Every parliamentary written question tabled by Richard Holden this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 781–800 of 1,013 · Department for Transport
Whether the full scheme costs for all Strategic Road Network projects will be published in the final Road Investment Strategy 3 document.
The third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) will be published in March 2026 and will include a total funding line for all enhancements to the strategic road network to be delivered during the period 2026-2031.
Pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2025 to Question 82408 on Railways: Public Ownership, what the targets are for (a) punctuality, (b) reliability, (c) service quality and (d) customer satisfaction for GA Trains Limited; and when her Department plans to (i) first and (ii) subsequently publish performance updates.
GA Trains Limited took over ownership of operations on the Greater Anglia route on 12 October 2025 and is now in its transitional phase to embed the new Services Agreement requirements. During this transitional phase GA Trains Limited will continue to publish information on performance against targets for punctuality, reliability, service quality and customer satisfaction that were used prior to the transfer before moving to the revised targets required under the Services Agreement. Performance will be reported and published in a periodic and moving annual average basis.
If she will list the (a) oil refineries and (b) fuel producers which (i) manufacture sustainable aviation fuel and (ii) are developing (A) second-generation and (B) advanced sustainable aviation fuel facilities.
The only commercial scale SAF producer in the UK is P66’s Humberside Refinery. There are a wide range of SAF projects across the UK using different technologies and at different stages of development. However, much of the information on the development of fuel projects that DfT holds is commercially sensitive. Through the Advanced Fuels Fund we have awarded over £198m to 21 UK SAF projects. Information on these projects is published on gov.uk.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of conventional (a) pothole repair and (b) resurfacing techniques on levels of carbon emissions.
The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is determined to support local highway authorities in adopting new and innovative technologies to maintain and improve their highway networks in a way that is cost effective and reduces carbon impacts. The Department has funded Live Labs 2, a three-year, £30 million programme designed to support the local highways sector to adopt innovation and reduce its carbon impacts. Projects funded under the programme include the trialling and demonstration of sustainable materials and processes and the creation of toolkits and databases so that all local highway authorities can access findings and lessons learned from the programme. The Department is also supporting a new Carbon Leadership Programme, which will support local highway authorities in benchmarking the carbon intensity of their operations and gain insights into actions they could take to reduce carbon emissions. Where road and pothole repair forms part of a capital investment project, the Department requires a carbon management plan (CMP) (in line with the Department’s policies for retained schemes) which would include a comprehensive whole life carbon assessment, and a plan to reduce carbon across the project lifecycle in line with PAS2080 principles.
Pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2025 to Question 82734 on Railways: Industrial Disputes, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of industrial action relating to new technology payments for ticket scanning on passengers.
It is for a train operator, as employer, to negotiate terms and conditions that are fair to staff and affordable for taxpayers. Operators have kept officials informed on the progress of their negotiations with the RMT on this matter.CrossCountry and RMT recently reached agreement on a number of issues in dispute including this one. Consequently, the RMT suspended industrial action on 18 October and 1 November.
Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78728 London, Tilbury and Southend Line: Standards, what performance targets her Department has agreed with c2c on (a) service reliability and (b) the permitted number and proportion of (i) cancellations and (ii) over-running engineering works.
Under the Services Agreement, c2c is required to publish actual performance against agreed targets on its website. This includes both punctuality (T-3) and cancellations (Stations Cancellations). c2c is currently working with its website supplier to have this data added, and we are expecting publication imminently. As further operators come into public ownership, they too will be expected to publish such data. Over-running engineering works is not a KPI that train operating companies are measured against. As noted in our previous correspondence, the Department expects c2c to collaborate closely with Network Rail to minimise the impact of any over-running engineering works and holds it to account on this. GBR is being set up precisely to ensure track and train are integrated so that issues can be managed and resolved faster across both. Ahead of GBR’s formal establishment, integrated management is being put in place in the Anglia region over the coming months.
What steps she is taking to help ensure that passenger (a) fare data and (b) service performance from operators outside the Office of Rail and Road’s are independently verified.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is the official source of most rail fare data and service performance statistics. ORR does not publish statistics in respect of light rail/tramways, heritage railways, London Underground and Eurostar (although ORR receives some performance data from Eurostar as part of its regulation of London St. Pancras Highspeed and these are published in ORR’s Annual Report).
Whether Great British Railways or the Office of Rail and Road will be responsible for (a) granting and (b) monitoring open access rail applications under the new rail structure.
The Government has consulted on establishing GBR as a new directing mind for the railway, able to take access and charging decisions in the public interest in a framework based in primary legislation. As set in the consultation, new statutory duties will ensure that GBR access decisions are transparent and accountable, enabling fair treatment for all operators wishing to access the GBR-managed network. The ORR will ensure fair access to the GBR managed network through a robust appeals process. The Government will respond to the consultation in due course.
Pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2025 to Question 82740 on Electric Vehicles: Manufacturing, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Electric Car Grant on (a) new jobs created and (b) jobs secured in the automotive manufacturing sector.
The Department does not hold this information.
Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Schengen 90/180-day rule on UK-based haulage companies operating in the European Union.
The Schengen 90/180-day immigration rule has applied since 2021 to all UK nationals (including drivers of heavy goods vehicles (HGV) and coaches) undertaking short stays for leisure and work in the Schengen area. The Schengen 90/180 limit is a fundamental part of the EU’s conditions of entry for third country nationals to its territory. As such, it is not UK Government policy. The Department for Transport is undertaking a research study to improve understanding of the effects of a) the Schengen 90/180-day limit to date, and b) preparedness for the implementation of the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) on the international operations of GB-based HGV and coach businesses that hold standard international operator licences. The data is currently being processed, and the study’s findings will be published in due course.
What recent estimate she has made of the total cost to taxpayers of the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate compliance system; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of that system on (a) emissions savings and (b) the price of new commercial vehicles for operators.
The societal and carbon impacts of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate were summarised within the cost benefit analysis published in October 2023.
With reference to her Department’s press release entitled Rail passengers in the North to benefit from simpler fares and cheaper tickets thanks to public ownership, published on 24 July 2025, which (a) fares and (b) routes will be cheaper under Great British Railways.
GBR will be empowered to deliver industry-wide modernisation and reform of the complex and fragmented fares landscape inherited from privatisation. This will enable GBR to simplify the ticketing system and make it easy for passengers to find the right fare. We are already bringing some of the benefits to passengers as more train operators are brought into public ownership under DfTO. As announced on 24 July, LNER, TransPennine Express and Northern have expanded the availability of advance fares, making travel cheaper for passengers on journeys that cross between them.
Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78712 on Bus Services: Fares, what (a) modelling, (b) internal estimates, (c) tables and (d) equations her Department holds on the number of bus journeys for which passengers have paid a fare between £2 and £3 since 5 July 2024 to inform the (i) actual and (ii) projected cost of the (A) £2 and (B) £3 fare cap policy.
On 1 January, the Government introduced a £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London throughout 2025 to prevent a cliff-edge fare hike for passengers. This was initially funded by over £150 million allocated in the Autumn 2024 Budget, and the estimated cost of a £2 cap over the same period was £444 million. At the Spending Review, the Government confirmed additional funding per year to maintain and improve bus services, and extend the £3 fare cap until March 2027. The fare cap is a voluntary scheme for eligible bus operators, who are reimbursed the difference between the cap and the shadow commercial fare via fixed funding rather than on an individual journey basis. The Department gathers extensive data from bus operators, and the methodology to determine operator allocations uses historic data from 2022 and current data to predict each operator’s ticket sales for each period of the £3 fare cap. Participating operators receive details of their fixed funding allocations prior to the start of each phase of the scheme, minimising the financial risk to the Department. It is on this basis that the Department is able to determine the cost of delivering the fare cap. The Department published the final monitoring and evaluation report into the impact of the first 10 months of the £2 bus fare cap scheme on 12 February. The Department is currently undertaking an evaluation of the £3 single bus fare cap and its impacts, and this will be published once completed.
Pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2025 to Question 77640 on Road Traffic Control: Oxford, how much income the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has received from Oxfordshire County Council for sharing vehicle registration data relating to (a) congestion charging and (b) traffic filter schemes in (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26.
The information requested is not available because the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency does not record data at this level of detail.
How many (a) road deaths, (b) serious injuries and (c) roadside drug-driving tests were recorded in each year since 2020.
The number of deaths and serious injuries in reported road collisions are published as part of the Department's annual road casualty statistics on gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/road-accidents-and-safety-statistics).Statistics on roadside drug-driving tests are not held by the Department for Transport.
Whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology on establishing a cross-government mechanism to support UK participation in international research partnerships on transport decarbonisation and sustainable mobility.
My Department remains committed to supporting international research, for example, through encouraging UK participation in Horizon Europe, and as an active participant in the International Transport Forum, including supporting research projects on decarbonisation and sustainable mobility. To date, there has been no specific discussion with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology on setting up a cross-government mechanism to support the UK in participating in international research partnerships on these topics.
What steps she is taking to increase opportunities for UK-US research in transport innovation by (a) the NSF–UKRI Lead Agency Opportunity and (b) other research and development programmes.
The Department continues to maintain close relationships with the US on transport innovation. We welcome bids by UK academics to the NSF-UKRI Lead Agency Opportunity and are happy to offer letters of support to suitable proposals.
Pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2025 to Question 77643 on London Underground: Strikes, on what date that meeting took place.
The meeting took place on 11 September 2025.
Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78714 on Railways: Tickets, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the number of participants in the Digital Pay As You Go trials in evaluating the success of that scheme.
We want to ensure the evaluation of the trials is as robust as possible, while remaining proportionate to the scale of the scheme. The 1,000 participants per trial will allow the Department to gain valuable insights into how passengers engage with this technology, their perception of it, how it is working, and what improvements could be considered in future. We are confident the limited trial approach will allow us to effectively evaluate this.
What estimate she has made of the (a) potential cost and (b) carbon savings achieved through using (i) recycled materials, (ii) graphene additives,(iii) Elastomac and (iv) other innovative road repair technologies; and whether she plans to issue updated guidance to local authorities on the wider adoption of such technologies.
The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is determined to support local highway authorities in adopting new and innovative technologies to maintain and improve their highway networks in a way that is cost effective and reduces carbon impacts.While no estimate has been made of the potential cost and carbon savings achieved through using recycled materials, graphene additives, Elastomac and other innovative road repair technologies, the Department for Transport is taking a range of action that will support these sorts of innovative solutions.This year, the Government made available an additional £500m for local highways maintenance. 25% of that uplift is subject to local highway authorities demonstrating how they are complying with best practice in highways maintenance, including in relation to adopting innovative technologies and reducing carbon impacts. The Department has also funded Live Labs 2, a three-year, £30 million programme designed to support the local highways sector to adopt innovation and reduce its carbon impacts. Projects funded under the programme include the trialling and demonstration of sustainable materials and processes, such as warm-mix asphalts and asphalt modifiers, and the creation of toolkits and databases so that all local highway authorities can access findings and lessons learned from the programme.The Department is also supporting a new Carbon Leadership Programme, which will support local highway authorities in benchmarking the carbon intensity of their operations and gain insights into actions they could take to reduce carbon emissions.Finally, the Department is currently updating the Code of Practice for Well Managed Highways Infrastructure. This update will ensure the Code reflects the latest best practice on innovative and low-carbon road repair technologies.