Written questions by Morgan.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2025 to Question 86345 on Whitchurch Station: Access, if she will announce the timeline for completion of Access for All construction at Whitchurch Railway Station.

We are committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognise the social and economic benefits this brings to communities. Since 2006 the Access for All programme has installed accessible, step free routes at over 270 stations plus a range of smaller scale access improvements at around 1500 stations. In May 2024, the previous government published a list of 50 additional stations selected for initial feasibility work, which included Whitchurch railway station.Network Rail have now completed all 50 feasibility studies and we will shortly be announcing which of those stations will progress.

If she will take steps with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to ensure income generated from speed enforcement is spent on roads maintenance and roads policing.

The Department for Transport currently has no plans to bring forward proposals that would allow income generated from speed enforcement to fund specific road maintenance or road policing measures. Money from fines and penalty receipts, including those for speeding, is paid to the Treasury and goes into the Consolidated Fund. The Consolidated Fund supports general expenditure on public services, which includes services that benefit motorists, such as policing, local government grants, and transport.

If he will update guidance to allow 30mph speed limit repeater signs on roads with street lighting.

The Department has no plans to update legislation to allow 30mph speed limit repeater signs on roads with street lighting. Repeater signing is not used on street lit roads subject to a 30mph speed limit because the lamp columns act as the repeaters. Guidance is provided in rule 124 of the Highway Code. This has been law for over 70 years and all drivers are required to learn this in order to pass their driving test.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 July 2025 to Question 67160 on Whitchurch Station: Access and with reference to the announcement on railway stations awarded Access for All accessibility funding, published on 24 May 2024, when she plans to announce the timeline for completion of Access for All construction at Whitchurch Railway Station.

We are committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognise the social and economic benefits this brings to communities. Since 2006 the Access for All programme has installed accessible, step free routes at over 270 stations plus a range of smaller scale access improvements at around 1500 stations. In May 2024, the previous government agreed the publication of a list of 50 additional stations selected for initial feasibility work, which included Whitchurch railway station. Network Rail have now completed all 50 feasibility studies and we will shortly be announcing which of those stations will progress.

How much of her Department’s budget for (a) investment spending until 2029-30 and (b) day-to-day spending until 2028-29 is allocated to the Access for All scheme.

The recent Spending Review confirmed the Government’s commitment to the Access for All (AfA) programme. Total funding of £280m has been allocated to AfA over the four years of the Spending Review 2025 period, which for capital investment runs from 2026/27 to 2029/30.

What steps she is taking to support the roll-out of demand responsive transport in Shropshire.

The government believes demand responsive transport (DRT) has an important role to play in ensuring communities can access transport services in areas where more traditional, regular stopping services may not be viable. Shropshire Council has been allocated over £9.2 million of funding since 2023 to improve their bus services. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services for passengers can be used in whichever way they wish. Shropshire have used some of this funding to support an expansion of their Connect On-Demand DRT service in July 2024 and January 2025.We are also developing DRT Best Practice Guidance, which will share learnings from existing DRT schemes to support local authorities to set up similar schemes.

How many serious vehicle accidents caused by potholes have resulted in a driver or passenger death in (a) North Shropshire constituency and (b) Shropshire in each year since 2020.

Statistics on reported road injury collisions in Great Britain are published based on data reported by police via the data collection known as STATS19. Within STATS19, reporting police officers can assign up to 6 factors which they believe may have contributed to the collision, including ‘poor or defective road surface’. Contributory factors are assigned based on the opinions of the reporting officer at the scene or within a short time of the collision, rather than a detailed investigation. The number of serious collisions in Shropshire and North Shropshire (constituency) where a police officer assigned the contributory factor “poor or defective road surface” are given in the table below:YearNorth Shropshire (constituency)Shropshire202000202102202223202311 There were no drivers or passengers killed in collisions in Shropshire and North Shropshire (constituency) where a police officer assigned the contributory factor “poor or defective road surface” between 2020 to 2023.

How many serious vehicle accidents have resulted from potholes in (a) North Shropshire constituency and (b) Shropshire in each year since 2020.

Statistics on reported road injury collisions in Great Britain are published based on data reported by police via the data collection known as STATS19. Within STATS19, reporting police officers can assign up to 6 factors which they believe may have contributed to the collision, including ‘poor or defective road surface’. Contributory factors are assigned based on the opinions of the reporting officer at the scene or within a short time of the collision, rather than a detailed investigation. The number of serious collisions in Shropshire and North Shropshire (constituency) where a police officer assigned the contributory factor “poor or defective road surface” are given in the table below:YearNorth Shropshire (constituency)Shropshire202000202102202223202311 There were no drivers or passengers killed in collisions in Shropshire and North Shropshire (constituency) where a police officer assigned the contributory factor “poor or defective road surface” between 2020 to 2023.

How much funding her Department has provided to Shropshire Council to fill potholes in each year since 2015.

Shropshire Council, as a local highway authority, has been allocated the following highway maintenance funding since 2015: YearHighways Maintenance funding for Shropshire Council2015/16£16,498,0002016/17£16,160,0002017/18£18,756,2502018/19£20,588,0002019//20£16,948,3962020/21£30,253,0002021/22£20,599,0002022/23£20,599,0002023/24£26,880,0002024/25£23,218,0002025/26£33,680,000 The Government has already provided an additional £500 million increase for local highway maintenance this financial year. As a result of this increase, Shropshire Council will receive up to £9.1 million more in additional funding. Building on this, at the spending review the Chancellor announced that the Government will be providing £24 billion of capital funding between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads across the country. This funding increase will allow National Highways and local authorities to invest in significantly improving the long-term condition of England’s road network, delivering faster, safer and more reliable journeys.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of potholes in North Shropshire constituency.

Shropshire Council, as a local highway authority, has been allocated the following highway maintenance funding since 2015: YearHighways Maintenance funding for Shropshire Council2015/16£16,498,0002016/17£16,160,0002017/18£18,756,2502018/19£20,588,0002019//20£16,948,3962020/21£30,253,0002021/22£20,599,0002022/23£20,599,0002023/24£26,880,0002024/25£23,218,0002025/26£33,680,000 The Government has already provided an additional £500 million increase for local highway maintenance this financial year. As a result of this increase, Shropshire Council will receive up to £9.1 million more in additional funding. Building on this, at the spending review the Chancellor announced that the Government will be providing £24 billion of capital funding between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads across the country. This funding increase will allow National Highways and local authorities to invest in significantly improving the long-term condition of England’s road network, delivering faster, safer and more reliable journeys.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to Question 65118 on Railways: North Shropshire, whether her Department plans to provide any additional funding to improve railway services to (a) North Shropshire and (b) Shropshire.

Following the Spending Review both the Chancellor and Secretary Of State have committed to the transformative Midlands Rail Hub programme, which will upgrade connectivity, reliability and provide capacity for hundreds of extra trains per day into Birmingham, including benefits to those stopping at Shrewsbury and Gobowen. Funding was also confirmed to support feasibility studies for works to improve accessibility for all passengers at 50 stations including at Whitchurch in Shropshire. Later this year the Department will review the case for line speed improvements between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury when the business case is completed. Any funding would be subject to a satisfactory business case which represents value for money, affordability and strong benefits for the country.

With reference to the announcement on railway stations awarded Access for All accessibility funding, published on 24 May 2024, what her planned timeline is for the completion of Access for All construction at Whitchurch Railway Station.

This government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities. In May 2024, the previous government selected 50 stations for initial feasibility work for potential upgrades as part of our Access for All programme. This included Whitchurch railway station in Shropshire. We expect to provide an update to stakeholders during the summer.

If she will visit Llynclys Crossroads in North Shropshire constituency to assess the impact of potential design changes on road safety at that junction.

The Secretary of State would be interested to learn more about the particular issues with Llynclys Crossroads, but existing diary commitments mean she is unable to commit to a visit at this stage.

If she will make it her policy to include upgrades to the A483 in North Shropshire in the third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3).

Whilst I cannot commit to upgrades at this stage in the process of setting the next Road Investment Strategy, I can confirm National Highways is investigating a range of options to improve the safety performance of the A483 in North Shropshire which will be considered for possible delivery.

With reference to her oral statement of 8 July 2025 on Road and Rail Projects, what assessment she has made of potential impact of those projects on (a) jobs and (b) journey times in North Shropshire.

Backed by over £92 billion from the Spending Review settlement, the Government is delivering the biggest boost to England’s transport infrastructure in a generation, and unlocking schemes that deliver for the taxpayer and drive growth. Millions of commuters and businesses will benefit from quicker journeys, as more than fifty road and rail upgrades have been given the green light - including funding for the Midlands Rail Hub as well as the M54 / M6 link road, which will help to cut journey times and connect thousands to key economic hubs across the Midlands and North Shropshire.

What funding her Department has provided to improve rail services in (a) North Shropshire and (b) Shropshire in each of the last five years.

The Department will review the refreshed Business Case for line speed improvements between Wolverhampton-Shrewsbury when it is completed later this year. Funding for this scheme would be subject to a satisfactory business case which represents value for money, affordability and strong benefits for the country.

What steps she is taking to help reduce journey times on public transport between North Shropshire and London.

Department officials continue to work directly with train operators to ensure the best possible service for both passenger and taxpayer. For passengers travelling from Shropshire and changing to join services to London, Avanti West Coast increased the number of weekday services from 270 in 2024 to 295 from May 2025. Additional services now operate between London and Liverpool, Birmingham, North Wales and Glasgow providing more connections.

What steps she is taking to improve the reliability of train operators on the West Coast Mainline.

We are starting to see train performance stabilise, following a decade of decline. We are working with the rail industry on a Performance Restoration Framework, with five clear areas of focus to recover performance to acceptable levels, including timetable resilience, staffing and keeping trains safely moving during disruptive events. The Rail Minister is meeting with the Managing Directors of all train operators and their Network Rail counterparts, to address poor performance and demand immediate action to raise standards. Network Rail is undertaking a programme of renewal activity on the West Coast Main Line north of Crewe to improve the performance and reliability of the railway. This section of the route was last upgraded in the 1970s and suffers from performance issues today. We are also investing in increasing the capacity and capability of the power system at both ends of the West Coast Main Line to improve performance on the route, enable the introduction of new electric services, and support growth.

If she will take steps to help ensure decisions about open access applications prioritise services that connect stations that do not have direct services.

Under the current system access decisions are solely for the ORR. We’re supportive of Open Access services where they encourage growth, improve connectivity and provide more choice for passengers. When a new application is received the DfT can submit its views to the ORR via a consultation process and we highlighted the new direct services that formed part of the Wrexham Shropshire & Midlands Railway (WSMR) application when we wrote in support of this application in February 2025.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that the Midlands Rail Hub contributes to economic growth in rural areas in Shropshire.

Midlands Rail Hub will kickstart economic growth and break down barriers to opportunity, by upgrading connectivity and reliability – with benefits across the country. This means providing capacity for hundreds of extra trains per day into central Birmingham and improving performance of services through New Street station, by making better use of Moor Street station.