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 steps he is taking to protect downstream users of packaging steel.

This Government recognises the distinct value of downstream users, including in the manufacturing supply chain, alongside the importance of maintaining a resilient domestic steel sector.The steel trade measure has been designed to addresses the serious threat posed by global steel overcapacity, which undermines the viability of UK steelmaking and, in turn, our critical national infrastructure and defence.We have carefully balanced the needs of producers and downstream industry, and the product scope of the measure reflects this. This has involved extensive engagement with downstream industry, and we will review the measure after 12 months.

What consideration she has given of the potential merits of establishing a mutual or pooled cyber-risk scheme to reduce fiscal exposure and protect local economies.

The government has no plans to establish a mutual or pooled cyber risk scheme at this time. Cyber insurance is widely offered in the UK insurance market and the government would encourage businesses to shop around, or employ the services of a broker, to find the most appropriate cover, at the best price. The government will continue to monitor the cyber insurance market and related developments to ensure the UK’s economic resilience remains robust.

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 consideration his Department has given to the potential merits of moving gas-fired power stations onto a regulated asset base model.

This government has been clear that the answers to the challenges around energy security, affordability and sustainability point in the same direction, clean energy. By 2030 unabated gas will account for less than 5% of total generation. As the role of unabated gas diminishes, we continue to work with NESO and Ofgem to explore how market and system arrangements can evolve to minimise its impact on energy bills, whilst retaining sufficient unabated gas capacity for security of supply. As part of this, officials have considered proposals to move gas-fired power stations onto a regulated asset base model. Whilst this option may have merits in the long-term, it also has some challenges and would take considerable time to develop and implement. No decisions have been taken at this stage.

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 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 cross-government contingency planning is in place for major cyber incidents affecting critical supply chains.

Cyber attacks are increasing in scale and impact; they are slowing the UK’s economic growth and damaging our national security. The UK Government has an existing national process to manage the response to major cyber incidents: the national cyber incident categorisation system is published on NCSC.GOV.UK. The Government, alongside the National Cyber Security Centre, engages with regulators and critical national infrastructure operators to ensure resilience and preparedness to cyber threats, working to better understand and manage cyber risk, and minimise the impact of cyber incidents when they occur. The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will also support this, by boosting UK cyber defences and improving the cyber security of our essential public and digital services.

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.

What consideration he has given to the potential merits of introducing a national framework with clear criteria for intervention in major cyber incidents to strengthen economic resilience.

Cyber attacks are increasing in scale and impact; they are slowing the UK’s economic growth and damaging our national security. The UK Government has an existing national process to manage the response to major cyber incidents: the national cyber incident categorisation system is published on NCSC.GOV.UK. The Government, alongside the National Cyber Security Centre, engages with regulators and critical national infrastructure operators to ensure resilience and preparedness to cyber threats, working to better understand and manage cyber risk, and minimise the impact of cyber incidents when they occur. The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will also support this, by boosting UK cyber defences and improving the cyber security of our essential public and digital services.

Innovation and Technology, if she will set out what support is available to small businesses to strengthen cybersecurity to prevent economic disruption.

Improving the cyber security of our nation's small businesses is critical to the resilience of our wider economy. We recognise many small businesses lack the resources to invest in their cyber security. As such, the government has developed a wide range of free tools, guidance and training to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) implement cyber security measures, including the Cyber Action Toolkit which provides SMEs with tailored advice on protecting their business.National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)-certified Cyber Advisors are available to provide advice and guidance on commercial terms and SMEs are eligible for a free 30- minute consultation. Additionally, the government's Cyber Essentials scheme helps all organisations, including SMEs, implement critical cyber security controls, protecting them from most common cyber attacks and provides them with free insurance. All of this information is available on the NCSC website.More broadly across government, the Home Office funds a network of Cyber Resilience Centres which provide free resources, guidance and training to SMEs to strengthen their cyber security.

Innovation and Technology, what consideration she has given to the potential merits of introducing mandatory minimum cyber resilience standards for strategically important firms and supply chains.

The Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018 provides the UK’s only cross-sector cyber legislation, focused on protecting the security and resilience of essential services. The regulations impose security duties on Operators of Essential Services (OES) and relevant digital service providers (RDSPs) to take "appropriate and proportionate technical and organisational measures" to manage risk and prevent and minimise the impact of cyber incidents.The Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill, introduced in November 2025, updates these regulations to ensure it is fit for today, and the future. It will cover a wider range of critically important entities, including data centres and large load controllers and relevant managed service providers (RMSPs). The Bill will also allow, through secondary legislation, for security and resilience requirements to be set for regulated entities. Our proposals for this legislation will be linked to existing, high level security duties and be consistent with the NCSC’s Cyber Assessment Framework.Regulators will also have the power under the Bill to designate certain suppliers as “critical” if a compromise or outage in their systems can cause a disruption to their services that would have serious, cascading impacts for our society and economy. Proportionate cyber security and resilience duties and requirements to applying to those designated suppliers, with associated requirements will be developed through secondary legislation and guidance. This will ensure that these critical suppliers have the appropriate cyber security and resilience measures in place, helping to protect the UK’s critical infrastructure from disruption.The Bill sits alongside other regulatory regimes, such as for public telecoms providers and financial services, and a range of other tools to help organisations actively improve their cyber resilience. For example, the government offers the Cyber Essentials certification scheme to prevent the most common cyber attacks. Organisations with Cyber Essentials are 92% less likely to make a claim on their cyber insurance than those without it.

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 consideration he has given to the potential merits of establishing a formal framework for financial intervention to support businesses affected by major cyber incidents, including to protect supply chains, businesses and workers, in the context of the cyber attack on Jaguar Land Rover.

Cyber security of the UK is a key priority for this government and DSIT and NCSC have been taking significant action to help protect businesses against cyber attacks. This includes providing businesses with the tools, advice and support to protect themselves from cyber threats, including free training for boards and staff. We have also put in place: The Cyber Governance Code of Practice, which shows boards and directors how to effectively manage the digital risks to their organisationThe highly effective Cyber Essentials scheme to prevent common attacks – reducing the likelihood of a cyber insurance claim by 92%. The certification scheme includes automatic cyber liability insurance for any UK organisation who certifies their whole organisation and has less than £20m annual turnover. In cases of acute and exogenous disruption, including in the context of the cyber attack on Jaguar Land Rover, requests for support are assessed on a case‑by‑case basis. The support for JLR. The government agreed to back JLR with a loan guarantee through UK Export Finance, to unlock up to £1.5 billion in commercial financing. This loan covered by the guarantee will be re-paid over 5 years. JLR supports 154,000 UK jobs and protects a critical part of our automotive supply chain. The Government will continue to prioritise its support and encouragement for cyber resilience across the economy, to reduce the likelihood and impact of incidents such as cyber attacks, while retaining the ability to respond flexibly using existing frameworks where this is justified.

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 consideration he has given to the potential merits of decoupling regulated electricity prices from gas prices.

Accelerating the deployment of renewable generation, as we are through our Clean Power 2030 Mission, will reduce the amount of time when gas is setting the price and will help to rapidly decouple electricity from gas prices without the need for more complex arrangements. The Government is determined to increase the share of renewables on the system so that the electricity price is set by cheaper clean power sources rather than gas. Every wind turbine we switch on and solar panel we deploy helps push gas off as the price setter.

What assessment she has made of the value for money of recent Government-backed support to companies affected by cyberattacks.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) works round the clock to counter attacks, support victims and empower organisations to protect themselves from online threats. The NCSC makes its advice and guidance to organisations freely available. Where businesses do face disruption, and there is a risk of significant economic or social impacts, the government is prepared to act. In 2025, the government agreed to back JLR with a loan guarantee from UK Export Finance (UKEF). This decisive action helped JLR continue to support 154,000 UK jobs and protected a critical part of our automotive supply chain. JLR employs 34,000 people directly in the UK and supports 120,000 more jobs through its supply chain, many in small and medium-sized enterprises. The loan covered by the guarantee will be re-paid over 5 years. As with any government intervention to support businesses in distress, the government sets a high bar and keeps value for money under constant review to ensure taxpayer funds are spent wisely.

Whether she has assessed the potential merits of public equity investment in frontier artificial intelligence companies in encouraging those firms to list or dual-list on UK capital markets.

The British Business Bank’s Five Year Strategic Plan, published in November 2025, sets a clear focus on improving access to finance for smaller and high-growth businesses, helping crowd in private capital and ensuring more UK companies can reach scale and ultimately access public markets. A strong early‑stage and scale‑up ecosystem is essential to the long‑term depth and competitiveness of the UK’s public equity markets.In 2025, the Government increased the British Business Bank’s financial capacity to £25.6 billion, marking a major step change in its ability to support UK businesses to start and scale. The Government have also delivered an ambitious set of reforms to boost the UK’s capital markets and make it easier to IPO in the UK through an ambitious modernisation of the UK’s listings rules. Taken together, these reforms make it easier to start, scale and list in the UK.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of her Department taking an equity stake in artificial intelligence companies as part of its Sovereign AI Strategy.

Sovereign AI is a new government VC fund backed by £500 million to invest in strategically significant UK AI companies, anchoring them here to drive national advantage.Direct equity investment, integrated with a package of government-only support levers will be central to this mission.This ensures Britain has a stake in the technologies shaping our future, protecting people from future economic shocks while powering UK growth.