Written questions by Mayer.

With reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Railways Bill factsheet: tickets and retail, published on 5 November 2025, whether the Office of Rail and Road will lead the consultation on the statutory Code of Practice or whether this will be undertaken jointly with her Department.

The future rail retail industry code of practice will set out clear requirements for how Great British Railways (GBR) interacts with all market participants. It will be owned and managed by the Office of Rail and Road, and GBR’s licence will require compliance with it. The Railways Bill enables the Secretary of State to introduce the licence condition that will underpin the code of practice and give it force.The Government has confirmed that there will be full consultation on the production of the code of practice. Further detail on that consultation will be set out in due course.

What estimate she has made of the level of additional funding for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to undertake the proposed functions in the Railways Bill; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of ensuring the ORR has sufficient levels of resources to achieve a sufficient level of (a) independence and (b) expertise to fulfil the proposed functions in the Railways Bill.

The Railways Bill gives ORR a statutory power to levy a fee, providing stable and predictable funding to support its independence and effective operation. ORR's own analysis has been reflected in the SR settlement for 2026–27 to 2028–29. Final funding levels will depend on how ORR implements its new role and will remain subject to Spending Review outcomes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with officials in (a) the Netherlands and (b) Slovenia on their plans to ban enriched cages for layer hens.

We have regular engagement with counterparts in other countries on farmed animal welfare issues, including on cages and other close confinement systems.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of removing the 50 kilometre regular service restriction currently applied to drivers aged 18 and 19 holding a category D licence on the number of qualified drivers.

The Government recognises that the bus and coach sector has had issues recruiting and retaining bus drivers in recent years, and is considering next steps following the consultation held on this issue in April 2024.

Whether she plans to publish an update to the National Travel Attitudes Study statistics.

The National Travel Attitudes Study (NTAS) is currently paused whilst the department explores options for its future.

Whether her Department’s road safety strategy will include an assessment of the potential impact of daylight hours on accident rates.

The Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The road safety strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies. We intend to publish the strategy this year.

What recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the Just Transition Work Programme ahead of COP30.

We are committed to working with all Parties to secure outcomes across the COP30 negotiations, including on just transitions, which are a critical opportunity to ensure that workers and communities benefit from the economic transition to net zero. The Secretary of State has spoken to a range of international counterparts over the last year regarding maximising the ambition of outcomes at COP30 this year.

Whether her Department plans to provide financial support to small businesses to purchase zero emission heavy goods vehicles after 2026.

The Government has kickstarted the deployment of zero emission heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and their supporting charging and fuelling infrastructure through initiatives such as the Plug-In Truck Grant (PiTG), the £30 million Depot Charging Scheme, and the up to £200 million Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID).These initiatives are open to all businesses, including small businesses, to support the uptake of zero emission HGVs by lowering upfront costs and supporting the provision of dedicated HGV charging infrastructure.The PiTG remains in place until the end of the 2026/27 financial year. The ZEHID programme is funding hundreds of ZE HGVs and their associated recharging and refuelling sites by March 2026.While the Depot Charging Scheme will close on or by 28 November 2025, by supporting necessary infrastructure, the funding will provide confidence to the logistics sector and support British businesses to transition to zero emission.

What steps she is taking to improve charging infrastructure for electric heavy goods vehicles.

The up to £200 million Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) is kickstarting the deployment of zero emission HGV infrastructure and has already funded 73 planned infrastructure locations, representing over 360 chargers. The Government is further supporting the installation of charging equipment at depots through the £30 million Depot Charging Scheme.

Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department provides to local authorities on the maintenance of newly planted trees during the first 12 months after planting.

Forest Research has produced an Urban Tree manual that provides advice on selecting and procuring the right tree for the right place in urban areas. It also highlights long-term issues of the threats to existing trees from pests, disease and climate change, and describes the benefits to the environment and for well-being that urban trees can provide. This is available at Urban Tree Manual - Forest Research. The UK Government has also funded the Caring for Newly Planted Trees guidance, published by the Tree Council. Other guidance is also provided by the Forestry Commission, for example through the England Woodland Creation Offer maintenance support and more general guidance on protecting newly planted trees, including Tree Establishment and Management on the Climate Change Hub and guidance on maintaining new trees after restocking.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a zero emission vehicle mandate for heavy duty vehicles.

The Government believes that more needs to be done to decarbonise the road freight sector. We are considering our regulatory approach to decarbonise new non-zero emission heavy goods vehicles and will engage with stakeholders in due course.

With reference to the statistics entitled Monthly total number of electric vehicle public charging devices available in the UK, published on 1 October 2025, if she will provide a breakdown by local transport authority.

Geographic breakdowns of the number of public electric vehicle charging devices in the UK are published in the tables for Electric vehicle public charging infrastructure statistics: October 2025. Table 1a summarises the number of public charging devices by region and local authority. Table 7a summarises the number of public charging devices by parliamentary constituency. The Department does not hold this data summarised at local transport authority level. The tables are included as a supplementary attachment to this response.

With reference to the Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain 2024; published on 23 October 2025, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the (a) number and (b) types of procedures carried out compared to the previous year.

In 2024, there were 2.64 million regulated scientific procedures carried out in Great Britain involving living animals. This is a decrease of 1% on the previous year, and the lowest number since 2001.The trends in the number of animals and types of procedures carried out each year are linked to the volume and nature of scientific work undertaken and products being brought to market.The Home Office is responsible for regulating under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) to assure compliance with protections afforded to animals used in science. Trends in requirements are the responsibility of other authorities. For instance, regulatory requirements for animal testing are the responsibility of the relevant regulators, such as the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (for medicines) and Health and Safety Executive (for chemicals).

Representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2025 to Question 40025 on Parliamentary Estate: Detergents, whether the list of cleaning products that are not certified as cruelty-free has changed since April 2025.

The list of cleaning products used on the Parliament Estate that are not certified as cruelty-free has not changed since April 2025.Our cleaning contractor continues to look for suitable cruelty-free alternatives.

Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timetable is for the reintroduction of the pet passport.

As announced at the UK-EU Leaders' Summit on 19 May 2025, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Area, which will mean taking pets on holiday into the EU will be easier and cheaper. Instead of getting an Animal Health Certificate each time they travel, pet owners will be able to get a multiuse pet passport valid for travel to the EU. We are expecting to start negotiations later this autumn, once the EU has confirmed their mandate. In the meantime, and until an agreement is reached, owners will still need an Animal Health Certificate for their dog, cat or ferret(s) if they’re travelling from Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) to an EU country.

What proportion of (a) women and (b) men eligible for NHS health checks have had those checks in the last year, broken down by parliamentary constituency in the East of England.

The Department does not hold data on NHS Health Checks broken down by sex or by parliamentary constituencies. Local authorities, who are responsible for commissioning the NHS Health Check, may hold this information locally.The NHS Health Check should be offered once every five years to eligible people, which means if everyone expected was offered a check and completed one, we would expect 20% of the total eligible population to receive a check each year.The following table shows the proportion of the total five-year eligible population who had an NHS Health Check in each local authority in the East of England in 2024-2025:AreaPercentage of the total five-year eligible population who received an NHS Health Check in the year 2024/25England9.0East of England9.4Cambridgeshire13.2Luton11.9Essex11.4Norfolk11.0Southend-on-Sea10.5Thurrock8.8Peterborough7.8Hertfordshire7.2Suffolk6.0Central Bedfordshire5.4Bedford5.3 To improve access to the programme we are piloting an online NHS Health Check so that people can undertake a check at a time and place convenient to them.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's Pride in Place Programme phase 2 methodology note, published on 25 September 2025, if he will publish the full ranked list of neighbourhoods for Step 3.

On 25 September the Government announced its flagship Pride in Place Programme, supporting 244 of Great Britain’s most in need neighbourhoods with up to £20m each over the next decade. This will serve as the cornerstone of this Government’s support for communities, incorporating the existing 25 trailblazer areas announced at Spending Review and the 75 Plan for Neighbourhoods programme areas that were announced in March. New areas across England were selected using a robust, metrics-based methodology based on deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) and community need (the Community Needs Index) to identify areas with the poorest social and economic outcomes. The full list of areas and place selection methodology was published and is set out at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pride-in-place-programme-place-selection-methodology-note. We will not be publishing a further ranked list of Pride in Place Programme neighbourhoods.

When her Department expects passenger train services to begin operating on the first section of East West Rail between Oxford and Milton Keynes.

The Department is working closely with Chiltern Railways and other partners to confirm a start date for the service. We are looking forward to commencing services as soon as all necessary authorisations and agreements are in place. Passenger services will commence once train testing and driver training have been completed.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of adopting single/double summer time on road safety.

The department has not made a recent assessment of the potential of adopting single/double summertime on road safety. The Government believes that the current daylight-saving arrangements represent the best possible use of the available daylight.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of adopting single/double summer time on the retail and hospitality sectors.

The Government believes the current daylight-saving arrangements represent the optimal use of the available daylight across the UK. Therefore, we have no plans to introduce single summertime, double summertime, or other such changes. Since the Government does not intend to make changes to the existing system, we have not conducted assessments of the impact on the retail and hospitality sectors, on levels of energy consumption or crime.