Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with the Treasury on the cost of a rollout of smart ticketing across newly nationalised routes.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are overhauling the complex fares and ticketing system to make it easier for passengers to trust that they are buying the right ticket and getting the best fare. The rollout of smart ticketing solutions will play an important role in achieving this and improving the passenger experience.
We have committed to expanding Pay As You Go (PAYG) with contactless ticketing to further stations in the Southeast, with an additional 49 stations to be rolled out this year. Additionally, we have announced plans to launch PAYG in both Manchester and the West Midlands, expanding PAYG to more than 90 additional rail stations in 2026. Furthermore, digital pay as you go trials are part of plans to modernise our transport system. The first trial launched at the beginning of September in the East Midlands, with three remaining trials launching in Yorkshire from the end of September.
We are working closely with Train Operating Companies to deliver these projects, with public ownership and the move to Great British Rail (GBR) ensuring we are delivering for both passengers and taxpayers across the network.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help tackle overcrowding on the 18:00 South Western Railway service from London Waterloo to (a) Woking and (b) Portsmouth Harbour.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are aware this service is the eighth busiest in the country. The Department are supporting South Western Railway (SWR) to reduce overcrowding. Once the new Arterio train fleet have been introduced on the SWR suburban network, SWR will have the opportunity to review the timetable to better match capacity to demand and also re-deploy trains onto London Waterloo to Woking/Portsmouth Harbour services.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has considered the recommendation of the Children’s Commissioner’s report entitled Growing up in a low-income family: Children’s experiences, published in July 2025, to provide access to free bus travel for (a) school age children and (b) care leavers up to 25.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government knows how important affordable bus services are in enabling young people to get to education, work and access vital services.
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age, currently sixty-six. The ENCTS costs around £700 million annually and any changes to the statutory obligations, such as expanding the eligibility criteria to include school students and care leavers up to age 25, would therefore need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability. However, local authorities in England have the power to offer concessions in addition to their statutory obligations, including to those aged 16 and under, and 17–18-year-olds in full-time education, as discretionary enhancements to the ENCTS. Additional local concessions are provided and funded by local authorities from local resources.
At present, the majority of bus services operate on a commercial basis by private operators, and any decisions regarding the level at which fares are set outside the scope of the government’s £3 bus fare cap are commercial decisions for operators. Bus operators can choose to offer discounted fares for young people, and in the year ending March 2025, youth discounts were offered by at least one commercial bus operator in 73 out of 85 local authority areas in England outside London.
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, this can be used to expand services and improve reliability, which are currently massive obstacles for too many people. Surrey County Council has been allocated £12 million of this funding. 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 introducing new fares initiatives to reduce the cost of bus travel for school-age children and care leavers.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to extend smart ticketing.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is delivering on its ambition to overhaul ticketing for passengers and get more people on the railway. We have committed to expanding Pay As You Go (PAYG) with contactless ticketing to further stations in the South East, with an additional 49 stations to be rolled out this year. Additionally, PAYG pilots have been announced in both Manchester and the West Midlands, expanding PAYG to more than 90 additional rail stations, which are due to be launched in 2026. We are also launching trials on digital PAYG, to explore further smart ticketing initiatives.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much of the Local Transport Grant will go to Surrey County Council in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In 2025/26, the Local Transport Grant (LTG) has been allocated to local transport authorities (LTAs) in the North and Midlands outside of areas that receive City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) funding. Therefore, Surrey County Council did not receive a Local Transport Grant allocation.
Surrey County Council will receive an Integrated Transport Block (ITB) allocation of £4.8m in 2025/26 to support local transport maintenance and enhancements.
The Spending Review 2025 confirmed a £2.3 billion investment in local transport through the LTG for smaller cities, towns and rural areas, which do not receive City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) or Transport for City Regions (TCR) funding. This investment brings LTG and ITB together into a consolidated fund. Surrey County Council will receive a £38.2m LTG allocation between 2026/27 and 2029/30.
All allocations for ITB and LTG are published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Spending Review, published on 11 June 2025, how much and what proportion of the funding allocated for rail enhancements will be allocated to upgrades on the South Western Railway network.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Following the Chancellors’s statement on 11 June we are now working to confirm our wider portfolio of rail enhancements, which will be published as part of the government’s commitment to set out its overall infrastructure pipeline.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking following the nationalisation of South Western Railway to improve (a) train services and (b) access to train stations in Woking.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
South Western Railway (SWR) services transferred into public ownership on 25 May. This was a watershed moment in our work to return the railways to the service of passengers. The new Managing Director of SWR will develop a detailed plan to improve performance and get new trains into service which will improve train services in the Woking area. There are no immediate plans to improve access to stations in Woking.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has considered improving pedestrian (a) access and (b) egress at Waterloo Station.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are a series of improvement works underway at Waterloo station to improve pedestrian access and egress, including the recent refurbishment of the lift to Waterloo Road and with further escalator works to be completed by summer 2026. Network Rail is currently working on a London Waterloo masterplan which is at early stages to transform Waterloo station and the surrounding area.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a temporary Blue Badge scheme.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Blue Badge scheme is primarily about helping people with a long-term disability that affects their capacity to access the goods and services they need to use. Anyone may be entitled to a badge if they meet the eligibility criteria.
The Department for Transport has previously issued local authorities with advice on how they could use existing powers to provide locally determined parking concessions within their areas. For example, some local authorities grant parking concessions to assist their elderly residents. The same powers could be used to help those with temporary disabilities.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the length of time for which a driving theory test certificate is valid.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
It is important road safety knowledge and hazard perception skills are up to date at the critical point a person drives unsupervised for the first time.
The maximum duration of two years between passing the theory test and a subsequent practical test is in place to ensure a customer’s road safety knowledge and ability to identify developing hazards is current. This validity period is set in legislation, and the Government has no current plans to lay further legislation to extend it.
Ensuring learner drivers have current relevant knowledge and skills is a vital part of the learning to drive process as new drivers are disproportionately casualties on our roads. Learners therefore need to pass another theory test if their two-year theory test certificate expires.