen financial resilience, and adopt more effective operating models.
This government has taken a different stand on international students and we have spoken clearly about it. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has set out that we welcome international students who make a positive impact on the UK’s HE sector and our economy and society as a whole. The UK has a world class higher education sector with 4 universities in the top 10 and 17 in the top 100, alongside a wide array of high-quality institutions which can offer a fulfilling and enjoyable experience to international students from around the world.
The Immigration White Paper confirmed that we will retain the graduate visa but reduce its duration from 2 years to 18 months. This will maintain our competitive post-study offer whilst ensuring individuals on this route obtain employment in graduate level roles and contribute to the country’s skills needs more quickly.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) transport funding and (b) infrastructure investment are allocated equitably to cities that are not part of a mayoral combined authority or city region, including Leicester.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is providing local leaders in England with £21bn of local transport funding until 2029/30, through consolidated, multi-year settlements, including £9.6bn in non-mayoral areas, which they can use to deliver their local transport priorities, including transport infrastructure. The majority of local transport funding is allocated by formula to give a fair share of funding for all areas.
Leicester City Council has been awarded £148 million transport funding to invest in their local transport priorities.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of delayed diagnosis and treatment of urinary incontinence on women and girls; and if he will ensure the renewed Women's Health Strategy for England includes specific measures to improve access to continence services and reduce regional variation in care.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Continence is an important component in a person’s health and well-being at any stage of life. Early assessment by an appropriately trained professional allows a patient centred care pathway to be followed.
The Renewed Women's Health Strategy for England, published in April 2026, recognises that these conditions are often normalised by women and girls themselves and by wider society, with many women viewing symptoms such as leaking as an inevitable part of pregnancy, childbirth, ageing or the menopause. It also recognises that many women feel too embarrassed to seek support, which can lead to delays in diagnosis and treatment. The Women’s Health Strategy is not condition specific, instead it focuses on systemic changes including redesigning services, improving diagnosis, and embedding women and girls’ voices so that care improves across all conditions. It sets out how the Government will make women and girls’ voices and choices central in healthcare, transform National Health Service performance in services that matter most to women, support all women to live healthy, prosperous lives and create an approach to research and development that works for and empowers women.