Written questions by Holden.

What the status is of the community rail programme; what changes have been made since 1 July 2024 to (a) the community rail recognition process, (b) guidance issued to train operating companies on community rail engagement and (c) the Department’s objectives for community rail; and if she will publish a summary of those changes.

The Department continues to support the accreditation process for Community Rail Partnerships (CRP). The Community Rail Network (CRN) reviews processes, accounts, and governance and recommends to the Department when a CRP has met a certain standard of operation to receive accreditation. The Department works with the CRN to continuously improve this process while maintaining the aims of accreditation. The Department engages with train operating companies on Community Rail on a regular basis, and train operating companies continue to provide funding for the CRPs they support.The Government is committed to supporting Community Rail in the longer term, and the establishment of Great British Railways provides the opportunity to improve how we support this important programme. The Department will provide an update if there are any changes to the way in which Community Rail is delivered.

Pursuant to the the Answer of 12 January 2026 to Question 101836 on Railways: Barnsley and Sheffield, what the revised launch date is for the GPS-based pay as you go trial between Sheffield and Barnsley.

We are continuing to work closely with Northern and the supplier to address the problems that have caused Digital Pay As You Go Trial 4 to be delayed, and will launch the trial as soon as possible. Northern will provide an update to participants in the respective trial as soon as possible.

What funding her Department has provided to support community rail, including (a) community rail partnerships and (b) station adopter schemes, in each financial year since 2019-20; and what funding is planned for 2025-26.

Community Rail Partnerships (CRP) are awarded funding from both the Community Rail Network (CRN) and train operating companies. CRPs then allocate funding to station adopter groups within their catchment. Funding has remained at a consistent level since 2019-20.

When the next meeting of the Hammersmith Bridge taskforce is expected to take place.

The Government intends to convene a further meeting of the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce in the near future to discuss next steps for the project. My Department’s officials will be in touch with key local stakeholders to arrange this in due course.

How much her Department has spent on (a) purchasing and (b) installing soundproof meeting pods for its headquarters in London since 17 October 2024; and how much of this relates to meeting pods for the Ministerial private office.

No further funds have been spent on purchasing or installing soundproof meeting pods beyond that detailed in the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 71266.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of up-front pilot training costs on (a) the pilot workforce, (b) diversity within the profession and (c) the long-term resilience of the aviation sector; and what steps she is taking to help tackle barriers to entry for trainees from lower- and middle-income backgrounds.

This Government works closely with industry to address financial barriers to pilot training and to support the growth of a diverse aviation workforce, including through the Aviation Industry Skills Board. This area is a priority not only for my Department, but also the Department for Business and Trade, the Department for Work and Pensions and Skills England. A training organisation has been approved to deliver a first officer apprenticeship, which would provide training completely cost-free to young people. In addition, British Airways, Jet2.com, and TUI have periodically offered partly or fully funded training programmes. My officials are working with the Department for Education and airlines to encourage them to deliver this apprenticeship.

On what evidential basis her Department has concluded that the majority of passengers benefit from the long-distance simplified ticketing trials.

The Department has commissioned independent evaluation on the trial, this research has not yet concluded. The current evidence is provided by LNER and is available at https://assets.ctfassets.net/mxack5k9p2sw/6k2Evw4OmGsvywKgBg9U9j/e63a4ca09d2c4e01fada29f731d90f7b/Simpler_Fares_LNER_Website_Copy_Enhanced_Sept_2025.pdf .

Whether the powers conferred by the Harbours Act 1964, as amended by the Transport and Works Act 1992, allow Ministers to amend the text of primary legislation by Harbour Revision Order.

Harbour Revision Orders (HROs) are normally initiated by a harbour authority, but the Secretary of State can seek to impose a HRO under the Harbours Act 1964. The department is consulted on all HRO applications, but the Secretary of State does not have the power to directly amend orders that have been applied for by a harbour authority.

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 December 2025.

The Department has not issued any Notices to Improve on any of the DfT Operator train operating companies in December 2025 because none have been in breach of their formal contractual terms. The DfT 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 16 December 2025 to Question 96696 on Roads: Biodiversity, what estimate she has made of the average cost for each Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project of (a) voluntarily delivering biodiversity net gain (BNG) prior to May 2026, (b) delivering BNG on a compulsory basis during the third Road Period and (c) delivering BNG overall for schemes (i) currently under construction or (ii) in the delivery pipeline.

The department does not estimate the average cost of voluntary biodiversity net gain for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects on the Strategic Road Network. Biodiversity net gain provisions are determined on a project by project basis and assessed as part of the consenting process where relevant. The Roads Period 3 pipeline has not yet been finalised, and currently no schemes fall within the scope of mandatory biodiversity net gain requirements; therefore, no overall estimate has been made.

How many full-time equivalent driving examiners employed by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency were (a) in post and (b) delivering practical car driving tests in December 2025.

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.A DE is a paid Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency employee from the point at which they start their training and therefore considered to be in post.

What the average waiting time for a practical car driving test was in December 2025.

The national average waiting time for a practical car driving test in December 2025 was 21.9 weeks.

Which driving test centres were at 24 weeks wait times in December 2025.

The attached Excel document shows which driving test centres had a waiting time of 24 weeks in December 2025 for a practical car driving test.

What progress her Department has made in identifying a National Freight Network.

The 2022 Future of Freight plan committed to developing a fuller understanding of our domestic freight network from a multimodal perspective, before considering how it could be consolidated into a National Freight Network. The Department is making good progress towards the goal of improving understanding of the freight and logistics system as an integrated multimodal network. This progress includes identifying, developing, and delivering a package of measures to enhance key data and insights capabilities. Further detail on these measures and the overarching approach we are taking forward will be provided in the upcoming publication of the new plan for freight.

What assessment her Department has made of changes in LNER ticket prices since the introduction of simpler fares for long-distance travel.

The Department has commissioned independent evaluation on the trial, this research has not yet concluded. The current evidence is provided by LNER and is available at https://assets.ctfassets.net/mxack5k9p2sw/6k2Evw4OmGsvywKgBg9U9j/e63a4ca09d2c4e01fada29f731d90f7b/Simpler_Fares_LNER_Website_Copy_Enhanced_Sept_2025.pdf .

Whether the Department expects to reach a decision on Transport for London’s proposal for Great Northern inner services before any change to the current operating model takes effect.

The Department is working with TfL to assess the benefits of the proposal, including housing growth opportunities such as the potential development of 21,000 homes at Crews Hill.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the information her Department holds on (a) key transport routes (b) main transport bottlenecks for freight movements across transport modes and (c) freight data; and what assessment she has made of whether her Department's analytical capabilities support the improvement of that information.

The Department holds a broad range of information on the freight and logistics system that provides an effective evidence-base for our work. This includes information that helps understand key transport routes, like our published road traffic and maritime statistics, and information to help understand network bottlenecks, such as our congestion statistics and stakeholder intelligence. The Department recognises the importance of continually improving its analytical capabilities, as evidenced in the important recent update to the road freight values of time in our Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG). Further actions to improve our freight data provision and analytical capability are ongoing and will be announced in the upcoming Transport Data Action Plan and new plan for freight.

How many bus passenger journeys were taken in (a) London and (b) England outside London in each month from January 2023 for which data is available.

The Department does not hold information on bus passenger journeys operated by calendar month in London or England outside London.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2025 to Question 99840, whether she will publish the full cost-benefit analysis underpinning the Government’s assessment of the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate, including all assumptions, modelling inputs, sensitivity analyses, and any internal estimates of the proportion of costs falling to the public purse.

A full, final cost-benefit analysis was published alongside the VETS order 2023 on Gov.UK.A projection of the overall costs falling to government from the policy were not estimated as part of this assessment.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2025 to Question 97184, what estimate the Department has made of the annual cost of extending the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme to provide concessionary passes for companions of disabled people.

The Department for Transport does not hold a current assessment of the cost of expanding the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) to include companion passes as part of the statutory provision. In the year ending March 2025, the ENCTS cost around £795 million.Any decision to expand the statutory offering would involve rigorous cost analysis of a range of options.