Asked by: Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru - Caerfyrddin)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of levels of funding provided by the UK Government for railways in Wales.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The level of investment across the different parts of the railway network is determined by the needs of the network, value for money and meeting the Government’s priorities. The benefits of this spend can accrue in geographically distant locations. The funding for the day-to-day running and renewal of the railway was determined via the comprehensive regulatory processes led by the independent regulator, the Office of Rail and Road.
Network Rail spending on operations, maintenance, and renewals in Wales for the five years between 2024 and 2029 is forecast to be £2.5 billion. This will be used to address climate effects, improve train performance from current levels, and invest in the areas that matter most to passengers and freight users. The Government had made a further commitment of at least £445 million of rail enhancements funding for Wales, and plans for future rail investment in Wales will be made in close consultation with the Wales Rail Board. This will be consulted ahead of the next Spending Review so that Wales’ long-term infrastructure needs continue to be recognised.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the need to introduce a legal requirement to consider access to hospital helipads in any planning application in the vicinity of a hospital.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making.
The proposed new Framework gives substantial weight to the benefits of providing new or improved public service infrastructure, including healthcare facilities of all types.
The consultation also sets out updated policy to make clear that public services should not have unreasonable restrictions placed on their current or permitted operation as a result of development being approved after they were established. This means that development proposals should be capable of being integrated effectively with existing public service activities and infrastructure in their vicinity.
The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Delegation of the setting of planning fees to local planning authorities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Fair Funding Review on planning fees in local authorities which have lost funding in real terms.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Planning and Infrastructure Act provides the Secretary of State with the power to delegate the setting of planning fees to local planning authorities.
The Fair Funding Review considers how resources are distributed across local government based on relative need and demand for services. It does not determine planning fee levels, which remain cost-recovery charges rather than general funding streams.
The government is supporting local authorities to manage their updated funding positions by introducing changes over the multi-year Settlement and protecting councils’ income through transitional arrangements, including locally retained business rates growth.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current status of the Euston Delivery Company, its Board, its remit, and its financial information
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government’s 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy confirmed that a Euston Delivery Company (EDC) will be established to oversee development of and be the single directing authority for the whole Euston campus. Its primary role will be to lead, integrate, and deliver a modern, safe, and revitalised transport gateway and support commercial development around the Campus.
The Government is working on the design and establishment of the new Delivery Company, with further details to be set out in due course once it has been formally established.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 8 September 2025 to question 71975, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of expanding the available pan space.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I would like to refer the hon. Member to the answer I have provided to the hon. Member for Huntingdon on 29 August to Question 71975. There remain no plans to expand the available 'pan space' at RAF Akrotiri but the Ministry of Defence is well placed to expand the facilities and infrastructure at RAF Akrotiri should the need arise.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to (a) promote and (b) enforce the new EN-1 and EN-3 requirements associated with incinerators.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Overarching National Policy Statement for Energy (EN-1) and the National Policy Statement for Renewable Energy Infrastructure (EN-3) govern planning requirements for larger-scale incinerators (50MW+) that fall under the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) regime. Applications for Development Consent of NSIPs, including larger-scale incinerators, are determined by the Secretary of State under these policy frameworks. In 2025 these documents were updated to reflect current policy, including removal of Critical National Priority policy presumption from Energy from Waste proposals. Updates were subject to public consultation, and the revised energy National Policy Statements were published and came into effect in January 2026.
Asked by: Lloyd Hatton (Labour - South Dorset)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to help support offshore wind supply chains in South Dorset constituency.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government set out a £1b support package with Great British Energy, The Crown Estate and industry supporting new infrastructure, including ports and manufacturing across the UK. GBE recently opened its £300m fund, to support manufacturing investment and deployment.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the costs to port developers of the requirement in paragraph 4.7.23 of the draft National Policy Statement for Ports to provide infrastructure to support alternative fuels and zero-emission HGVs.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The costs of providing appropriate infrastructure will be determined on a case-by-case basis as applications progress. The final text of the National Policy Statement for Ports will be published in due course.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the amount of technology required by state schools in England.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department monitors the level of technology required by state schools in England through the Technology in Schools Survey 2025, which captures evidence on digital infrastructure, devices and connectivity.
To support schools, the department has published clear digital and technology standards, covering broadband, wireless networks, filtering and monitoring, cyber security, cloud storage, devices and digital leadership. These standards help schools make informed decisions about the technology required for safe and effective teaching.
We continue to invest in programmes such as Connect the Classroom and the Plan Technology for Your School service to ensure all schools can meet these expectations by 2030.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to help improve energy interconnection between the UK and the EU.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
At the recent North Sea Summit we committed to a joint ambition of 100GW of offshore renewable projects with our European neighbours, including through coordinated energy infrastructure planning.