Written questions by Huddleston.

Whether the Government plans to update the Highways Act (1980) to support the delivery of news homes, including the Wychavon Town development in Worcestershire.

The Department is undertaking a dedicated research project examining the current road adoption landscape in England, collating evidence from local highway authorities and stakeholders, and assessing options to streamline processes and improve outcomes. Findings from this work will inform any future policy or legislative considerations. We will consider the implications of the project’s conclusions for developments such as Wychavon in due course and will set out next steps once the research is complete.

If she will undertake a review of the Highways Act 1980 in regard to road adoptions, in the context of the cost to residents of petitioning under Section 37 of the Act for roads on a new estate to be adopted when developers go into administration.

The Department is undertaking a dedicated research project examining the current road adoption landscape in England, collating evidence from local highway authorities and stakeholders, and assessing options to streamline processes and improve outcomes. Findings from this work will inform any future policy or legislative considerations. We will consider the implications of the project’s conclusions for developments such as Wychavon in due course and will set out next steps once the research is complete.

What discussions she has had with South Western Railway on the potential impact of the removal of the 7.37am service from Worcestershire Parkway to Birmingham New Street on commuters living in Droitwich and Evesham constituency.

CrossCountry provides train services between Worcestershire Parkway and Birmingham. Officials discussed the operator’s proposal to temporarily withdraw some services to ensure a more reliable timetable can be delivered. The Department agreed to the operator’s proposed timetable changes as it delivered benefits for the majority of passengers. CrossCountry were unable to add a Worcestershire Parkway call on another morning train but two alternative trains from Worcestershire Parkway are both scheduled to arrive at Birmingham before 0900.