Written questions by Turner.

How many (a) suicides and (b) attempted suicides were recorded as having taken place on the strategic road network in each of the last ten years.

Whilst National Highways undertakes considerable work to use all intelligence and operational data to prevent suicide, it does not have definitive datasets on suicide related incidents on the Strategic Road Network (SRN) because classification of deaths is a matter for the Coroner. Every death on our roads is a tragedy and National Highways strives to prevent deaths and serious injuries whatever the cause.

What estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of capping single bus fares at £3 in 2025.

On Monday 28 October, the Prime Minister confirmed that the government will introduce a new £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London from 1 January 2025 through to 31 December 2025. The government will provide funding of over £150 million to deliver the £3 cap.

With reference to paragraph 35 of the minutes of the Office of Rail and Roads Board meeting of 25 June 2024, when National Highways plans to publish the Delivery Plan Update for 2024/25.

National Highways intend the publish the Delivery Plan Update for 2024/25 later this year.

On what date her Department provided proposals to Highways England for the Road Investment Strategy 2.

The Department for Transport published the Draft second Road Investment Strategy on 29 October 2018, setting out the Governments objectives and funding available for RIS2, to allow National Highways (then Highways England) to prepare its Draft Strategic Business Plan. The final Road Investment Strategy 2 was published on 11 March 2020, on which the company based its detailed Delivery Plan.

With reference to item 12 of the minutes of the Office of Rail and Road's Board meeting of 25 June 2024, if she will publish (a) the Office of Rail and Road's case to answer letter and (b) the National Highways reply that are referenced in that item.

The Office of Rail and Road published the conclusions to its investigation, including these two letters, on its website on 24 July 2024. Link to (a) the Office of Rail and Road’s case to answer letter:https://www.orr.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2024-07/2024-05-22-orr-case-to-answer-letter-to-nh.pdf. Link to (b) National Highways reply:https://www.orr.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2024-07/2024-06-05-nh-response-to-orr-investigation-letter.pdf.

Whether her Department provided National Highways the proposals for Road Investment Strategy 3 required under clause 2 of Schedule 2 of the Infrastructure Act 2015 before 4 July 2024.

No.

What estimate she has made of the number of uninsured vehicles; and how many vehicles were seized for unpaid insurance in each year since 2015.

My department has not made an estimate of the number of uninsured vehicles. We also do not hold the numbers of vehicles seized for unpaid insurance.

How many temporary speed restrictions there were on the national rail network on15 March in each year since 2017.

Network Rail data in the attached table shows that the following temporary and emergency speed restrictions were in place in Rail Period 13 (March) since 2017.

What the (a) central and (b) total public expenditure was on cycling per head by region in 2023-24.

The Department does not hold data detailing public expenditure on cycling per head by region. Details of Active Travel England expenditure on walking and cycling combined by region for 2023/24 is contained in the table below. This expenditure is in addition to a range of wider funds detailed in the second Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS2) which collectively totals over £3 billion. RegionTotal 23-24Total per headEast Midlands£6,469,180£1.33East of England£10,023,340£1.58North East£9,695,666£3.66North West£16,117,470£2.17South East£21,228,834£2.29South West£8,005,394£1.40West Midlands£15,332,363£2.58Yorkshire and The Humber£15,860,482£2.89Total£102,732,729

With reference to her Department's dataset titled Proportion of adults that cycle, by frequency, purpose and local authority: England, published on 28 August 2024, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the estimated decline in the percentage of people who cycle at least once per month between 2016 and 2023.

Data from 2021 and 2022 coincided with COVID-19 lockdown restrictions which severely reduced people’s movements and travel patterns, across all transport modes, including cycling across England. This can be seen to have a major impact on the statistics during this period and play a major role in the falls recorded. The Department will consider all active travel data as we continue to shape our long-term vision for cycling and walking across England. Cycling and walking are cheap, green and healthy ways to get around, and we will work alongside local authorities to ensure everyone can access the benefits of active travel routes and travel how they choose.

With reference to her Department's press release entitled PM redirects HS2 funding to revolutionise transport across the North and Midlands, published of 04 October 2023, what is the estimated cost to the public purse of cancelling Phase 2 of HS2 by (a) year and (b) heading.

The Department is currently assessing the cost of cancelling Phase 2 of the HS2 project, working with HS2 Ltd and its supply chain to inform this assessment. As at the end of March 2024, £2.3bn had been spent on Phase 2.

How much was spent on improving the accessibility of railway stations for disabled people under Network Rail's Access for All scheme in each region in each year of Control Period (a) 5 and (b) 6.

During Control Period 5 (CP5, 2014/15 to 2018/19), the total spend under the Access for All programme across Great Britain was £88.762 million.During Control Period 6 (CP6, 2019/20 to 2023/24), the total spend under the Access for All programme across Great Britain was £291.246 million. Annex A (attached) will provide the Honourable Member with spend for each specific year of Control Period 5 and Control Period 6.

Whether the Rail Delivery Group plans to publish board minutes for the period between March 2021 and March 2024.

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) is a private organisation that brings together passenger and freight train operators, as well as Network Rail. As such, it is for the RDG to decide whether to publicly publish its board minutes for the period between March 2021 and March 2024.

How many planned station upgrades under Network Rail's Access for All scheme were (a) cancelled and (b) deferred during Control Period 6 in each region.

Under the previous government, changes were made to the Control Period 6 Access for All (AfA) programme at the following stations:Queens Park (London) and Battersea Park (London) - AfA funding was withdrawnPeckham Rye (London) - scope was incorporated into a wider station enhancement projectShotton (Wales) – project deferred to Control Period 7 with the agreement of Transport for Wales

What support she is providing to mayoral combined authorities for bus franchising schemes.

The Government have committed to giving mayoral combined authorities long term devolved funding settlements.We recognise that success in delivering franchising will be dependent on the delivery capacity and capability of local authorities. The Department is working with mayoral combined authorities who are in the process of franchising their bus networks to understand how the process could be improved and to provide a tailored programme of support that reflects their needs and priorities.