Written questions by Holden.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2025 to Question 86957 on Bus Services: Concessions, whether the Government has made an assessment of the financial sustainability of expanding the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme to include eligibility for passes for the companions of disabled people.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the cost of expanding the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) to include companion passes. However, since my response to Question 86957 on Bus Services: Concessions, newly released figures show that the ENCTS cost around £795 million in the year ending March 2025, an increase of 8% on the previous year. The Government has confirmed over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services for millions of passengers over the remainder of the spending review period. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities totalling nearly £700 million per year. Essex County Council will be allocated £59.3 million from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in addition to the £17.8 million they are already receiving this year. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services for passengers can be used in whichever way they wish, including funding companion passes locally. In the year ending March 2025, 66% of local authorities offered companion passes to disabled people as a discretionary concession.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the proposed advisory role of the Office of Rail and Road under the Railways Bill in providing independent scrutiny of Great British Railways’ annual and five-year business plans; and whether she will introduce statutory requirements for the ORR to publish (a) efficiency assessments, (b) value-for-money analysis, and (c) compliance with the Long-Term Rail Strategy.

The Government considers the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR) proposed advisory role under the Railways Bill provides effective independent scrutiny of Great British Railway’s (GBR) business plans. We would expect the ORR to assess efficiency, value for money, and compliance with strategic objectives and the ORR could publish this as part of its independent advisory function. There is no intention to put statutory constraints on the form or content of ORR advice.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 71238 on Buses and Large Goods Vehicles: Licensing, whether her Department has now concluded its consideration of next steps following the consultation entitled Amendments to licensing restrictions: bus, coach and heavy goods vehicles; and whether she has plans to publish a timetable for the Government’s response.

The Government is reviewing responses to the consultation conducted under the previous government. We are considering next steps and will provide an update once this work has concluded.

How much central government funding was provided to Transport for London in each financial year from 2007–08 to 2024–25; and what it is expected to be in 2025-6.

All the information requested is available on TfL's website: Funding letters - Transport for London.

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 November 2025.

As of 30 November 2025, there were 1,608 full-time equivalent (FTE) driving examiners (DE) in post. Of those, 1,539 FTE were delivering 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 estimate she has made of the number of bus service miles operated in England outside London in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.

The Department does not hold this information centrally.

What the national average waiting time in weeks was for a practical car driving test in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.

The national average waiting time in November for car practical driving tests will not be available until later in December. The national average for any given month is usually not available until the middle of the following month. The respective answers to Question 78713 on 20 October 2025, and Question 93246 on 28 November 2025, provided data covering the period July 2024 to October 2025.

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 (A) November 2025 and (B) each month since July 2024.

The Department has not issued any Notices to Improve on any of the DfT Operator train operating companies because none have been in breach of their formal contractual terms. DfT regularly engages with all operators on service performance and financial management, aligned with this Government's priorities on improving performance and reducing subsidy.

Whether she plans to lay Great British Railways’ draft and final Integrated Business Plans before Parliament for scrutiny.

The new funding period review set out in the Bill will require the publication of Great British Railway’s (GBR) integrated business plan, including updates, and a summary of the advice provided by the Office of Rail and Road to the Secretary of State on the quality of that plan.

How many environmental assessments relating to HS2 have been carried out since 4 July 2024; in which months those assessments took place; and what the cost was of each assessment.

Assessments published by HS2 since 4 July 2024 include an Environmental Sustainability Progress Report, Supplementary Environmental Information reports and reports on Noise & Vibration and Air Quality. These are all made publicly available on gov.uk.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2025 to Question 93219 on Roads: Biodiversity, whether those schemes undertaking biodiversity net gain requirements are on a voluntary basis.

All Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects which are already delivering biodiversity net gain (BNG) are doing so on a voluntary basis. This will remain the case until the legal requirement applies to schemes that submit development consent applications after May 2026. National Highways is already committed to delivering BNG for those Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects starting construction in the third Road Period (2026/27 to 2030/31).

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2025 to Question 93226 on Level Crossings, for what reason responsibility for assessing and managing level-crossing down-time rests solely with Network Rail rather than being shared with local authorities or National Highways.

Level crossings form part of the rail estate and legal responsibility for their safe operation falls to the relevant infrastructure manager, such as Network Rail. Infrastructure managers must operate level crossings in line with their statutory duties but they work closely with local authorities, highways agencies and users to understand the impacts of barrier downtime. Effective co-operation and collaboration between these parties is critical and each has an important role to play.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of additional dedicated cross-Pennine rail freight capacity to support ports (a) in the Humber Estuary and (b) on the east coast of England, including Immingham.

Analysis undertaken to develop the TransPennine Route Upgrade suggests there could be strong potential for new rail freight capacity from both east and west coast ports to inland terminals. Work to develop options for investment, in conjunction with the rail freight sector, is on-going. Such freight flows could lead to environmental and social benefits, such as reducing carbon emissions and road congestion by removing the requirement for large numbers of lorries on cross-Pennine roads. Decisions will be taken in time to allow integration of any suitable projects into the existing TransPennine Route Upgrade programme.

What (a) number and (b) proportion of rail journeys were made using (i) advance purchase, (ii) off-peak and (iii) anytime tickets in in each month since and including July 2024 up to and including the most recent month for which figures are available.

The Office for Road and Rail publish quarterly data on rail journeys by ticket type. The most recent quarter available is April 2025 to June 2025 and the quarterly breakdown can be found athttps://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/passenger-rail-usage/table-1222-passenger-journeys-by-ticket-type/

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2025 to Question 89642 on High Speed 2 Line, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the deferral of works on the Handsacre link on (a) journey times from the North West of England to London and (b) the economy during the four year deferral period.

As set out in my response of 20 November 2025 to question 89642, the deferral of work at Handsacre is not expected to have any impact on journey times for services from the North West of England to London once the delivery of HS2 is complete. The Department and HS2 Ltd are currently undertaking a full reset of the programme. As part of this reset the department will provide an update on the economic impact of the programme in a revised business case.

Pursuant to WPQ 93460, which roads are covered by the four departures from standards that were granted; and when those decisions were made.

The following four schemes were granted departures from standard:- The A1(M) J37-38. The departure was granted on the 2nd of December 2024- The M5 J23-24. The departure was granted on the 24th of April 2024- The M6 J37-38. The departure was granted on the 12th of May 2025- The M4 J13-14. The departure was granted on the 20th of August 2025

Pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2025 to WPQ 91458, how much revenue local authorities made from (a) traffic junction enforcement, (b) clean air zones and (c) congestion charging in 2024-25.

The Department does not hold this information centrally.

What estimates National Highways has made of a) the average daily number of HGV movements to and from Immingham Port, b) expected daily HGV movements over the next five years, and c) whether current road capacity and maintenance plans are sufficient to support that growth.

National Highways’ select link analysis using regional traffic models, identified an average annual daily flow of 1,851 HGV movements between Immingham Port and the A180.While the current Route Strategies (published May 2023) do not provide specific HGV forecasts for Immingham, they note that freight-related HGVs account for over 30% of traffic on key routes including the A160 and M180. Stakeholder engagement indicates HGV volumes are expected to rise, particularly with Freeport developments.National Highways’ investment and maintenance plans, set out in the Route Strategies and underpinning the Road Investment Strategy, aim to maintain network reliability and resilience to support this growth. Traffic trends will continue to be monitored to help inform whether capacity needs are being met.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2025 to Question 90814, what are the names of the third party organisations or agents, acting on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council, that have been provided with vehicle keeper data.

This information relates to a commercial arrangement between Oxfordshire County Council and the third party and it would not be appropriate to disclose that information.

Pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2025 to Question 93855, if she will break down those (a) nominal and (b) real terms rises by year.

The Office of Rail and Road publish annual statistics measuring the change in prices charged by train operating companies to rail passengers, normally introduced in March of each year. Table 7180 provides the average change in fares by regulated and unregulated tickets, for Great Britain, from 1995 to 2025. The data set also includes the Retail Prices Index from which real fare changes can be calculated. This can be found at the following link: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/finance/rail-fares/