Written questions by Chowns.

Whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Committees and Local Government on requiring all new community buildings to have storage space for outdoor clothing and equipment.

Active Travel England (ATE) is an executive agency of the Department and a statutory planning consultee for new housing developments comprising at least 150 homes or 5 hectares in site size. In discharging this function, ATE makes recommendations to improve infrastructure and measures that will support active travel journeys. Where there are no locally set standards for cycle parking, ATE’s planning team recommends that the standards in Table 11-1 of LTN 1/20: Cycle Infrastructure Design are applied to new dwellings. This seeks the provision of one secure and ideally covered cycle storage space per bedroom. Criterion 9 of ATE’s planning application assessment toolkit – which helps to gather evidence and assess the active travel merits of new developments – promotes the provision of high-quality facilities including showers, lockers, changing rooms and drying areas for cyclists in non-residential settings. It is for the relevant local planning authority’s enforcement team to address instances where a developer does not comply with active travel provisions secured through a planning application.

Whether her Department is taking steps to promote active travel in new housing developments.

Active Travel England (ATE) is an executive agency of the Department and a statutory planning consultee for new housing developments comprising at least 150 homes or 5 hectares in site size. In discharging this function, ATE makes recommendations to improve infrastructure and measures that will support active travel journeys. Where there are no locally set standards for cycle parking, ATE’s planning team recommends that the standards in Table 11-1 of LTN 1/20: Cycle Infrastructure Design are applied to new dwellings. This seeks the provision of one secure and ideally covered cycle storage space per bedroom. Criterion 9 of ATE’s planning application assessment toolkit – which helps to gather evidence and assess the active travel merits of new developments – promotes the provision of high-quality facilities including showers, lockers, changing rooms and drying areas for cyclists in non-residential settings. It is for the relevant local planning authority’s enforcement team to address instances where a developer does not comply with active travel provisions secured through a planning application.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure compliance with active travel provisions agreed by developers during the planning process.

Active Travel England (ATE) is an executive agency of the Department and a statutory planning consultee for new housing developments comprising at least 150 homes or 5 hectares in site size. In discharging this function, ATE makes recommendations to improve infrastructure and measures that will support active travel journeys. Where there are no locally set standards for cycle parking, ATE’s planning team recommends that the standards in Table 11-1 of LTN 1/20: Cycle Infrastructure Design are applied to new dwellings. This seeks the provision of one secure and ideally covered cycle storage space per bedroom. Criterion 9 of ATE’s planning application assessment toolkit – which helps to gather evidence and assess the active travel merits of new developments – promotes the provision of high-quality facilities including showers, lockers, changing rooms and drying areas for cyclists in non-residential settings. It is for the relevant local planning authority’s enforcement team to address instances where a developer does not comply with active travel provisions secured through a planning application.

If she will make it her policy to remove time limits on disabled persons concessionary bus passes to improve access to (a) education, (b) work and (c) other opportunities.

The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age. The ENCTS costs around £700 million annually and any changes to the statutory obligations, such as extending the travel time criteria, would therefore need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.  The Government recently conducted a review of the ENCTS, which included considering travel times for disabled passholders and is currently considering next steps. Currently, local authorities in England have the power to go beyond their statutory obligations under the ENCTS and offer additional discretionary concessions, such as extending the travel time criteria for the ENCTS. The government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country. Herefordshire Council has been allocated £3.2 million of this funding. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services for passengers can be used in whichever way they wish. This could include extending the discretionary concessions available in the local area.

What steps she plans to take to improve road safety in North Herefordshire constituency in the 2025-26 financial year.

Local authorities often use Integrated Transport Block funding for road safety improvements: the Department hopes to announce ITB allocations for 2025/26 for Herefordshire and other authorities shortly. This will allow Herefordshire County Council to decide how best to use the available funding: the Department does not get involved in local authority decision making of this sort. On highways maintenance, all local authority allocations for highway maintenance block capital funding in 2025/26, including for Herefordshire County Council, were announced by the Secretary of State for Transport on 20 December 2024 and are published on gov.uk. Herefordshire County Council will be receiving an uplift of over £6.1 million compared to the current financial year, taking its total funding for the year to nearly £23 million.

What additional funding she plans to provide to local authorities in rural areas for road repairs.

This Government takes the condition of our country’s roads very seriously and is committed to supporting both rural and urban authorities in maintaining and renewing their highway networks. We have announced a £500 million highway maintenance funding uplift for the 2025/26 financial year, which will allow local highway authorities across England to do the equivalent of fixing an additional seven million potholes. Funding for local highway maintenance is based on the assets for which local highway authorities are responsible. The Department allocates capital funding based on a formula that includes the length of roads each authority is responsible for as well as the number of structures they are required to maintain. Rural authorities are generally responsible for more miles of roads than urban authorities, and this is reflected in their funding allocations. Herefordshire County Council is the local highway authority responsible for the condition and maintenance of roads in the North Herefordshire constituency, and the Department for Transport has allocated it £22.9 million to help it carry out its local highway maintenance responsibilities in 2025/26. This is £6.1 million more than in the current financial year, or an increase of around 37%. It is Herefordshire County Council’s responsibility to decide how that funding is used, based on local needs and priorities.

What additional funding she plans to provide to local authorities in rural areas to improve road safety.

We have awarded local authorities £185.8 million of funding between 2017 and 2024 through the Safer Roads Fund to improve the safety of England's most high risk 'A' roads. To date, it has funded 445.3 miles of rural roads which make up 62.4% of all funded routes. We acknowledge there is more that can be done; therefore, my Government is developing a road safety strategy, the first in over ten years, and we will set out more details in due course.

If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the frequency and reliability of rail services to stations in Herefordshire.

The Department works with all its Train Operating Companies on the frequency and reliability of services, including those in Herefordshire, where it also liaises with Transport for Wales on its services through the county. We are aware that West Midlands Trains (WMT) services to Birmingham have suffered reliability issues and shorter trains in recent months, and WMT is implementing a focused set of initiatives to mitigate this.

With reference to her predecessor's oral contribution of 18 November 2024, Official Report, column 49, when she plans to make a decision on concessionary bus travel for young people; and what criteria she plans to use.

Bus services are predominantly run on a commercial basis, where private operators decide on the level at which fares are set. Many bus operators offer reduced fares for young people, and the Department for Transport’s latest concessionary travel statistics show that in the year ending March 2025, youth concessions are offered by at least one commercial bus operator in 73 out of 85 local authority areas in England outside London. Local authorities can also introduce fares initiatives in their local areas. The government has allocated £712 million to local authorities to support and improve bus services in 2025/26 including Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) and Bus Service Operators Grant funding. BSIP funding can be used in whichever way local authorities wish to improve services for passengers, which could include introducing fares initiatives for young people. The government is exploring options for targeted fares measures that deliver value for money to the taxpayer, to ensure affordable bus travel is always available for the groups who need it most – such as young people.