Every parliamentary written question tabled by Richard Holden this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 261–280 of 1,016 · Department for Transport
Whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on formally assessing Eastern European and Asian countries as potential strategic partners for UK bus and coach manufacturing supply chains.
My officials work closely with Business and Trade officials, including through the work of the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel.
Pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2026 to Question 110088, how many staff in total have been recruited into DFT Operator Limited (DFTO) on a headcount basis since 1 January 2024; and what the net change in total headcount at DFTO has been in each quarter from January 2024 to the most recent quarter for which figures are available.
The table below sets out the number of employees recruited from January 2024 and the change to net employee headcount per quarter for DFT Operator Limited (DFTO). The increases in headcount are as a result of the progressive public ownership programme managed by DFTO. The increase in staff costs are being offset by the savings in fees that would otherwise be payable to the former private sector owners. QuarterEmployees recruitedEmployees leftTotal headcountNetchangeQ1 202441143Q2 202461195Q3 2024112289Q4 20241003810Q1 20252215921Q2 20251707617Q3 202531410327Q4 202526612320Q1 2026(as of 3/3/26)27614421
Whether her Department has defined quantitative benchmarks for determining whether private sector delivery of public electric vehicle chargepoints is sufficient to meet the 2030 target.
An estimate of potential future demand for charge points was originally published in the 2022 “Taking Charge: The National Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy” and ranged from 280,000 to 720,000 in 2030. This analysis was updated in 2024 to a range of 250,000 to 550,000 in 2030. The Department has not defined quantitative benchmarks for the private sector, though we closely monitor electric vehicle charger rollout and publish public charger statistics monthly. Statistics include publicly and privately funded public chargers. We support uptake through targeted grants and funding and regularly engage with local authorities and the private sector on progress. The Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund requires local authorities to complete quarterly reporting of charger delivery.
A) how many full or partial weekend closures affecting London Liverpool Street services have occurred since July 2024; b) what assessment she has made of the economic impact of weekend engineering works on commuters and businesses in eastern England; and c) what steps her Department is taking to improve network resilience during major engineering works.
It is very rare to close Liverpool Street on a weekend for longer than 27 hours and not on a Saturday. Network Rail will occasionally consider closing the full station on a Sunday as, with train operators, they can offer alternative travel options into London for passengers. However, there have been some full weekend closures of Liverpool Street station because of extensive eight-day engineering blocks undertaken over Christmas 2024 and 2025 to carry out major roof renovations at the station. Note that on these occasions, services terminated at Stratford, with connections into the Liverpool Street area available. Network Rail analyses routes across the whole of the UK to minimise disruption to critical passenger and freight flows such as those to London Gateway and Felixstowe reducing the impact to a minimum as practically as possible. Network Rail plans major engineering works to coincide with expected low overall passenger demand (for example, by not planning works on popular seaside routes in mid-Summer). Network Rail aims to maintain operational resilience, to minimise disruption, and to ensure the safe and efficient delivery of major engineering works, and timely completion of those works.
What estimate her Department has made of the proportion of cyclist injury collisions that occur (a) at and (b) in the vicinity of bus stops; and whether evidence supports the association of cyclist collisions with bus stop design.
There is no national estimate of cyclist injury collisions occurring at or near bus stops. National collision data does not routinely identify bus-stop locations, and non-fatal cycling injuries are significantly under-reported, making precise calculations difficult. Cyclists face substantial injury risk when mixing with motor traffic. In 2024, there were 14,549 cyclist casualties on Great Britain’s roads (82 killed, 3,822 seriously injured), the overwhelming majority involving motor vehicles. Active Travel England and the Department is undertaking further research, reporting in 2027, to strengthen the evidence base on the safety, accessibility and user experience relating to Floating Bus Stops.
A) whether she has considered adopting a practical in-flight colour vision assessment model, such as the Aviation Operational Colour Vision Assessment used by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority in Australia, b) what assessment she has made of the potential benefits of introducing an operational colour vision assessment in the UK, and c) whether she plans to consult the Civil Aviation Authority on implementing a practical colour vision flight test.
Pilot colour vision testing is an issue that is considered by aviation authorities across the world. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is in discussion with national aviation authorities, including the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), about developments in this area including the use of operational assessments and determining their safety and effectiveness. The CAA has worked with City University, London, to develop the colour assessment and diagnosis (CAD) test and this has allowed them to pass 35% of applicants with a colour vision deficiency, including some who failed the lantern tests used previously. An independent analysis reported that only the CAD test and anomaloscopes (when used correctly) have 100% sensitivity and specificity when assessing colour vision. While other aviation authorities, including the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), are starting to use operational assessments, this is as part of a wider suite of tests. The CAA only accepts CAD testing for advanced colour vision testing, in the absence of evidence published in peer review literature regarding the effectiveness of operational assessments. CAD testing is easier to deploy than operational assessments and there is agreement among several aviation authorities that operational assessments need to be properly validated and compared with current methods for colour vision testing. The CAA recognises that colour vision testing is an important matter for the pilot community and are committed to reviewing the safety evidence as it emerges. The priority remains to ensure that we are satisfied with the safety implications of any potential assessment solutions.
Whether her Department provides guidance to blind and partially sighted people who are unable to cycle or drive.
The government is committed to improving transport services, so they are more inclusive and enable disabled people to travel safely, confidently and with dignity, including for blind and partially sighted people. As part of our broader mission to break down barriers to opportunity, we recognise that more needs to be done to ensure public transport is accessible to all. Our Bus Services Act 2025 includes a comprehensive package of measures to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of local transport. Through the Act, we are helping authorities to provide safer and more accessible bus stations and stops and mandating more streamlined disability training for bus drivers and frontline staff. We are also requiring local authorities to regularly review the accessibility of their bus networks through the development and publication of a Bus Network Accessibility Plan. We are equally committed to improving the experience for disabled passengers on rail services and that is why we published the Department’s roadmap to an accessible railway. It sets out what we are doing now to improve the day-to-day travelling experience for disabled passengers in the lead up to Great British Railways being established. The Railways Bill will also establish a Passenger Watchdog, protecting the rights of disabled passengers by monitoring service delivery, investigating persistent issues, and advocating for improvements. We are also continuing to install accessible routes at stations through our Access for All programme and have completed a programme to install platform edge safety tactiles on every platform in the country. The government recognises that pavement parking is also an issue that resonates deeply with communities across the country. The impact is felt by many; particularly people living with sight-loss, mobility or sensory disabilities, older adults, parents with young children, and anyone who relies on safe, accessible pavements to move around independently. We are taking forward a new, devolved approach to pavement parking, reflecting our commitment to decisions being made closer to the communities they affect. Local leaders understand their community best and are therefore in the strongest position to meet local needs effectively. The measures the government is taking forward support our commitment to improve transport users’ experience, ensuring that our roads and pavements are safe, reliable, and inclusive.The Department also provides advice to taxi and private hire vehicle licensing authorities in England on the steps they can take to improve the accessibility of services. This recommends mandatory disability awareness training for drivers and sets out recommendations to make reporting of incidents of alleged discrimination straightforward, with authorities expected to investigate thoroughly and take effective action. It also recognises the specific challenges that visually impaired passengers may face when providing evidence of incidents and advises licensing authorities to accept appropriate audio or video evidence and, where relevant, seek information from operators and partner agencies. The guidance also encourages authorities to explore more accessible payment options, such as ‘talking’ meters or more accessible card readers. Further, the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, currently being considered by the House of Lords, seeks to provide a power for the Secretary of State to set in regulations requirements that must be met for any taxi or private hire vehicle licence to be issued and held.The provision of accessible transport services, including for blind and partially sighted people, also requires a strong impetus from transport providers. We would expect transport authorities and operators to play their part in delivering this service – by communicating with their passengers, including about the accessibility measures they provide to encourage use. To build on this, we are committed to developing an Accessible Travel Charter. The Charter is a commitment to a shared vision for accessible travel. It will set out what disabled travellers can expect from their journeys, share best practice across organisations and create consistency in end-to-end journeys for disabled travellers. The Department also provides other support to allow blind and partially sighted passengers to travel including through the blue badge scheme and concessionary travel on public transport.
A) What estimate her Department has made of i) the average retail price of vehicles eligible for the £3,750 Electric Car Grant, and ii) the proportion of new electric vehicles currently on sale that qualify for the full grant; b) what assessment she has made of regional variation in EV uptake rates since July 2024, and c) what estimate she has made of the average household income of grant recipients.
Preliminary data on vehicles ordered and delivered to customers since grant launch show that the median purchase price of a vehicle eligible for the £3,750 Electric Car Grant (ECG) banding before the grant is applied is £24,009.88. Based on registration data for December 2025, 5% of new electric vehicles registered in that month received £3,750 through the ECG. The Government is committed to continued EV uptake across the UK and is working closely with devolved and local governments to achieve this. Data on licenced ultra-low emission vehicles across regions since July 2024 is at this link:https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fmedia%2F696641a38d599f4c09e1fff7%2Fveh0132.ods&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK Household income is not assessed or recorded as part of grant eligibility for end customers.
What discussions she has had with National Highways, police and regional road safety partnerships on the suspension of motorway camera enforcement arising from technical faults; if she will publish a) interim guidance issued to enforcement bodies and b) any assessment of road safety risks during the outage period; and what steps she is taking to ensure resilience against future system failures.
The Department has worked closely with National Highways, the Home Office and the police to respond to a technical anomaly affecting some speed cameras on a limited number of motorways and A-roads. National Highways always keeps safety issues under review, and undertook a comprehensive safety assessment in this case. National Highways do not routinely publish these assessments.The public must have confidence in technology on our roads, which is why we have announced an independent review into how the anomaly occurred, its handling, and the changes needed to ensure this cannot happen again.
Whether the proposed Great British Railways ticketing website and mobile application will be (a) built upon existing industry retail systems and (b) a newly developed retail platform owned and operated by Great British Railways.
Once Great British Railways (GBR) is established, it will retail online by consolidating individual train operators’ ticket websites. This will take place alongside a thriving private sector retail market, which will continue to play a key role in driving innovation and investment and encouraging more people to choose rail. Further information about the approach to GBR’s future ticket retailing website and app will be made available in due course.
How many miles of wire rope safety barriers are installed on roads managed by National Highways; and in which years they were installed.
National Highways has approximately 143 miles of wire rope safety barrier on its network. For context, the total length of Vehicle Restraint Systems (VRS) on National Highways’ network is approximately 6462 miles, of which wire rope safety barrier is one type. National Highways does not hold the data on when all wire rope safety barriers were installed.
Pursuant to the Written Statement of 23 February 2026 on Update on disclosed documents for AC-2025-LON-003837, which official was responsible for the incorrect application of fuel efficiency measures within the Department’s Aviation Model; and what grade that official was.
The Department does not name individual members of staff. Such updates are always quality assured, which involves checks from various analysts who are not directly involved in the work. The Department’s quality assurance processes are fully aligned with the Government’s AQuA Book (the quality assurance guidance), but I have asked my officials to strengthen our practices further.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the alignment of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme with the EU scheme on the costs of the operation of passenger ferries in Great Britain.
Linking the UK Emissions Trading Scheme and EU Emissions Trading Scheme is about making life easier for operators. It should minimise the administrative burden for operators and unlock greater access to a larger market, supporting economic growth and decarbonisation. Ongoing negotiations will determine the details and extent of alignment.
With reference to the Road Safety Strategy, published in January 2026, whether the updated Setting Local Speed Limits guidance will encourage lower speed limits.
Decisions on the most appropriate speed limits will continue to rest with local traffic authorities, working with the police who enforce them.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of kill switches in Chinese-made (a) cars and (b) buses on cyber security.
Modern vehicles – including cars and buses - are increasingly using software to support safer driving, to improve diagnostics and to provide a host of other services such as navigation and entertainment. The Government takes national security extremely seriously and recognises the systemic challenges of increased connectivity and the cyber security implications for almost every area of government policy, including vehicles. The National Cyber Security Centre has published guidance to help organisations understand and manage the associated risks, ensuring that system connectivity is approached in a way that balances security with the significant benefits it provides. The department introduced two new regulations: one to strengthen vehicle cybersecurity and one on software updates (UN Reg 155 and UN Reg 156). The cybersecurity regulation sets out requirements to mitigate potential threats in vehicle construction, to monitor emerging threats and to respond to cyber-attacks. We are aware of recent reports from Norway concerning an electric bus manufacturer and officials are looking into this, and the Transport Secretary will update the Transport Committee once the work is complete.
With reference to her Department's publication entitled Local highway authority highways maintenance ratings and underlying metric scores, 2025, of 11 January 2026, when she plans to update the road condition datasets with (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 data.
The Department will update the local road maintenance ratings on an annual basis. Each update will use the most recent road condition data available at the time of publication. The current ratings already incorporate road condition statistics for the financial year ending 2024. Future ratings will incorporate datasets from the financial year ending 2025 and, if available at the time of publication, from the financial year ending 2026.
With reference to the Road Safety Strategy, published January 2026, whether the updated Manual for Streets will encourage an increase in the amount of road and parking space for cars.
Decisions on how to allocate road space between different modes remain for local authorities, designers and practitioners.
With reference to the Road Safety Strategy, published in January 2026, whether proposed new penalties for not wearing a seat belt will apply to passengers in a Hackney Carriage black cab in London.
As part of the Road Safety Strategy, the Department for Transport has published a public consultation on proposed changes to penalties for motoring offences, including seat belt usage. The consultation seeks views on strengthening sanctions for non‑compliance with seat belt requirements, including the potential introduction of penalty points, and additional penalty points for drivers who do not ensure child passengers are appropriately restrained. No decisions have been taken, including on the detailed scope of any changes or how they would apply in practice. The consultation closes on 11 May 2026. Policy decisions will be taken after the consultation has closed and stakeholders’ views have been considered.
Whether the growth duty will apply to the Civil Aviation Commission.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is covered by the current Growth Duty set out in Section 108 of the Deregulation Act 2015. This requires specified regulators to have regard to the desirability of promoting economic growth when delivering their regulatory functions; and to consider the importance for the promotion of economic growth of exercising regulatory functions in a way which ensures action is only taken when it is needed, and that any action taken is proportionate. The CAA voluntarily reports each year on its work to meet the Growth Duty. The Secretary of State laid the latest such report in both Houses of Parliament alongside the CAA’s Annual Report and Accounts in July 2025.
How much funding has been allocated to railways in Wales in each year of the Spending Review 2025.
The 2025 Spending Review determined the allocation of railway enhancement funding over the financial years 2026/27 to 2029/20.The currently assumed annualised allocations for the £350 million committed for Wales rail enhancements within that period are as follows: Wales Rail Enhancements (£ million) 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 2029/30 Total SR period UK Government Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP)82 88 83 49 302 Core Valley Lines enhancement funding paid to the Welsh Government1212121248Total (£ million)941009561350 This investment marks the beginning of a long-term UK Government commitment to modernise Welsh railways as announced by the Prime Minister on 18 February. Further UK Government funding allocations for rail enhancements in Wales will be confirmed at future Spending Reviews. Funding for the operation, maintenance, and renewal (OMR) of railways in Wales is separately determined under the Office for Rail and Road Periodic Review process. Funding to support passenger services operated by Transport for Wales (TfW) is a matter for Welsh Government (with the Department providing c.£20 million - £25 million p.a. in respect of TfW services operating in England, TfW's participation in Pay As You Go Fare schemes in England and to cover changes in Control Period Charges).