Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve disabled access at Portchester train station.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government remains committed to improving railway accessibility and recognises the social and economic benefits it brings to communities. There are no immediate plans to improve step-free access at Porchester station and all current funding under the government’s Access for All programme has been allocated to existing projects. Nominations for future funding rounds will be strengthened by strong industry support and third-party match funding. In the meantime, passengers unable to use the station can book assistance through South Western Railway.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will review the funding allocation model to ensure that smaller stations are not disadvantaged due to proximity to better-equipped neighbouring stations.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As with all taxpayer funded programmes, stations projects need to demonstrate value for money, but this is not necessarily linked to size of station. In the case of the Access for All programme, station footfall is only one criteria used. Additional importance is placed on local incidence of disability, geographical location, industry priority and the availability of third party funding.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support is available to local authorities seeking to provide match funding for accessibility upgrades at stations.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail and train operators will always be available to advise local authorities on how funding contributions could be used to support station accessibility upgrades. This can happen on both a stand-alone basis, and as part of national nomination processes for the Access for All programme.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria she uses to assess bids under the Access for All scheme; and how stations can qualify for accessibility improvements.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As with all taxpayer funded programmes Access for All needs to demonstrate value for money.
The criteria used to assess nominations include station footfall, weighted by incidence of disability in the area, industry priorities, and the availability of third-party funding. We also consider local factors, for example proximity to hospitals or stations with especially high numbers of interchange passengers. We also ensure that selected stations represent a fair geographical spread of projects across the national network.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Portchester train station will be considered for funding in the next round of the Access for All programme.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All funding available for the Access for All programme in the current Spending Review period has been allocated to projects. Nominations for future rounds of funding will benefit from strong industry support and a proportion of third party match funding.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will revise the Access for All criteria to include community need as a key factor in future funding rounds.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As with all taxpayer funded programmes Access for All needs to demonstrate value for money and to benefit the maximum number of passengers. In addition to station footfall, we carefully consider local factors such as the incidence of disability or proximity to a school or hospital, geographical location, industry priority and the availability of third party funding are all taken into account when selecting stations.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
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 relying on pre-booked taxi services from Portchester to nearby stations in order to access rail travel on disabled passengers.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government remains committed to improving railway accessibility and recognises the social and economic benefits it brings to communities.
There are no immediate plans to improve step-free access at Porchester station.
Train operators are required to provide assistance, free of charge, to enable disabled passengers to travel to and from every station in Great Britain that they have identified as accessible to them.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to monitor the use of drones in urban areas.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as the independent aviation regulator, receives reports of aviation incidents via multiple reporting channels and reviews those that fall within its remit. Members of the public concerned about drone misuse, including in residential or urban areas, should report it to their local police force, who are best placed to determine whether an offence has been committed under the CAA’s Drone and Model Aircraft Code.
From January 2026, all drones with a camera and weighing more than 250 grams will be required to comply with new Remote Identification (Remote ID) requirements. Remote ID is a system that allows drones to be tracked and identified in real time, similar to a digital licence plate. This will support enforcement authorities by enabling the identification of non-compliant drones and locating their operators when necessary.
In relation to flights in residential areas, there are already existing restrictions. Operating a drone with a camera, regardless of weight, requires the operator to be registered with the CAA and to follow the Drone and Model Aircraft Code, which sets out legal requirements for safe and responsible use, including respect for privacy. The CAA also assesses and authorises drone operations based on their risk profile, including the location of intended flights.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to amend legislation to offer protections from civilian-piloted drones in residential areas.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as the independent aviation regulator, receives reports of aviation incidents via multiple reporting channels and reviews those that fall within its remit. Members of the public concerned about drone misuse, including in residential or urban areas, should report it to their local police force, who are best placed to determine whether an offence has been committed under the CAA’s Drone and Model Aircraft Code.
From January 2026, all drones with a camera and weighing more than 250 grams will be required to comply with new Remote Identification (Remote ID) requirements. Remote ID is a system that allows drones to be tracked and identified in real time, similar to a digital licence plate. This will support enforcement authorities by enabling the identification of non-compliant drones and locating their operators when necessary.
In relation to flights in residential areas, there are already existing restrictions. Operating a drone with a camera, regardless of weight, requires the operator to be registered with the CAA and to follow the Drone and Model Aircraft Code, which sets out legal requirements for safe and responsible use, including respect for privacy. The CAA also assesses and authorises drone operations based on their risk profile, including the location of intended flights.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made a recent estimate of the number of incidents relating to drone usage in residential areas.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as the independent aviation regulator, receives reports of aviation incidents via multiple reporting channels and reviews those that fall within its remit. Members of the public concerned about drone misuse, including in residential or urban areas, should report it to their local police force, who are best placed to determine whether an offence has been committed under the CAA’s Drone and Model Aircraft Code.
From January 2026, all drones with a camera and weighing more than 250 grams will be required to comply with new Remote Identification (Remote ID) requirements. Remote ID is a system that allows drones to be tracked and identified in real time, similar to a digital licence plate. This will support enforcement authorities by enabling the identification of non-compliant drones and locating their operators when necessary.
In relation to flights in residential areas, there are already existing restrictions. Operating a drone with a camera, regardless of weight, requires the operator to be registered with the CAA and to follow the Drone and Model Aircraft Code, which sets out legal requirements for safe and responsible use, including respect for privacy. The CAA also assesses and authorises drone operations based on their risk profile, including the location of intended flights.