Written questions by Holden.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2026 to Question 120036 on the Highway Code, which (a) organisations and (b) individuals were represented on the expert stakeholder group; and how many times that stakeholder group met during the drafting of Rule H1.

The expert stakeholder group convened by the previous government when it determined the new rule could be introduced included individuals from The Automobile Association (AA), British Horse Society (BHS), BRAKE, Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT), Cycling UK, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), First Car – representing Younger Road Users, Institute for Transport Studies Leeds – Representing Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC), Living Streets, Phil Jones Associates, Road Safety Foundation – representing Older Road Users, TMS Consultancy – representing Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS), Transport for London (TfL), Transport Scotland and Welsh Government.The expert stakeholder group met five times during the drafting of updates to the Highway Code to improve road safety for people walking, cycling and riding horses including Rule H1.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2026 to Question 121469 on Electric Vehicles: Prices, whether her Department plans to update its projections for when zero emission vehicles will reach price parity with internal combustion engine vehicles.

DfT continues to monitor evidence on prices and projections.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2026 to Question 121903 on Driving Tests: Vacancies, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of holding centrally a snapshot of the total number of driving examiner vacancies by calendar month.

Monthly driving examiner vacancy figures have limited value because numbers change frequently due to demand, training, turnover and capacity. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency manages its workforce flexibly, matching examiner numbers to demand and using a test centre level view to support recruitment and deployment.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2026 to Question 121208 on A14: Trees, whether the work to remove redundant biodegradable and plastic tree guards along the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon scheme has commenced; and what the expected completion date is.

National Highways has commenced work to remove redundant biodegradable and plastic tree guards along the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon scheme. To date, around 36,000 redundant tree guards have been removed, and the work is expected to be completed by May 2026.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2026 to Question 122316, whether the Government plans to resume the York Area Capacity and Performance Project.

Following the conclusion of the Spending Review, the Department is working closely with Network Rail and key stakeholders to develop a sustainable long-term strategy for the East Coast Main Line, aligned with emerging plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail. This work will consider potential investment opportunities at key locations across the route, such as York.

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2026 to Question 118920, if she will develop new Outline Business Cases for a) the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement and b) Haughley Junction upgrades and c) whether she has plans to undertake a BCR assessment for the dualling of single sections of the Clitheroe to Manchester Victoria line.

The Government’s commitment to a significant programme of railway investment was announced as part of Spending Review 2025. We will set out our plans for further investment in rail infrastructure in due course.

What estimate her Department has made of the proportion of new car registrations that will be zero emission vehicles in 2027 under (a) central, (b) low and (c) high uptake scenarios.

The Department regularly updates its projections of zero emission vehicle (ZEV) uptake. The latest published projections were included in the Cost Benefit Analysis accompanying the Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2025, which outlined three scenarios for ZEV uptake following the updates to the legislation, which include projections covering the period 2025 to 2030. It included three scenarios: central, low, and high. The Cost Benefit Analysis has been published at the following link: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/1101/pdfs/uksiod_20251101_en_001.pdf

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2026 to Question 120879 on DfT Operator: Training, whether her Department plans to provide funding through DfT Operator Limited to increase the number of rail training places.

There are no plans to provide funding to DfT Operator Limited specifically for rail training places as part of the Department’s funding of train services. It is up to the train operating companies to establish their own training requirements and fund these through the budgets agreed.

What expenditure has Network Rail undertaken on public affairs companies, and for what purposes, since 4 July 2024.

From July 2024 to March 2026, Network Rail spent £372,914 on its Stakeholder Engagement Services contract. This contract supports Network Rail's duties as a public body to ensure that a wide range of statutory consultees, national and regional representatives are informed of the work to operate and improve the rail network.

Pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2026 to Question 123240, what contribution improved cycling facilities will make to balancing aviation sector growth.

Airports and their local stakeholders consider all transport options as part their surface access strategies, which cover staff as well as customers.

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 each month since December 2025 up to and including the most recent month for which figures are available.

The Department's priority objectives for train operators are to improve performance and reduce financial subsidy. It does not routinely publish specific instructions made to operators. We have asked train operators to reflect how they will deliver these priorities in their plans for the next five years. The output of those plans will be published in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2026 to Question 122594, when she expects driver training to have been completed for passenger services to commence on trains for the first EWR services between Oxford and Milton Keynes.

The Department is working closely with Chiltern Railways and other partners to conclude the remaining staffing arrangements required for the first East West Rail passenger services between Oxford and Milton Keynes. This includes training the 44 recruited train drivers. Passenger services will commence once train testing and driver training are complete and all necessary authorisations and agreements are in place. A start date for services will be announced as soon as it is possible to do so.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2026 to Question 122594, on what basis her Department determined that the delayed appointment of Chiltern Railways as operator for East West Rail Services was caused by the General Election in July 2024, and whether her Department has commissioned an independent assessment of the cause of the delay to that appointment.

The appointment of the operator for the first phase of EWR services was paused during the General Election campaign in July 2024. This Government then appointed Chiltern Railways as the operator in March 2025. The department has not commissioned an independent assessment of this specific delay to the programme.

What assessment she has made of the delay to repairs at Bransty Tunnel on the Cumbrian Coast Line, including (a) the reasons why no works have commenced eight months after closure, (b) the status of environmental permitting with the Environment Agency, and (c) the expected timetable for the start of works and full reopening of the line.

Network Rail is responsible for the delivery of works at Bransty Tunnel, and my officials are supporting Network Rail on this matter. The issue at Bransty Tunnel was identified when Network Rail, as part of routine planned maintenance and renewals, undertook ground investigations that revealed unstable conditions within the tunnel resulting from historic mining activity in the area. This is linked to the ochreous water discharge at Whitehaven harbour. Given the remnants of the mining activity, and large amounts of flowing water, a much larger, more complex package of work than was originally anticipated is needed to rectify these poor conditions, leading to the extended closure of the tunnel. A dedicated Network Rail Whitehaven Recovery Taskforce is now in place to address the flooding and structural issues at Bransty Tunnel linked to the historic mining activity. Detailed inspections are complete, and a permanent £49 million repair solution has been independently verified and is ready to be delivered. This includes water management, tunnel stabilisation, and subsequent track and drainage renewal. Although Network Rail has agreed to progress, agreement is needed with the Environment Agency and the Mining Remediation Authority before on-site work can commence due to environmental and regulatory requirements. DfT Operator’s rail environment team is supporting this. Network Rail is working closely with the Mining Remediation Authority and the Environment Agency to align the necessary environmental consents so that water contamination issues can be addressed alongside the repairs. Network Rail will provide a further public update once work can begin. Delivery is expected to take six to nine months.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the supply of coaches that are compliant with the Public Service Vehicles (Accessible Information) Regulations 2023 for use in rail replacement services after the expiry of the current exemption on 31 July 2026.

The Public Service Vehicles (Accessible Information) Regulations 2023 (AIR) require the provision of audible and visible route and location information on board most local bus and coach services in Great Britain. Local services subject to the Regulations must comply with them by October 2026, and we expect operators to ensure this happens on time. The government understands and recognises the specific challenges to comply with AIR within the rail replacement sector. We continue to work with partners, including the Rail Delivery Group, DfT Operator Limited and bus and coach trade bodies, to assess the sector’s readiness for full compliance across the whole rail network, and to provide support to help them achieve this. This includes the development of new technological solutions for providing information on board coaches, funding for smaller operators, alongside the existing time-limited exemption from the technical requirements of AIR, which is due to end on 31 July 2026. The exemption was put in place to ensure that rail passengers could still complete their journeys whilst rail replacement operators equip their fleets to comply with the Regulations.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2026 to Question 908536 on Road Works: Compensation, if her Department plans to approve further lane rental schemes in 2026.

Legislation is being laid shortly to bring seven new lane rental schemes into force. We are also devolving approval powers to mayoral authorities, with further applications continuing to be assessed.

Pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2026 to Question 123167 on British Transport Police: Finance, whether the cost of the British Transport Police has been included in the Government’s cost estimates for rail nationalisation; and what estimate her Department has made of the annual cost of funding the British Transport Police under a fully nationalised rail system.

The British Transport Police’s budget is set by the British Transport Police Authority, who are the executive non-departmental public body that oversees the Force and is their employer. They have already agreed a budget settlement with the Force up to 2028/29, increasing by 15% from £418.5m in 2025/26 to £481.5m in 2028/29. We anticipate that the level of funding following this will similarly balance the needs of the industry and the force against public sector affordability.

With reference to the East West Rail route, a) how many train movements have taken place on that route in the last 12 months; and b) how many of those movements were i) steam-hauled trains, ii) diesel passenger trains, iii) electric passenger trains, and iv) other non-passenger or testing services.

Along the East West Rail route, from 5th April 2025 - 4th April 2026 there have been 2257 train movements. This includes 4 stream trains and 60 diesel passenger trains. 2193 other non-passenger or testing services have taken place, including freight trains.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2026 to Question 122287 on Motor Vehicles: Hire Services, how many category M1 and N1 vehicles are exempt from the Government Fleet Commitment by default; and if she will provide a breakdown of that number by vehicle type.

Data for the Greening Government Commitments framework for 2021-25, including the Government Fleet Commitment (GFC), was collected by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and published on GOV.UK, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greening-government-commitments-april-2021-to-march-2024-report.Reporting for the GFC was required for in-scope vehicles only. Neither DEFRA nor the Department for Transport holds further data on vehicles that are exempted by default across Government fleets.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2026 to Question 121006, when the planned review of the funding formula for highways maintenance will commence.

Any review would be conducted to align with the end of the period for which highways maintenance block allocations have already been made.