Written questions by Cordova.

What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of removing the 9:30am restriction on the Disabled Person’s Bus Pass.

The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those of state pension age, currently sixty-six, and those with eligible disabilities. The ENCTS costs around £700 million annually and any changes to the statutory obligations, such as removing the 9:30am restriction, would need to be carefully considered for their impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability. Local authorities in England have the power to offer additional concessions beyond the statutory scheme, funded from local resources, for example, by allowing concessionary passholders to travel before 9:30am. The Government has confirmed over £1 billion for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. Local authorities can use this funding in whichever way they wish to improve services for passengers, including enhancing concessionary travel locally.

Whether she plans to respond to her Department's consultation entitled Pavement parking: options for change, that closed on 22 November 2020.

The Department has been carefully considering the responses to the consultation and working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. As soon as the Government has decided its preferred way forward, we will announce the next steps and publish our formal response. In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to restrict and enforce pavement parking.

Whether she has had discussions with the Mayor of London on the potential merits of connecting Clapham Junction station to the Northern line.

Government remains committed to supporting London and the transport network on which it depends. We recently provided £485m in funding to support Transport for London’s (TfL) capital programme for 2025/26 and will continue to work with TfL to understand its capital funding needs, which will be considered at Phase 2 of the Spending Review. However, transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and TfL and it is for the Mayor to assess the merits of capital projects and make decisions on investment.

Whether she plans to consult organisations led by disabled people on an accessibility road map for rail travel.

Ensuring accessibility for all passengers is at the heart of the Government’s passenger-focussed approach. We know that the experience for disabled people when traveling on rail too often falls short of what is expected and what passengers deserve. We are committed to improving the experience for disabled passengers and have committed to publishing an accessibility roadmap to explain the actions we are taking to improve accessibility ahead of GBR. We are working to define the approach to development of the roadmap, but I confirm we will engage with disabled people and key organisations, in line with our commitment in the House of Lords as part of the debate on the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act, in order to ensure that it addresses the issues and needs of passengers who require assistance.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to ticket office opening hours at Southeastern railway stations on commuters; and what steps her Department is taking to increase accessibility to ticket offices for disabled passengers across the rail network.

Southeastern ticket office changes were agreed under the previous Government. The Department is now examining these plans to ensure passengers remain supported.We recognise the vital role ticket offices play in the journeys of people with disabilities, and ensuring accessibility for all passengers is at the heart of our passenger-focused approach.

When her Department plans to announce stations that have been selected for Access for All Control Period 7 funding.

We are carefully considering the best approach to the Access for All programme. This Government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.