Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2026 to Question 12229 on Railways: Infrastructure, what the total number is of rail infrastructure projects in England with an anticipated capital cost of less than £50 million that are currently delivering on site; and what proportion of those projects are forecasting completion after their original baseline completion date.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Of the rail infrastructure projects in England currently delivering on site with an anticipated capital cost of less than £50 million, 144 projects are forecasting completion after their original baseline completion date, out of a total of approximately 500 projects.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimates her Department has made of the monetised costs of aircraft noise pollution for communities under Heathrow flight paths exposed to noise above 43dB.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not routinely monetise the costs of noise from existing noise sources and has not made an estimate of such costs for communities under Heathrow flight paths exposed to noise above 43dB.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in preparing the Heathrow Expansion Appraisal Report, what consideration her Department gave to modelling the potential monetised costs of noise pollution from expansion.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Heathrow Expansion Appraisal Report estimates monetised disbenefits of noise to be approximately -£1.6 billion (2024 prices) over a 60-year appraisal period. This reflects the estimated increased noise exposure causing health, annoyance and sleep disturbance impacts.
Asked by: Rebecca Harris (Conservative - Castle Point)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of changes in passenger numbers on c2c rail services in each of the next ten years.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has not made or published a ten-year estimate of passenger numbers specifically for c2c rail services. Future passenger demand forecasts are developed as part of business planning, investment appraisals, and rail industry forecasting processes, but projections are subject to significant uncertainty and are not routinely published on an operator-by-operator basis for the next ten years.
However, over the next ten years we would expect c2c to continue to grow passenger numbers. Long-term planning strategic advice, such as the Essex Thameside Strategic Advice, is published on Network Rail's website.
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: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the maintenance backlog requirements are for the rolling stock fleet of each train operating company.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport does not hold information relating to any backlog of maintenance for the rolling stock fleet of each train operating company. Responsibility for identifying, managing, and undertaking rolling stock maintenance requirements rests with train operators, rolling stock leasing companies and maintenance providers through their contractual asset management arrangements.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the eligibility criteria for free milk under the school milk scheme.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Chichester to the answer of 23 June 2026 to Question 9524.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of extending free school milk provision to all children until the end of the Reception year.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Chichester to the answer of 23 June 2026 to Question 9524.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 20 July (HL2218), why the logo on the UK Home Office account on X is in the square format which identifies it as a Premium paid-for account, rather than the round format which is used to identify free verified government accounts, even though the Home Office has stated that is has neither paid for such an account nor received one for free from X.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
At the time of previous responses, the Home Office Social Media Team understood that it held a standard verified government account and did not subscribe to, or pay for, X Premium.
Subsequent checks of the account's billing and subscription history have established that the Home Office does not pay for Premium services, but that the account has been provided with complimentary Premium status by X at no cost to the department because it is a government Department.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department's guidance permits schools to make participation in school events, trips, and extracurricular activities conditional on achieving a minimum attendance rate.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department’s guidance does not prescribe how school attendance rewards and incentives are applied. Decisions about their operation are generally matters for individual schools, reflecting their circumstances and the needs of their pupils.
Where schools choose to link attendance to access to particular activities, we would expect them to do so carefully, proportionately and without discrimination. They should consider reward systems that are inclusive and appropriate for all pupils including those with disabilities or long-term health conditions.