Written questions by Mayhew.

What the programme is for the delivery of the Liverpool Street Station redevelopment; and what steps the Department has taken to ensure this timetable is achievable.

Officials in my Department are engaged with Network Rail Property and Planning teams around the redevelopment proposals for Liverpool Street station. These plans are at an early stage and will be subject to planning consents. Both my Department and Network Rail will continue to review these plans as they develop.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2026 to Question 105895, what the assumed payback period is for the major technology investments cited for Network Rail in delivering efficiency savings; and in which financial year cumulative efficiency savings are expected to exceed cumulative investment costs.

Network Rail undertake numerous technology-related investments, including those cited as examples in the previous response on 19 January. The payback period for technology-related investments will vary in range and this will depend on the scope and business case associated with the type of technology investment. Interdependencies between the projects and payback is not limited to Network Rail or purely financial benefits.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2026 to Question 105895, what proportion of the £424 million efficiency saving attributed to regulated settlements in 2028–29 is expected to be delivered by Network Rail alone.

All of the £424 million efficiency saving attributed to regulated settlements in 2028–29 is forecasted to be delivered by Network Rail. Efficiencies for National Highways for the equivalent period will be determined through the Road Investment Strategy 3 (RIS3) process, which is currently underway and not yet complete.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2025 to Question 90407 on Roads: Repairs and Maintenance, whether the third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) will include a breakdown of (a) forecast costs for each individual strategic road network enhancement scheme that is to be delivered during the 2026 to 2031 period and (b) the Department's planned expenditure on (i) operations, (ii) maintenance and renewals, (iii) disaggregating maintenance and (iv) staffing costs.

The third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) will set out the Department’s planned capital and revenue expenditure over the 2026/27 to 2030/31 period, with breakdowns across key categories including operations, maintenance, renewals and enhancements.In line with previous Road Investment Strategies, RIS3 will not include forecast costs for individual enhancement schemes. Scheme-level costs will continue to be developed and refined through the business case and investment decision-making process, ensuring value for money and appropriate assurance prior to commitment.Further information on the delivery, governance and performance of the Strategic Road Network will be published through National Highways’ subsequent delivery plans and reporting arrangements.

What proportion of public electric vehicle chargepoints required to meet the 2030 target will be delivered by the private sector.

To date, most public charge points have been delivered by the private sector. We expect that trend to continue as the network continues to grow.

Whether she plans to publish chargepoint reliability reports under the Public Chargepoint Regulations 2023 submitted by operators for 2025.

Under the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, charge point operators are required to publish information on their compliance with the reliability requirement on their website. They must also submit a report for their network of rapid charge points for each calendar year to the Secretary of State. We do not intend to publish individual reports provided by charge point operators under the reporting requirement.

How many public electric vehicle chargepoints have been installed but are not operational due to electricity grid connections.

The Department for Transport does not hold this information.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2025 on family farms in Wales.

Family farms and the wider agricultural sector play a vital role across our communities. I'm pleased that this Government has been able to deliver the largest funding settlement to Welsh Government to enable them to support our farming communities.

What proportion of the £663 million per year efficiency saving projected for 2028–29 has already been delivered; and what proportion remains uncontracted, unimplemented or subject to future business cases.

The Departmental Efficiency Plans set out the efficiencies that will be delivered by the Department for Transport over the period 2026/27 – 2028/29. These efficiencies are measured against 2025/26 planned day-to-day budgets (i.e. this financial year) and will therefore be delivered in future years.

What assessment she has made of the net financial impact of its AI programme, including implementation costs, staff training, data preparation and ongoing system support, relative to the efficiency savings outlined in the efficiency delivery plan.

As set out in the Department’s efficiency delivery plan, we expect a contribution to come from greater use of AI and digital tools. These tools can be used to automate and speed up routine processes that reduce system duplications and drive back-office efficiencies. As part of taking a test and learn approach, we are assessing impact and benefits on a case-by-case basis as appropriate in the life cycle of the project, as we develop our alignment across the DfT family on AI initiatives, and regularly add new use cases and applications.A recent example of assessing impact is the published evaluation of our piloted Consultation Analysis Tool (CAT)1. This sets out a range of potential benefits, including net savings, which we will monitor as and when the tool is implemented as a standard process. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-consultation-analysis-tool-evaluation.

What the net savings are expected to be from rationalising the Department’s London estate and expanding its presence in Leeds and Birmingham, after accounting for relocation, refurbishment and dual-running costs.

The Department for Transport expects to save approximately £1.8m per year upon completion of the Whitehall Rationalisation programme, once relocation and dual running costs are considered and the Departments moving into Great Minster House start contributing to building lease costs.

What volume of rail freight in tonne-kilometres was moved in December 2025.

The data for December 2025 has not yet been published. The most recent published data is for July to September 2025 and shows a total of 4,105 million net tonne-kilometres of freight were moved by rail. The net tonne-kilometres of rail freight moved each quarter is published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and can be found at: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/media/gagdrt3h/freight-rail-usage-and-performance-jul-sep-2025.pdf

What estimate she has made of the level of net Government support to the rail sector per passenger journey in December 2025.

Many rail industry processes, including payments under contracts with train operators, occur once each rail period, rather than by calendar month. Support given to operators is also subject to an adjustment process, as actual values for costs, capital expenditure and revenues can be higher or lower than the initial values upon which support is provided. It is therefore not yet possible to provide a value for December 2025, and it may also not be meaningful, given seasonality.

What proportion of rail journeys used fully digital tickets in December 2025.

The approximate proportion of tickets fulfilled as Digital Tickets for December 2025 are: Dec-25Digital85%Non Digital15%

What steps she is taking to ensure that the withdrawal of the Class 43 HST trains from services in the South West does not result in severe disruption and cancellations.

The remaining High Speed Train (HST) fleet, including Class 43 power cars, were withdrawn at the end of the Summer 2025 timetable and have been replaced with existing fleet, including the recently introduced Class 175s, the first of which entered passenger services on Monday 15 December.

What steps she is taking to ensure that there are sufficient replacement trains in operation following the withdrawal of the Class 43 HST trains from services in the South West.

The remaining High Speed Train (HST) fleet, including Class 43 power cars, were withdrawn at the end of the Summer 2025 timetable and have been replaced with existing fleet, including the recently introduced Class 175s, the first of which entered passenger services on Monday 15 December.

What proportion of the identified in the Government’s October 2023 cost-benefit analysis of the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate represents costs to the public purse; and if she will publish a breakdown of those Government costs.

The Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate is the largest single carbon saving measure across Government and fundamental to the UK’s commitment to reach net zero by 2050. The cost-benefit analysis for the ZEV Mandate and CO2 regulations estimated the net value to society of the regulations. This was estimated at a benefit of £39 billion (2022 prices) over the full appraisal period, between 2021 and 2071. There are three main sources of Government costs:Taxation impacts, which are a transfer from vehicle owners to government, were also assessed (Vehicle Excise Duty, fuel duty and VAT), but these reflected policy at the time. At the time, fuel duty and VAT losses from reduced fuel consumption were estimated at £20 billion (2022 prices) over the period from 2024–2035. This does not reflect subsequent taxation decisions since publication.The administrative costs of the regulation were estimated at £24 million (2022 prices). Wider indirect effects on public expenditure such as any costs from changes in traffic volumes and the weight of vehicles, and savings to the NHS from improved air quality were not quantified.Some of the costs attributed to business (notably vehicle/infrastructure, and electricity network reinforcement capital costs) could fall to government, particularly where purchases or installations are subsidised, and through public-sector procurement (e.g., the Government fleet). The proportion of costs falling to government were not separately quantified and, for Government vehicles, should be considered alongside the operating cost savings from switching to electric vehicles. The proportion of expenditure that purchase grants cover implies that the vast majority of these costs will be borne by the private sector.

What her planned timeline is for the establishment of Great British Railways following the passage of the Railways Bill; and if her Department will publish an implementation plan setting out milestones for the establishment of Great British Railways.

We are aiming for Great British Railways to be established as soon as possible after the Railways Bill receives Royal Assent, which will likely be around 12 months after the Bill passes. We will be focusing on implementing it, rather than publishing plans about implementing it.

What assessment she has made of the impact of the Revenue Certainty Mechanism on the cost of Sustainable Aviation Fuel compared with conventional jet fuel.

The Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Revenue Certainty Mechanism (RCM) aims to support the development of first-of-a-kind SAF plants and pave the way for lower cost UK SAF plants. The Government published a Cost Benefit Analysis for the SAF RCM in May 2025.

What steps she will take to ensure Great British Railways Retail is treated as a market participant operating under the same terms and conditions as independent rail operators; and what discussions she has had with the Office of Rail and Road on this matter.

The retail industry code of practice announced in the Government's response to the Railways Bill consultation will incorporate clear requirements for how Great British Railways (GBR) should interact with all market participants. The code of practice will be owned and managed by the Office of Rail and Road, and GBR’s licence will require it to comply. The government has confirmed that there will be full consultation on the production of the code of practice, thereby ensuring important input from industry, regulatory and other stakeholders. The government recognises that there will be a range of interested parties in both its original development and any ongoing updates to ensure it remains effective.