Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data her Department collects on the reasons given for the issuing of Penalty Fares on the rail network.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Deliberate fare evasion reduces the revenue needed to support the railway and disadvantages passengers who pay the correct fare. We are making fares easier to understand, so that passengers can buy tickets with confidence, knowing they are getting the right fare every time.
The Department does not collect data on reasons given for the issuing of Penalty Fares on the rail network; however, Train Operating Companies are required to conduct surveys to determine the percentage of passengers carrying a valid ticket. This data enables the Department to understand revenue at risk.
The Department will shortly be publishing its formal response to the Office of Rail and Road’s review of revenue protection practices.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of ringfencing Section 31 grants.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department does not routinely ringfence the section 31 grants it pays. We have listened to what local government needs and we are consolidating and simplifying the funding we pay to authorities. Local Transport Authorities know their areas better than government can, so this greater freedom and flexibility will help authorities to spend on the most important and impactful local projects. The Government will use Outcomes Frameworks to ensure that spending is used to improve transport for all its users.
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 6 January 2026 to Question 101488, what information her Department holds on revenue lost due to fare evasion by individual train operating companies.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Deliberate fare evasion reduces revenue needed to support the railway and disadvantages passengers who pay the correct fare. The Department does not hold data on revenue lost to fare evasion at the level of individual train operating companies. Industry estimates from the Rail Delivery Group indicate that fraud and ticketless travel result in at least £350–£400 million in lost revenue annually.
In June 2025, the Office for Rail and Road published its independent review of revenue protection practices. The Department has accepted the review’s recommendations in full and will publish its formal response shortly.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to support low-income earners with transport to and from London following (a) the introduction of pay as you go ticketing in Dorking and Horley constituency and (b) price increases of between 3% and 24%.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has commissioned independent evaluation on the trial, this research has not yet concluded. The current evidence is provided by LNER and is available at
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, further to written question 103034 answered on 8 January 2026, when she will conduct this post-delivery evaluation.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is currently progressing the evaluation of the phases of Pay as you go roll out in the South East, following the launch of phase one stations last year. Once evaluation is complete, we will make the final reports public.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2026 to Question 103034 on Railways: Tickets, if she will make an assessment of the impact of cancelling evening out return fares between Dorking and London on commuters.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
For stations in Dorking and Horley, we have simplified the complicated web of tickets by having one Peak and one Off-Peak price, with some fares changing and others being removed as part of improvements to ticketing via pay as you go with contactless expansion. This will allow passengers greater flexibility in their choice of tickets, with some seeing a reduction in their ticket price.
On 23 November the Chancellor and Transport Secretary announced that regulated rail fares will be frozen for the first time in 30 years. Over a billion journeys are going to be affected by this freeze with season tickets, anytime returns on commuter routes, and off-peak returns on longer-distance routes all subject to the freeze.
The Department is currently progressing the evaluation of the phases of Pay as you go roll out in the South East. Once evaluation is complete we will make the final reports public.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her oral contribution of 8 January 2026, Official Report, column 420, on what evidential basis she said that the majority of single tickets under the extension of contactless ticketing will be the same price or lower than under the previous fares structure.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As part of our fares simplification to expand Pay As You Go (PAYG) with Contactless ticketing, we introduced single leg pricing. The Department worked with the rail industry to ensure that as much as possible, single fares will cost roughly half the price of a return. The Department is currently progressing the evaluation of the phases of PAYG rollout, in the South East, following the launch of phase one stations last year. This will measure the impact of both PAYG technology and fares reform on passenger experience. Once the evaluation is complete, we will make the final reports public.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of Penalty Charge Notice enforcement practices associated with toll bridges on low income motorists.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The operation of each toll bridge is the responsibility of the body that owns it, in this case Halton Borough Council. Furthermore, most toll bridges collect payments at toll-booths which minimises the risk of non-payment. Where free-flow charging is used, as at the Mersey Gateway crossings, operators offer numerous ways to pay to maximise compliance rates. National regulations specify the maximum penalty charge that may be imposed for non-payment at the Dartford Crossing and the Mersey Gateway bridges. If penalty charges go unpaid, enforcement agents may be used to collect the debt. The Enforcement
Conduct Board provides independent oversight of the enforcement industry to ensure that all those who are subject to enforcement action are treated fairly.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, further to his Department's consultation entitled Make Work Pay: Consultation - Draft Code of Practice on Electronic and Workplace Balloting for Statutory Union Ballots, published on 19 November 2025, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the potential environment impact of e-balloting and postal balloting.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The environmental impact of e-balloting, and anticipated reduction in postal balloting is estimated to have a net positive environmental effect. It is expected that e-balloting will reduce the physical printing and transport requirements of the existing postal balloting process.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the introduction of Tap-In/Tap out on rail users at Surrey stations.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We want to expand ticketing innovations such as Pay As You Go (PAYG) to more passengers. The Department considered several factors to determine which stations would have PAYG with contactless rollout for this phase of delivery. These included travel patterns, passenger benefits, operator views and the necessary changes to fares to ensure as many passengers as possible benefit from an improved experience. On 14th December we launched PAYG with contactless at a further 30 stations in the Southeast, and we will continue to ensure operators monitor these changes post implementation.