Written questions by Mayer.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of existing national planning policy and guidance in relation to meanwhile use.

My Department has made no such an assessment. The government recognises the important role that meanwhile use can play in activating empty high street units, including through pop-up shops and community hubs, while longer-term plans are developed.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of families expected to benefit from the 30 hours of free childcare by council area in the East of England.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change. We are delivering more support to working families than ever before with the rollout of 30 hours government-funded childcare.The department does not hold data on estimates of the numbers of families expected to benefit by area.However, we do collect data on eligibility codes, which show the number of children, down to local authority level, who have benefitted. This information can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/expansion-to-early-childcare-entitlements-eligibility-codes-issued-and-validated/2025-may.This data is being updated periodically in response to the hours rollout.

What recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of expenditure on special educational needs transport provision in England.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard to the answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 62591.

What assessment her Department has made of trends in current levels of concessionary bus travel usage.

The Department publishes statistics on concessionary travel in England in the Concessionary Travel Statistics release, which are based on survey data collected from Travel Concession Authorities (TCAs). Concessionary travel relates to when eligible people travel on reduced (or free) fares. The latest concessionary travel statistics, including figures on concessionary bus passenger journeys in England for the year ending March 2011 to the year ending March 2024 for older and disabled people are provided in the table below: Table: Older and Disabled Concessionary Bus Journeys, millionsYear ending MarchEnglandEngland outside LondonLondonEnglish metropolitan areasEnglish non-metropolitan areas20111,04875329630245020121,05474730729545320131,00971129828143020141,00770830027743020159896932962684252016958670289258412201792564428124739720188816082732323762019861592269226366202080255025220934020212701799276103202249132216912919320235703721981412312024604389215144245

Whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of road traffic incidents in which unrestrained pets have caused (a) injury to vehicle occupants, (b) difficulty for emergency services accessing vehicles and (c) secondary accidents as a result of pets escaping following a collision.

The information requested is not held by the Department.

What impact the Pension Commission will have for residents in (a) Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency and (b) Bedfordshire.

This government is committed to enabling tomorrow’s pensioners to have security in retirement. The Pensions Investment Review and the Pension Schemes Bill currently going through Parliament both focus on ensuring the pension pots of savers in Bedfordshire and throughout the UK are working as hard as they can – for average earners saving in a DC workplace pension over their career this could mean up to £29,000 more in retirement pots. The Pensions Commission has been revived to consider what is required in the long term to deliver financial security in retirement through a pensions framework that is stronger, fairer and more sustainable for people up and down the country.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the decision to extend UK e-scooter rental trials until 2028 on (a) private and (b) public funding of active travel infrastructure.

The Department has made no specific assessment of the impact of e-scooter trial extensions on active travel infrastructure investment.In the Spending Review we announced £616 million for Active Travel England from 2026-27 to 2029-30 to support local authorities to build and maintain walking and cycling infrastructure.

Whether Great British Railways will introduce a centralised lost property system across the rail network.

Great British Railways will bring the track, train and rail estate together under one organisation. This will enable it to more effectively adapt and create a system to better suit passenger needs. We are working closely with industry on opportunities to optimise the approach to standards across the rail sector.

What steps her Department is taking to prevent the resale of stolen mobile phones in (a) Bedfordshire, (b) Cambridgeshire and (c) Suffolk.

The Home Secretary has been clear that tackling mobile phone theft and the resale of stolen devices is a priority.Earlier this year the Home Secretary brought together police, the National Crime Agency, the Mayor of London, leading tech companies and others to drive greater collaboration in breaking the business model of mobile phone thieves. The Summit resulted in clear commitments from attendees to work in partnership, including work to disrupt the resale of stolen phones, exploring technological solutions to make devices harder to re-register or resell, and working with the police to better understand the routes used to sell stolen phones.The Home Office is driving this work with the police and other stakeholders to tackle this criminality.In addition, the Crime and Policing Bill includes a measure to give police the power to enter and search premises for stolen property that has been electronically geo-location tracked to those premises, where it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant without seriously prejudicing the entry and search purpose. This power will support efforts to recover stolen phones before they can be resold.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of giving National Highways a remit to increase the efficiency of motorways and major A roads by incentivising increasing the number of people in a car.

National Highways does not currently have a formal policy on car sharing but recognises the role it can play in reducing congestion. National Highways will continue to seek opportunities to collaborate with partners and stakeholders to support a more efficient and sustainable strategic road network, including initiatives such as car sharing.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing NHS trusts to reduce mileage reimbursement to incentivise use of pool vehicles.

Whilst no specific assessment has been made, the NHS Staff Council, which has responsibility for maintaining the Agenda for Change system of pay and terms and conditions, is currently negotiating a new mechanism that will assess the costs of motoring to determine mileage reimbursement rates. Further updates from the NHS Staff Council’s work will be made in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many miles of canal have been closed for navigation due to water shortages in 2025.

The country’s largest navigation authority, the Canal and River Trust, reports that the prolonged period of dry weather this spring and summer has led to a number of restrictions and closures across its 2,000-mile inland waterway network. As well as low water levels generally, restrictions on navigation due to water shortages can also include closing locks to preserve the water in the canal sections between them. While this results in through navigation being closed, it may still be possible to navigate between turning points within the sections of canal between closed locks. As of 31 August 2025, the Trust reports that there were 32 low water closures on 29 waterways impacting an estimated 403 miles, or 1/5th of the network. Since April 2025 the Trust has had 76 low water closures, 53 over 48 hours’ duration and 23 under 48 hours.

How many prosecutions for assault on public-facing workers under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 have involved roadworkers; and what assessment she has made of the impact of that provision on sentencing and deterrence.

The Ministry of Justice does not hold data on the number of prosecutions under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (“the Act”) that specifically involve roadworkers. This is because offence data collected centrally does not routinely record the victim’s occupation in sufficient detail to identify roadworkers as a distinct category.The law provides protections for public-facing workers through this legislation, by creating a statutory aggravating factor, which courts have a duty to consider. This requires courts to treat assaults against such workers as aggravated in sentencing decisions, ensuring that the seriousness of these offences is adequately reflected in sentencing outcomes.

What proportion of staff working in DfT Operator were in their immediately previous role (a) working in the civil service (b) working in the private sector.

Neither the Department for Transport nor the DfT Operator hold this information.

What proportion of staff working in DfT Operator were women as of the end of July 2025.

As of 31 July 2025, 56.7 per cent of the DfT Operator workforce were women.

What evaluation framework is used to measure the effectiveness of the Safer Streets Summer Initiative.

The Home Office have developed a multi-strand analytical approach to measure the progress of the Safer Summer Streets Initiative. This includes:PCCs and police forces providing the Home Office with monthly light-touch monitoring data and qualitative insights related to the initiative.Home Office analysts will analyse data already reported to the Home Office via the Police Annual Data Requirement (ADR) on crime volumes and positive outcomes related to relevant offences.Light-touch process evaluation activity will also be conducted with a limited number of forces to understand how the initiative has been delivered and take learning forward to improve future activity and inform policy.This approach has been communicated to PCCs, including a drop-in session held on the 23 June and a meeting chaired by Minister Johnson on the 24 June.

How many full time equivalent staff were working in her Department as of the end of July 2025.

3,404.74 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff were in the Ministerial Department’s total workforce at the end of July 2025.11,705.87 FTE staff were working in Executive Agencies.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of existing regulatory frameworks governing travel companies that market or sell tickets to animal-based tourist attractions.

DCMS has made no such assessment. Overall responsibility for consumer regulation, including Package Travel Regulations, sits with the Department for Business and Trade.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the introduction of bans on enriched cages for laying hens in European countries.

The Government is committed to upholding our high animal welfare standards as part of wider trade policy. We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The use of cages for laying hens is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully. This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. The Prime Minister announced that we will be publishing an animal welfare strategy later this year.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending eligibility for Blue Badges to include voluntary patient transport providers.

It is preferable for disabled individuals to hold their own Blue Badge, allowing them to use it in any vehicle they travel in, whether as a driver or a passenger. However, an organisational Blue Badge may be issued to an organisation for use in vehicles transporting disabled people who would individually qualify for a badge, as set out in Section 4(2) of the Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) Regulations 2000. Local authorities must be able to confirm that the organisation both cares for and regularly transports individuals who meet the eligibility criteria for a personal Blue Badge, and that there is a clear operational need for an organisational badge rather than relying on individual badges.