Every parliamentary written question tabled by Richard Holden this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 341–360 of 1,016 · Department for Transport
What the average grant-supported cost per bus was under each bus procurement scheme in each of the last five years; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of social value weightings on tendered prices.
My Department is not responsible for the procurement of buses and so does not hold this information.
Whether she intends to make changes to the existing Airports National Policy Statement in the context of the potential of a third runway at Heathrow; and what assessment she has made of the likelihood of securing planning consent for a third runway by 2029.
Government launched a review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) on 22 October, to reflect changes in legislation, policy and data. We will consult on any proposed amendments to the ANPS in summer 2026. When the ANPS has been reviewed, and depending on the outcome of the review, it will be for scheme promoters to decide when to submit a Development Consent Order application for a third runway scheme but the government’s ambition is for a planning decision this parliament.
Pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 105302 on Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Privatisation, what steps she is taking to mitigate for the loss of revenue to her Department from the privatisation of the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing.
Under the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model, ownership and operation of the Dartford Crossing would transfer to a new regulated private sector entity. This entity would be responsible for operating and maintaining both the Dartford Crossing and the new Lower Thames Crossing, ensuring a consistent and reliable service across both.The entity would be overseen by an independent regulator to ensure it performs effectively and protects the interests of users. Charges collected from both the Dartford Crossing and the new Lower Thames Crossing would be received by the entity and used to maintain the crossings and support more reliable journeys.This approach is designed to bring in private capital to fund the majority of construction, delivering better value for taxpayers and reducing pressure on public budgets. The Department has incorporated the effects of this approach into its financial forecasts and funding settlements with HM Treasury.
With reference to paragraph 4.5.12 of the draft amended National Policy Statement for Ports, published on 4 June 2025, what guidance will be available to decision-makers to support them interpreting the term economically reasonable; and what factors will be taken into account in assessing economic reasonableness.
The Department for Transport does not intend to publish supplementary guidance on the interpretation of this paragraph. The concepts of technical feasibility and economic reasonableness are generally well established, and encompass costs not being disproportionate to benefits. Technical guidance on flood risk assessment is published from time to time by the Environment Agency.
Whether estimates of net Government support per passenger journey are used internally by her Department for (a) budgeting, (b) business planning and (c) performance monitoring purposes; and in which internal documents such estimates are recorded.
As explained in response to Question 89632, the reduction in the rail passenger services subsidy over the Spending Review period will be primarily driven by passenger ridership and revenue continuing to recover post COVID-19 and efficiencies and savings being made through public ownership. Net Government support per passenger journey is a relevant metric when considering the affordability and acceptability of proposed business plans, and when monitoring performance against those plans.
What assurances she has had from Network Rail on steps being taken to minimise unnecessary barrier down-time at level crossings, while maintaining safety; and how such assurances will be monitored.
Network Rail is responsible for the safe operation of level crossings across the rail network. The safety measures it puts in place are informed by risk assessments which include, where relevant, available information on barrier down-time. Network Rail is overseen in this by the independent rail safety regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, which requires duty holders to ensure that the safety mitigations they put in place are reasonably practicable and do not expose passengers, the public or workforce to risk at level crossings.
How many full-time equivalent driving examiners recruited by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency were (a) in post and (b) delivering practical car driving tests in January 2026.
The national average waiting time for a practical car driving test in January 2026 was 21.2 weeks.Data for January 2026 on the number of full-time equivalent driving examiners recruited by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), that are in post and delivering practical car driving tests, will not be available until later in February.As of 30 December 2025, there were 1,618 full-time equivalent (FTE) driving examiners (DE) in post. Of those, 1,542 FTE were available to deliver practical car driving tests.
Pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2026 to Question 101484 on Electric Vehicles: Charging Points, what estimate she has made of the average amount of public funding provided per chargepoint.
Information on the average amount of public funding per public chargepoint is not available. Most public chargepoints have not received any public subsidy.
Pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2025 to Question 82998, whether the Department plans to extend the HGV Parking and Driver Welfare Grant Scheme beyond March 2026; and what assessment has been made of the impact of project withdrawals, scope reductions and planning refusals on the delivery of additional HGV parking capacity.
There are no plans for further windows of the HGV Parking and Driver Welfare Matched Funding Scheme (MFGS). To date 16 projects have been withdrawn by the operators. It is estimated that this is a reduction of up to 177 proposed additional HGV parking spaces. There are no significant impacts on the number of parking spaces where projects have undergone scope reduction.
With reference to her Department's report entitled Rail customer experience survey pilot report, published on 25 April 2024, what plans she has to use the survey findings to inform performance standards for public sector rail operators.
The Department uses customer insight data, including emerging findings from the newly introduced Rail Customer Experience Survey, to inform performance management of all train operating companies, including those which are publicly-owned. The Services Agreement for publicly owned operators also states that performance will be measured using the new survey when data allows.
With reference to pages 30 and 31 of the Government's report entitled Motor Insurance Taskforce: final report, published on 10 December 2025, whether the Department has concluded its consideration of penalties for the offence of driving a vehicle without motor insurance; and whether she has plans to increase the fixed penalty fine for this offence.
The Government does not intend to commission a specific review into the motorcycle insurance market, as motor insurers are responsible for setting the terms and conditions of the policies that they offer. It is for them to decide the level of risk that they take in issuing any policy to a given applicant. Motor insurers use a wide range of criteria to assess the potential risk a driver or rider poses including the age of the applicant, the type of vehicle being insured, the postal area where the applicant lives and their driving or riding experience. The setting of premiums is a commercial decision for individual insurers based on their underwriting experience. The government does not seek to control the motor insurance market.The Motor Insurance Taskforce focused on identifying actions that address the factors that contribute to the cost of claims and consequently, the cost of insurance premiums paid by drivers. Given the number of factors involved in pricing motor insurance, the government has not sought to estimate figures for individual consumer savings. However, the government is confident that the taskforce’s collective actions will help to reduce claims costs and, by extension, premiums. The Government’s Road Safety Strategy was published on 7 January. Alongside the strategy, five consultations have been launched, one of which proposes reforms to motoring offences, including introducing tougher penalties for driving without insurance: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-penalties-for-motoring-offences
Pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2026 to Question 106604, whether growing revenue and delivering value for money for passengers carry equal priority in the rollout of Great British Railways branding.
As set out in the answers to the questions 100962 and 106604, both growing revenue and delivering value for money for passengers are priorities Ministers have set industry leaders delivering the rollout of the Great British Railways brand. These are not mutually exclusive. Industry leaders will balance revenue growth with value for money as we move towards a railway that delivers better for customers and taxpayers.
What assessment has she made of requiring (a) regulatory and (b) policy frameworks to be in place before the Heathrow third runway project can proceed to its next phase.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as the independent economic regulator, is currently considering options for the future regulatory framework for Heathrow, including how costs are controlled and risks are allocated, with a decision on a preferred regulatory model for expansion expected in the summer. The government is aware of the need for a clear direction of travel to enable investment.In parallel, the Government launched a review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) on 22 October which is the policy framework that any future development consent order for expansion at Heathrow will be examined against. The Government expects to consult on any proposed amendments to the ANPS by the summer, alongside Parliamentary scrutiny in line with statutory processes.
Whether her Department has measurable targets for helping to reduce average motor insurance premiums.
The Government does not intend to commission a specific review into the motorcycle insurance market, as motor insurers are responsible for setting the terms and conditions of the policies that they offer. It is for them to decide the level of risk that they take in issuing any policy to a given applicant. Motor insurers use a wide range of criteria to assess the potential risk a driver or rider poses including the age of the applicant, the type of vehicle being insured, the postal area where the applicant lives and their driving or riding experience. The setting of premiums is a commercial decision for individual insurers based on their underwriting experience. The government does not seek to control the motor insurance market.The Motor Insurance Taskforce focused on identifying actions that address the factors that contribute to the cost of claims and consequently, the cost of insurance premiums paid by drivers. Given the number of factors involved in pricing motor insurance, the government has not sought to estimate figures for individual consumer savings. However, the government is confident that the taskforce’s collective actions will help to reduce claims costs and, by extension, premiums. The Government’s Road Safety Strategy was published on 7 January. Alongside the strategy, five consultations have been launched, one of which proposes reforms to motoring offences, including introducing tougher penalties for driving without insurance: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-penalties-for-motoring-offences
Whether the Government’s view, as set out in paragraph 4.5.10 of the draft National Policy Statement for Ports dated 4 June 2025, that there is no national resilience case for requiring climate resilience standards beyond those needed for commercial viability, will be applied consistently by decision-makers when considering development consent for port infrastructure.
Section 104(3) Planning Act 2008 requires the Secretary of State to decide an application in accordance with any relevant national policy statement, except to the extent that one or more of subsections (4) to (8) applies.
How many (a) Notices to Improve and (b) written instructions her Department issued to train operating companies for which the Department is the operator in relation to (i) service performance and (ii) financial control in January 2026.
The Department has not issued any Notices to Improve on any of the DfT Operator train operating companies in January 2026 because none have been in breach of their formal contractual terms. The Department regularly engages with all operators on service performance and financial management, aligned with this Government's priorities on improving performance and reducing subsidy.
Pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 104858 on Roads: Biodiversity, what information her Department holds on the (a) estimated cost, (b) estimated cost range and (c) modelling of the biodiversity net gain for (i) existing and (ii) planned projects related to the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project on the Strategic Road Network.
DEFRA’s forthcoming biodiversity net gain impact assessment, which is expected to be published shortly, will set out the impact of applying biodiversity net gain to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects.
If her Department will commission a specific inquiry into the motorcycle insurance market to examine underwriter withdrawals, geographic exclusions and pricing anomalies.
The Government does not intend to commission a specific review into the motorcycle insurance market, as motor insurers are responsible for setting the terms and conditions of the policies that they offer. It is for them to decide the level of risk that they take in issuing any policy to a given applicant. Motor insurers use a wide range of criteria to assess the potential risk a driver or rider poses including the age of the applicant, the type of vehicle being insured, the postal area where the applicant lives and their driving or riding experience. The setting of premiums is a commercial decision for individual insurers based on their underwriting experience. The government does not seek to control the motor insurance market.The Motor Insurance Taskforce focused on identifying actions that address the factors that contribute to the cost of claims and consequently, the cost of insurance premiums paid by drivers. Given the number of factors involved in pricing motor insurance, the government has not sought to estimate figures for individual consumer savings. However, the government is confident that the taskforce’s collective actions will help to reduce claims costs and, by extension, premiums. The Government’s Road Safety Strategy was published on 7 January. Alongside the strategy, five consultations have been launched, one of which proposes reforms to motoring offences, including introducing tougher penalties for driving without insurance: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-penalties-for-motoring-offences
What the average waiting time for a practical car driving test was in January 2026.
The national average waiting time for a practical car driving test in January 2026 was 21.2 weeks.Data for January 2026 on the number of full-time equivalent driving examiners recruited by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), that are in post and delivering practical car driving tests, will not be available until later in February.As of 30 December 2025, there were 1,618 full-time equivalent (FTE) driving examiners (DE) in post. Of those, 1,542 FTE were available to deliver practical car driving tests.
Since 1 January 2024, how many additional civil servants have been recruited into DfTO on a headcount basis; and for each quarter in the period January 2024 to the most recent quarter for which figures are available, what the net change in total civil service headcount has been at DfTO.
DFT Operator Limited (DFTO) is a public corporation. It is not a Crown employer and it does not employ civil servants.