Every parliamentary written question tabled by Blake Stephenson this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 121–140 of 141 · Department for Transport
Pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2025 to Question 26373, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of transferring balancing ponds owned by National Highways to Internal Drainage Boards.
The ownership and management of National Highways’ assets, at this level, fall within National Highways’ delegated authority. The Department does not plan to make an assessment on the future ownership of balancing ponds owned by National Highways.
With reference to page 64 of the document entitled GM 701 Asset delivery asset maintenance, published by Standards for Highways in March 2020, if her Department will make an assessment of the effectiveness of Highways England in meeting the standards for drainage and service ducts.
Under its Licence, National Highways must comply with its legal duties and other obligations to ensure the maintenance, resilience, renewal and development of the strategic road network (SRN), and must have due regard to any guidance, standards or specifications relevant to its statutory or other functions. This includes GM701 that the company authors and publishes. It details maintenance requirements to keep the SRN safe and serviceable by undertaking routine cyclical operations, including in areas such as maintaining drainage assets.As the independent Highways Monitor, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) holds National Highways to account in its effectiveness in operating the SRN, delivery of the road investment strategy and compliance with its Licence. ORR does not audit individual maintenance activities, rather it takes a proportional, systemic, approach focussed on holding the company to account for its drainage performance indicator. This indicator shows the susceptibility of the SRN to flooding and provides insight of drainage condition on the SRN.ORR publish an annual assessment of National Highways’ performance. Both ORR and National Highways work closely with the department to keep it informed of performance against areas such as maintenance.
What her planned timetable is for nationalising (a) London Northwestern Railway and (b) Thameslink.
The Department announced in December that South Western Railway’s services will be the first to transfer into public ownership in May 2025, followed by c2c’s services in July 2025 and Greater Anglia’s in the autumn. The Department will issue an expiry notice to Greater Anglia in due course to confirm the exact transfer date. Ministers will take decisions on further transfers in due course, taking account of relevant circumstances prevailing at the time. The Department expects the transfer of all rail passenger services currently operated by private sector train operators under contract with the Department to complete over the next 3 years.
Pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 22408 on East West Rail Line: Construction, if she will make an estimate of costs for financial year 2025-26.
An update on costs for the East-West Rail project will be released at a future statutory consultation.
With reference to the East West Railway Company Limited consultation document Connecting people, building communities, published in November 2024, and pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 22408 on East West Rail Line: Construction, whether the estimate provided in that Answer is based on (a) the Existing stations option or (b) the Consolidated stations option for Connection Stage 3 on the Marston Vale Line.
The capital cost estimate for East West Rail includes costs for relocating stations on the Marston Vale Line, should this option be chosen. This is subject to the outcome of the consultation and decisions have not yet been on taken on this.
If her Department has made an estimate of the cost to the East-West Railway Company Limited of the proposed increase in employer National Insurance contributions.
East West Railway Company has not yet completed a detailed analysis.
Whether funding has been provided from the public purse to offset the impact of changes to employers’ National Insurance contributions on the East-West Rail Company.
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government set aside funding for public sector employers for additional NIC costs. This is in line with the government’s usual approach to supporting the public sector, as was the case with the previous government’s Health and Social Care Levy. 2025-26 allocations will be published as part of the Main Supply Estimates in the Spring.
Whether railway stations on East-West Rail will be owned by the (a) public and (b) private sector.
The exact operating model for East West Rail will be decided in due course.
Whether her Department is taking steps to seek private capital investment for East-West Rail.
The Department works with the East West Rail Company and other Government departments to explore opportunities for the delivery of enhancements through using third party funding and financing options. The Department has been clear with East West Rail Company that securing third party funding is an essential element of delivering the scheme to ensure that the burden on the taxpayer is reduced as far as possible.
What discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on ringfencing funding for the entirety of the East West rail project.
£1.3bn has been provided towards the delivery of Connection Stage 1 of East-West Rail and the Budget on 30th October 2024 set out the Government’s support for the remaining stages of East West Rail, confirming funding to accelerate the delivery of works for Connection Stage 2 to provide services between Oxford-Bedford from 2030.
If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of transferring balancing ponds owned by National Highways to Internal Drainage Boards.
No such assessments have been undertaken on the potential merits of transferring ownership of balancing ponds.
If she will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of maintaining balancing ponds owned by National Highways.
Maintenance costs for the Strategic Road Network (SRN) are borne by National Highways and their financial systems do not categorise spending to the level of sub-asset class granularity. I, therefore, cannot provide a reliable estimate for the costs of maintaining balancing ponds.
What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the maintenance regime for balancing ponds owned by National Highways.
The maintenance requirements of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) are governed by a robust set of standards - the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) - and National Highways determines the maintenance works to be undertaken on all assets, based on the GM701 standard which details asset maintenance requirements. While no specific assessment has been made by the Department on the effectiveness of the standards for maintaining SRN balancing ponds, standards are continually evolving in line with best practice.
What estimate her Department has made of the cost of constructing East-West Rail in 2024 prices.
£1.3bn has been provided towards the delivery of East West Rail Connection Stage 1 (CS1) which will provide services from Oxford to Bletchley and Milton Keynes. The capital cost estimate for Connection Stages 2 (Oxford-Bedford) and 3 (Oxford-Cambridge) is £5bn-£6bn in 2021 prices. Final costs for the project will be driven by scope and design choices.
What information her Department holds on the number of delayed services on the Bedford Line in (a) Q3 and (b) Q4 2024.
Information relating to the number of delayed services on the Bedford line is not held by the department. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) publishes quarterly statistics on punctuality and reliability for passenger trains in Great Britain at: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/. Table 3133 shows Train punctuality at recorded station stops by operator in Great Britain, quarterly from April 2014 to June 2024. The operators servicing the Bedford line are Govia Thameslink Railway and the East Midlands Railway.Ministers have been clear that rail services have been failing passengers. Cancellations are at a ten-year high and punctuality is inconsistent across the network. We need to improve services for passengers and deliver better value for money for the taxpayer.Ministers continue to meet with the Managing Directors of the worst performing TOCs and their Network Rail counterparts, to address poor performance and demand immediate action to raise standards.
What discussions she has had with Thameslink on the performance of services on the Bedford Line.
Recent levels of disruption experienced on Thameslink due to delays and cancellations are clearly not acceptable and passengers deserve better. Ministers are meeting with the Managing Directors of all Train Operating Companies and their Network Rail counterparts to address poor performance and what is being done to improve it. Department officials also continually monitor the Train Operators’ performance and meet with them and Network Rail to ensure they deliver improvements to services.
What steps she plans to take to improve the reliability of train services.
Improving railway performance and delivering reform is a top priority for the Department. Ministers continue to meet with Managing Directors of the worst performing train operators and their Network Rail counterparts to address poor performance and demand immediate action to raise standards. Furthermore, performance information will be displayed at stations, demonstrating transparency, and allowing passengers to hold us to account as we deliver change.
If her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of train delays in (a) Q3 and (b) Q4 2024 on productivity.
Whilst the Department has not made an assessment of the impact of train delays on productivity, we recognise the inconvenience and costs felt by passengers, local communities and businesses arising from poor performance. Ministers have been clear that rail services have been failing passengers. The Department expects passenger services currently operated by private sector operators under contract with the Secretary of State to transfer into public ownership over the next three years. The failures of the past three decades cannot be fixed overnight, but bringing train operations into public ownership is the first step in the government’s plans to improve the railways for passengers and taxpayers.
What steps her Department has taken to help the automotive industry meet the 2030 phase-out date for petrol and diesel cars.
We will continue to support industry and consumers to make the switch to zero emission vehicles, with over £300 million announced in the Budget to drive uptake of electric vehicles and £2 billion to support the transition of domestic manufacturing and supply chain.
Whether his Department has had discussions with Stellantis on the phase-out timeline for petrol and diesel cars.
The Secretary of State met Stellantis on multiple occasions throughout the summer and more recently in relation to its manufacturing presence in the UK. The Department has close engagement with the vehicle industry and engages regularly on topics including the transition to zero emission vehicles.