Work of the Secretary of State for Transport

Status / emerging findings

• Rail passenger journeys up 7% to 451m in Q1, but £2bn annual subsidy for day-to-day operations remains a structural problem the department must reduce to balance its budget
• Real-terms DfT spending per person will fall 4.1% by 2029-30 vs 2023-24; HS2 consumes 33% of current capital budget (£7.1bn), crowding out other rail and regional investment
• Driving test waiting times worsened despite interventions; new measures (overtime incentives, recalled examiners, doubled trainers) target seven-week waiting target by summer 2026, but driving test fee frozen since 2010
• Great British Railways transition of all 10 private operators expected within three years but won't be fully operational until end of 2026; £3 bus fare cap secured after previous plans would have ended subsidies entirely
• Disability access legislation review (Law Commission) in early stages; committee pressed for visibility of unpublished outcome delivery plan and internal team-level targets translating high-level objectives

Why it matters

The DfT controls £7bn+ annual spending on buses, trains, roads, and aviation—and faces real-terms cuts while trying to deliver flagship policies (Great British Railways, bus reform, HS2); the committee is testing whether the government can simultaneously cut budgets, reduce rail subsidies, and meet its reform promises.

Tone arc

Started cooperative in November 2024 as committee established government's transport strategy post-election; shifted to mixed-critical by April 2025 as evidence emerged of structural spending constraints, persistent operational problems (driving tests), and regional inequality; by November 2025 became more pointed on budget pressures, subsidy reductions, and lack of published delivery frameworks.

Key witnesses

Rt Hon Heidi Alexander MP (Secretary of State for Transport, from April 2025 onwards), Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP (Transport Secretary, November 2024), Jo Shanmugalingam (Permanent Secretary, Department for Transport), Dame Bernadette Kelly KCB (Permanent Secretary, 2024), Rachel Skinner (capital review panel lead)