Written questions by Robertson.

How many local bus routes ceased operating in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.

The Department does not hold this information centrally.

What estimate she has made of the number of potholes filled by local authorities in England in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.

Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as 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. The Department does not hold data on the time taken by local highway authorities to repair reported potholes, but national guidance recommends that defects and potholes which require urgent attention should be made safe at the time of inspection or as soon as possible. This year, local highway authorities were required to publish transparency reports setting out progress on highway maintenance, including the number of potholes they estimate they have filled in recent years. This information can be found on the websites of relevant local highways authorities.

What the average time taken by local authorities to repair a reported pothole was in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.

Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as 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. The Department does not hold data on the time taken by local highway authorities to repair reported potholes, but national guidance recommends that defects and potholes which require urgent attention should be made safe at the time of inspection or as soon as possible. This year, local highway authorities were required to publish transparency reports setting out progress on highway maintenance, including the number of potholes they estimate they have filled in recent years. This information can be found on the websites of relevant local highways authorities.

What the policy rationale is for clause 31(7) of the Railways Bill, which provides that the obligation to provide or secure the provision of designated railway passenger services does not give rise to civil liability; and whether she has assessed how this limitation of liability aligns with (a) accountability within the new rail system and (b) the protection of passenger rights.

Clause 31(7) of the Bill makes it clear that the Secretary of State, Scottish Ministers or Welsh Ministers cannot be found liable for breach of statutory duty (which allows a person to claim damages in tort) when they provide or secure designated railway passenger services. This mirrors section 50 of the Railways Act 1993 so that the same approach to civil liability is carried over to the new passenger services provisions. There are other examples of this in legislation, such as section 44 of the Railways Act 2005. If Ministers act unlawfully then judicial review is available.Responsibility for providing designated passenger services will rest largely with Great British Railways (GBR), or, in Scotland or Wales, with another public sector company. GBR will be governed by a cohesive accountability framework. Passenger rights will be protected in that framework with the GBR licence setting minimum consumer standards. The Passenger Watchdog, established to champion passenger interests, will set and monitor these standards, with the Office for Rail and Road able to take enforcement action should these standards not be met.

With reference to her Department's document entitled Transport for City Regions funding allocations, published on 4 June 2025, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the (a) decarbonising transport, (b) enabling healthy living and (c) promoting the modal shift from cars to public transport, walking and cycling objectives during 2027-28 to 2031-32.

The devolved (TCR) programme will enable Mayors in recipient areas to deliver schemes that align with the aforementioned objectives at a local level. The cost is reflected in the capital and resource funding allocated through these settlements and will contribute towards achievement of the overarching programme objectives. Funding allocations can be found here at Transport for City Regions funding allocations - GOV.UK

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 85905 on Roads: Repairs and Maintenance, whether she plans to introduce a Live Labs 3 programme.

Live Labs 2 is a three-year, £30 million programme designed to support the local highways sector to adopt innovation and reduce its carbon impacts. The government will continue to support innovation in the highways sector following the conclusion of the Live Labs 2 programme and will confirm future plans in due course.

What timetable has been set for the transfer of assets, staff and responsibilities from Network Rail to Great British Railways.

Network Rail and its functions will become a foundational part of Great British Railways (GBR) as it is stood up. The detailed GBR design process is underway, considering how all functions in Network Rail, DfT Operator, publicly-owned train operating companies (TOC) and parts of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) should transfer to GBR.

Pursuant to the answer of 17 October 2025, to Question 77644, on THINK! Campaign, what is the budgeted spending on publicity on drug driving in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26, and whether such expenditure has been revised following the July 2024 savings.

The budgeted spend on publicity on drug driving is below: Total spend to dateTotal budgeted spendFY 2024/25£35,000£35,000FY 2025/26£486,724.76£1,830,000 The increased expenditure for 2025/26 reflects the launch of a new THINK! marketing campaign to raise awareness on drug driving, in response to the increasing trend of collisions involving a driver impaired by drugs. Following the reduction in overall budget, the decision has been made to prioritise budget to focus on issues and audiences where we can have the greatest impact.

What estimate she has made of changes to staffing levels resulting from the establishment of Great British Railways.

Details on exact roles are subject to further design work. GBR will need colleagues from across the railway to continue the hard work that they do delivering for passengers. We will continue to engage with the industry on our plans for GBR.

Whether the Electric Car Grant criteria will change when the new science based targets come into place.

All vehicle grants are regularly reviewed to ensure they continue to achieve their objectives and deliver value for taxpayer's money. This includes the eligibility criteria for the Electric Car Grant.

Further to the press release, Red tape slashed to revamp high streets with new cafes and bars, of 26 July 2025, whether the Department for Transport has conducted or is planning to conduct a review of changes to the alcohol drink drive limit and potential mitigations.

The Government is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. We are considering a range of policies under the new Road Safety Strategy; the first for ten years. This includes the case for changing the motoring offences, such as drink driving.

Whether changes are being made to the eligibility for central government funding for Kent County Council, in the context of plans not to switch its fleet of vehicles to electric vehicles.

Local authorities have access to a range of central Government funding to support residents to transition to zero emission vehicles. Kent County Council remains eligible for their allocated £13.2 million capital and resource funding through the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund to increase the number of local public chargepoints across Kent. Their LEVI funding application has been approved to go to delivery.

What steps she is taking to (a) protect SME hauliers from pricing by major lorry manufacturers and (b) ensure access to third-party litigation funding for those hauliers.

Ensuring that consumers and SMEs are only required to pay fair prices is of the utmost importance and is a key feature of truly competitive markets. The UK has a robust competition enforcement landscape to ensure that this is achieved, both through public enforcement by the Competition and Markets Authority and private enforcement routes through litigation.

Pursuant to the answer of 27 October 2025, to Question 82997, on Restoring Your Railway Fund, how much central government money was written off as a consequence of the decision to cancel the fund.

The Chancellor’s 29 July 2024 announcement confirmed that the Restoring Your Railway programme would be brought to a close, as one of the steps she was taking to address the pressures on the public finances created by unfunded policy announcements made by the previous government. No funding was "written off" as part of this process.

Pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2025, to Question 77642, on Driving under Influence: Scotland, whether research has been commissioned or produced on the effect of drink driving limits on the economic viability of pubs and other hospitality venues which serve alcohol.

The Government is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. We are considering a range of policies under the new Road Safety Strategy; the first for 10 years. This includes the case for changing the motoring offences, such as drink driving.  We intend to publish this by the end of the year. Research was conducted by the University of Bath in 2021, Dr Jonathan James and Professor Marco Francesconi, looking at the effect of the introduction of the lower drink drive limit in Scotland. The authors found that the “alcohol industry remained unscathed, with no changes in production, prices, or employment”:www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/s0167629621000722#sec0014 On 5 December 2014 Scotland lowered the drink drive limit to that of the majority of European countries. In 2023 Transport Scotland published casualty estimates show that the “numbers of drink-drive collisions and casualties fell by 55% and 47% respectively between 2012 and 2022 (the latest year for which estimates are available)”:www.transport.gov.scot/publication/reported-road-casualties-scotland-2023/.

What estimate she has made of the cost to SME hauliers of prices set by major lorry manufacturers.

Ensuring that consumers and SMEs are only required to pay fair prices is of the utmost importance and is a key feature of truly competitive markets. The UK has a robust competition enforcement landscape to ensure that this is achieved, both through public enforcement by the Competition and Markets Authority and private enforcement routes through litigation.

What recent assessment she has made of recruitment and retention challenges in the driving instructor and driving examiner workforce; and what steps she plans to take to raise entry standards, including English proficiency, improve qualification outcomes, recognise driving instructors within safeguarding frameworks, and support alternative career pathways for trainees who do not qualify.

Since July last year, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has recruited and trained 344 driving examiners who are now in post and delivering driving tests. DVSA has had difficulty in retaining experienced driving examiners, some of whom retire or leave DVSA for other roles. To encourage existing driving examiners to stay, DVSA is making an exceptional payment of £5,000 to driving examiners and eligible roles (divided into two payments) over the next 12 months. By keeping more experienced driving examiners and bringing in new ones, DVSA will lose less testing capacity from the system, making more tests available for learner drivers. DVSA sets out the national standard for driver and rider training on GOV.UK. This is what people must be able to do, know, and understand, to provide training to drivers and riders. Details on the steps to becoming an instructor can also be found on GOV.UK. As part of the process of becoming an ADI, candidates must take and pass theory, driving ability and instructional ability tests. DVSA requires every prospective ADI in Great Britain to apply for an enhanced disclosure and barring (DBS) check before beginning the ADI qualification process. They are also required to repeat the disclosure process every four years when they renew their ADI registration. The ADI Registrar also has the power to remove an ADI who falls below the standard of fit and proper person. DVSA is not responsible for delivering training to those undertaking the ADI qualification process. The sponsor or training school of each trainee should ensure they include all elements of training. DVSA therefore cannot offer support in alternative career pathways for trainees who do not qualify to become an ADI.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of future levels of funding on Great British Railways' service provision.

SR25 and CP7 set budgets up to and including 2028/29. Future Spending Reviews and the next Periodic Review will determine funding levels, and what outputs that is expected to deliver, beyond 2028/29.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the introduction of (a) new technologies, (b) automation and (c) artificial intelligence in rail operations on levels of safety.

New technologies such as artificial intelligence present potentially significant opportunities for the rail industry to improve performance in areas such as safety. It is for the industry, overseen by the Office of Rail and Road, to assess how new technologies can be introduced safely into existing systems, and to consider how any risks need to be managed.

What plans she has to set out inspection frequency requirements for the Office of Rail and Road under Great British Railways.

It will be for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), as the independent rail safety regulator, to monitor Great British Railways' compliance with its statutory safety requirements and determine the frequency of inspections it will undertake.