Written questions by Hollinrake.

Pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 85831 on Public Houses, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of lowering the drink drive micrograms levels in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

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. We intend to publish this by the end of the year. The power to set the drink drive limit in Northern Ireland is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive.

Whether the powers for councils to issue fines for vaping and smoking relating to buses will be subject to (a) non-statutory and (b) statutory guidance on the issue of the bye-law powers.

The government will work with Local Transport Authorities and other stakeholders to determine how byelaws should be made and enforced, and what specific guidance is required.

Whether she has made an assessment of the financial (a) risk and (b) cost to councils of controlling bus franchising.

As part of the bus franchising process, local transport authorities (LTAs) must develop a robust assessment of all elements of a move to franchising. This assessment requires LTAs to demonstrate a financial and economic case for franchising in their area which considers whether the authority would be able to afford to make and operate the scheme, and whether the scheme represents value for money. There is no one size fits all approach to bus franchising, and the cost of bus franchising and level of financial risk to LTAs will vary depending on the individual area and the model of franchising that LTAs wish to pursue. Government is working to provide more active support to LTAs, and is developing a tailored programme of support for LTAs wishing to franchise. In addition, work will continue to reduce the cost of franchising to help make it more accessible to LTAs. My Department is also engaging with LTAs and bus operators to identify potential alternative models of franchising to those pursued by Greater Manchester and other Mayoral Combined Authorities. At the Spending Review, the Government announced funding for bus franchising pilots, including in York and North Yorkshire and Cheshire West and Chester as part of additional funding to maintain and improve bus services from 26/27 onwards.

Whether she has had recent discussions with the Mayor of London on (a) graffiti and (b) vandalism on the London Underground.

Department for Transport Ministers and officials have regular discussions with Transport for London (TfL) and the Mayor of London on a range of issues, including London Underground maintenance requirements. Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor and TfL who are responsible for the operation and maintenance of London Underground.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2025 to Question 59360 on Driving: Standards, which policies from that plan she has discontinued.

Those policies in “The Plan for Drivers” that would have made no positive difference for drivers have been discontinued. These include the speculative suggestions for interfering in local authorities’ decisions about how best to manage local road networks and threats to remove their access to vehicle keeper information. The Government is committed to empowering local leaders and Mayors to make the right decisions for their communities, including on transport.

Whether she plans to seek Parliamentary approval for the revised Airports National Policy Statement before submitting the infrastructure planning application for Heathrow Airport expansion.

The Government has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer. Once proposals have been received, the Government will review the Airports National Policy Statement. When conducting the review, the Secretary of State will comply with the requirements in the Planning Act 2008, including consultation, publicity and parliamentary requirements. When the ANPS has been reviewed, and depending on the outcome of the review, it will be for scheme promoters to submit a Development Consent Order application for a third runway scheme.

Whether the bye-law powers in the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [HL] will allow local authorities and the Greater London Authority to issue fixed penalty notices through private sector firms.

Under measures contained in the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill, local transport authorities, including in London, will be able to appoint individuals as “authorised persons” to enforce bus byelaws, and issue fixed penalty notices, where relevant. It will be for local transport authorities to determine who they appoint, and that could include employees of private sector businesses. My department will be publishing guidance to support local transport authorities to implement this Bill measure.

What her Department's policy position is on 15 minute cities.

Local Government is at the heart of our transport ambitions. Traffic management schemes to promote walking cycling and public transport are a matter for Local Authorities because they know their areas best. Such schemes should always be developed through engagement with local communities. This is a long-standing policy and there are no plans to change it.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54870 on Parking: Fines, if she will publish the research provided by the (a) Parking and Traffic Regulations Outside London, (b) British Parking Association and (c) Local Government Association.

The publication or otherwise of this research is a matter for the organisations that undertook it. It would not be appropriate for the Department to publish it.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 56829 on Speed Limits, whether her Department has plans to update 20mph zone guidance for England.

We believe that traffic authorities are best placed to decide where lower limits will be effective on the roads for which they are responsible, and that consultation and community support should be at the heart of the process.

Whether her Department has had discussions with Oxfordshire County Council on its planned introduction of traffic filters by Oxford in 2026.

The Department has not had discussions with Oxfordshire County Council on its planned introduction of traffic filters by Oxford in 2026. Local authorities are responsible for managing their roads and are accountable to their communities.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 57460 on Policy, what her planned timetable is for the revision of the National Policy Statement on airport expansion.

The government supports airport expansion and has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow. It expects any proposals to be brought forward by the summer and is clear that any scheme must be delivered in line with the UK’s legal, climate and environmental obligations.Once proposals have been received, the government will review the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), which provides the basis for decision making on granting development consent for a new runway at Heathrow.The Secretary of State will determine the scope of a review of the ANPS and we cannot speculate on the scope nor the timings of the review at this stage.

Whether her Department plans to publish amended guidance on the enforcement of moving traffic offences.

The Department for Transport has no current plans to update its statutory guidance on moving traffic enforcement outside London.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 June 2025 to Question 54299 on Motorcycles: Bus Lanes, if she will make it her policy to issue guidance to (a) local highways authorities and (b) combined authorities on an England-wide approach to allowing motorcycles to use bus lanes.

Any decision on whether to allow motorcycles to use bus lanes is a matter for the relevant local highway authority. In 2024 the Department for Transport ran a consultation on allowing motorcycles to access bus lanes by default, as is the case for pedal cycles. The responses did not provide a robust evidence base on which to amend the current policy, but highlighted issues regarding the current approach to permitting access. In urban areas permissions can change frequently at borough boundaries and this can lead to uncertainty. Following this consultation, the Department is considering whether to update Traffic Advisory Leaflet 1/24 to include advice that local authorities should work with neighbouring authorities to achieve consistency of provision across boundaries, particularly in urban areas. The Department will also consider how best to work with the metro mayors, combined authorities and Transport for London, to encourage a more joined up approach to motorcycle access in these areas.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 May 2025 to Question 49771 on Parking: Fines, if she will publish the (a) correspondence and (b) research.

The research into the effectiveness of current civil parking penalty charge levels was carried out by the Parking and Traffic Regulations Outside London organisation in concert with the British Parking Association, and with the support of the Local Government Association. Dissemination of this research, which was not commissioned by the Department for Transport, and associated correspondence with the Department, is a matter for those organisations.

If she will list the policies she has adopted from the previous Government's document entitled Plan for Drivers, published 2 October 2023.

“The Plan for Drivers” was published by the previous government; the Department is focused on actions that will make a positive difference for drivers in the light of this Government’s priorities. These include providing £1.6bn enabling councils to fill 7 million potholes and collaborating with the British Parking Association to make paying for parking easier. In addition, we are delivering those measures in the Plan that help ensure smoother journeys, including incentivising roadworks to be finished promptly by extending overrun charges to weekends, and supporting the transition to electric vehicles by streamlining the approval process for works to install public chargepoints.

Whether she plans to introduce a National Parking Platform.

On 21 May the Government announced that, following successful collaboration with the industry sector, the British Parking Association will now take forward the development and running of the National Parking Platform (NPP).

With reference to the policy paper entitled The plan for drivers, published on 2 October 2023, whether she plans to publish a consultation on revising guidance on the public’s right to challenge local authority parking policies.

Local traffic authorities in England are responsible for providing on-street parking facilities ensuring that their parking strategy takes account of transport and planning policies to meet the needs of various road users. They have an explicit duty under section 16 of the Traffic Management Act (TMA) 2004, to manage their road network to reduce traffic congestion and disruption. To help them achieve this, in 2015 the Government published statutory guidance to local authorities. This was to ensure that local businesses, the residential community and other road users have a recognised voice, in the exercise of the Network Management Duty in relation to parking. That guidance is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-challenge-parking-policies.

With reference to the policy paper entitled Plan for drivers, published on 2 October 2023, whether her Department has taken steps to remove local authorities’ access to Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency data.

This was a commitment made by the previous Government which we have no plans to take forward.

Whether she plans to update the 20mph zone guidance for England.

We have no current plans to revise Setting Local Speed Limits. We believe that traffic authorities are best placed to decide where lower limits will be effective on the roads for which they are responsible, and that consultation and community support should be at the heart of the process.