Written questions by Bloore.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure public transport and private hire vehicles service levels are not impacted by fuel price increases.

The Department for Transport recognises growing concerns around rising fuel and transport costs caused by the conflict in the Middle East. The Department fully recognises the need to maintain the continuity of public transport services and are actively monitoring any potential impacts. The Department will continue to work with industry to understand the pressures and the options to mitigate any risks.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of autonomous vehicle use on journey times for emergency services and buses, and the level of congestion on hospital access routes.

The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) has regular meetings with the National Police Chiefs Council, Association for Ambulance Chief Executives and the National Fire Chiefs Council alongside frontline officers. This work aims to support the development of processes and protocols to ensure emergency services interacting with automated vehicles are able to perform their duties safely and effectively. Any impact on local bus or hospital access routes would be a consideration during an application for an Automated Passenger Service (APS) permit and assessed on a case-by-case basis by the local traffic authority.

What consideration she has given to the potential merits of road-user charging receipts supporting local transport infrastructure.

Local Traffic Authorities have the power to introduce road charging schemes to address issues such as congestion and poor air quality, where they decide that is the best solution. They do not require Ministerial or Parliamentary approval to do this. Net revenue from such schemes are retained by the relevant local transport authority or authorities and must be used for transport purposes.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of autonomous vehicles on trends in the level of congestion in the next five years.

The introduction of the Automated Passenger Services (APS) permitting scheme will facilitate small-scale pilots of commercial deployments. For an APS permit to be granted, local consent is required from the relevant licensing authority or franchising body. My department has recently published guidance on the consenting process, setting out a range of potential considerations for applicants and consenting authorities. These include, but are not limited to, the extent to which proposed services align with local transport plans, environmental strategies and wider strategic priorities. As a result, issues such as congestion may appropriately form part of early engagement with the consent authority. The Government’s consultation on the Automated Passenger Services permitting scheme included questions relevant to congestion impacts. The Government response will be published in due course.

What consideration she has made with the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the potential merits of piloting targeted road user charging schemes for autonomous vehicles to manage demand.

No such considerations have been made. Early deployments of automated vehicles are likely to be relatively small-scale. Impacts on the transport network will be kept under review as the regulations for automated vehicles are implemented.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that autonomous vehicles use does not adversely affect bus reliability, active travel and access to essential services.

The Automated Passenger Services (APS) permitting scheme will facilitate the rollout of small-scale commercial pilot deployments. For an APS permit to be granted, local consent is required from the relevant licensing authority or franchising body. My department has recently published guidance on the consenting process, setting out a range of considerations for applicants and consenting authorities. These include, but are not limited to, the extent to which proposed services align with local transport plans and wider strategic priorities. As a result, issues such as bus reliability, active travel, and access to essential services may appropriately form part of early engagement with the consent authority.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of road user charging mechanisms for new vehicle technologies, including autonomous vehicles.

No assessment of road user charging mechanisms for new vehicle technologies has been made.

What steps her Department is taking with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to help support the safe deployment of artificial intelligence in autonomous vehicles.

Safety is central to the implementation of the Automated Vehicles Act 2024, with a requirement that the introduction of self-driving vehicles to Great Britain’s roads must seek to contribute to an overall improvement road safety. The regulatory approach is outcome-focussed and technology neutral, ensuring that where AI is used, it contributes to rigorous safety standards. The UK co-chairs a group at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), looking at AI use-cases in vehicle technology and how any associated risks can be managed or mitigated. This is in addition to mandating international vehicle cyber-security requirements that the UK helped develop.

What discussions she has had with British Transport Police on its decision to not investigate bike thefts outside stations in cases where the bicycle has been left for more than two hours.

Ensuring the railway remains safe for passengers and staff, and creating a hostile environment for criminals on the network is a priority for both the Department for Transport and the British Transport Police (BTP). Decisions on the use of resource and deployment of officers across the railway are for the BTP, as an operationally independent police service.I would like to reassure you that the BTP have not taken the decision to stop investigating bike theft that cannot be narrowed to a two-hour window, which was reported in the media. The BTP’s screening policy, introduced in August 2024, takes into account factors including the possible time window an incident could have taken place in, but also the availability of witnesses and CCTV, the realistic prospect of a successful outcome, and a range of other factors. In some instances this may mean that an investigation is not progressed, but there is no blanket ruling and each case is judged on its own merits.

Whether she has had discussions with the British Parking Association on the recommended size of car parking spaces.

The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with the British Parking Association on this matter. The British Parking Association and International Parking Community have launched a new single industry code of practice which aims to improve transparency and consistency. It provides guidance on matters such as the design of designated bays, including those for blue badge holders.

What estimate she has made of the cost of implementing the proposed EHRC Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations on public transport providers.

I am not aware of any such estimates being made of implementing the proposed EHRC Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions, and Associations on public transport providers.

Whether her Department offers (a) paid time off work and (b) other support to employees who become kinship carers.

The Department for Transport does not currently offer paid time off or support specifically for kinship carers. This is something that the department along with other government bodies is reviewing.The department does offer support including paid and unpaid special leave for those with parental and caring responsibilities. It sponsors a Carers’ Network and a Families’ Network for staff. DfT employees have access to an Employee Assistance Programme which can help signpost them to sources of advice and support on a range of issues.

How many bus routes were closed in Worcestershire between 2010 and 2024.

The Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain only publish data on a Traffic Area wide basis. The West Midlands Traffic Area includes the West Midlands conurbation, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire. Between 2009-10 and 2023-24, the Traffic Commissioners recorded that 3,992 existing registrations in the West Midlands traffic area were cancelled. An existing registration being cancelled does not always mean a bus route was closed. For example, a registration could have been cancelled and replaced with another registration that covers much of the same route, or the route continues to be served by different operator. It should also be noted that prior to 2019-20 the total number of live local bus service registrations included an element of double-counting as services running across multiple local authority areas were recorded multiple times, e.g. a service running between the West Midlands and Staffordshire was presented as two services when it should have been counted as a single service. This has now been rectified.

Whether he plans to review the safety measures and responsibilities of local authorities on water crossings.

Under the Highways Act 1980, local highway authorities are responsible for the maintenance and safety of the highway network in their area, which may include bridges, fords and other types of river crossing. The Act does not set out specific standards of safety or maintenance for these assets. It is for each individual local highway authority to assess which parts of its network need repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances, and the Government has no plans to change this. The Department does, however, plan to update its guidance to local highway authorities on the management of their highway networks. As part of this it will consider whether more guidance is needed on the management of river crossings.