Every parliamentary written question tabled by Richard Holden this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 581–600 of 2,865 · this parliament
Pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2025 to Question 91457 on Written Questions: Government Responses, if he will publish his letter.
It is a long-established precedent that internal government correspondence is not normally shared publicly.
With reference to the Valuation Office Agency's statistics entitled Non-domestic rating: change in rateable value of rating lists, England and Wales, 2026 Revaluation, published on 26 November 2025, for what reason the average Rateable Values of civil airports have increased by 295%.
The revaluation is required to be carried out in relation to the relevant valuation date, 01 April 2024 for the 2026 rating list. The current rating list valuation is carried out in relation to the relevant valuation date, 01 April 2021 for the 2023 rating list. The annual value at each valuation reflects the economic circumstances at each valuation date. The average Rateable Values of civil airports increase 295% reflects the different economic circumstances at each valuation date. At the Budget, the Government published a Call for Evidence seeking further evidence on the role business rates and its reliefs play in investment. Through this Call for Evidence, the Government is considering options to provide greater predictability and stability in the business rates system for long-term, high-value investments. The Call for Evidence has recently closed, and a Government response will be published in due course.
Pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2025 to Question 66297 on Military Aircraft: Ministers, how many flights that includes.
The response to Question 66297 related to a total of 11 taskings.
Pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2026 to Question 106742 on Military Aircraft: Ministers, how many tasks there have been from RAF CSAT aircraft since July 2024.
It has been the practice of successive administrations not to publish granular information relating to the official movements of Ministers and those accompanying them within the United Kingdom.
Pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2026 to Question 106607, if he will (a) publish the value of external consultancy and advisory contracts used by his Department in 2024-25 in relation to Net Zero, sustainability and decarbonisation policy and (b) list suppliers receiving more than £100,000.
My department is committed to supporting Net Zero goals and advancing Clean Energy initiatives. In 2024, the UK signed a Government-to-Government Arrangement with the Dominican Republic to help deliver infrastructure projects that promote mutual economic growth. My department allocated £130,750 from the Infrastructure Partnership Programme Fund and awarded Mott MacDonald a 2024 contract to review the Dominican Republic’s state-owned energy company's, Empresa de Generación Hidroeléctrica Dominicana, national energy masterplan. This project provided recommendations to prioritise renewable energy projects aligned with national targets and opportunities for UK supply chain involvement.
Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2025 to Question 91458 on Roads: Local Government, whether his Department holds that data.
The department collects data about local authorities’ expenditure and income relating to all services through the General Fund Revenue Outturn data collection. This includes data on traffic management and road safety but with the exception of congestion charging, this is not broken down into the requested categories. The information for the financial year 2024 to 2025 can be found within the RO2 tables on lines 51 to 58.
Pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2026 to Question 106742 on Military Aircraft: Ministers, whether the use of RAF CSAT aircraft includes use of military helicopters.
The hon. Member will recall that when this Government took office, we cancelled the VIP helicopter contract that had attracted so much criticism in previous years when used by the previous Government. The current RAF Command Support Air Transport fleet consists of two RAF Envoy IV fixed wing aircraft. The fleet is used for the rapid and efficient transport of small numbers of high priority passengers or freight to deliver critical diplomatic engagement and/or military output. These aircraft offer a flexibility of response unachievable by other means and avoids the use of larger, more expensive, and less discreet aircraft. The Cabinet Office has responsibility for organising Ministerial helicopter transport. There are no military helicopters in the Command Support Air Transport fleet.
What estimate she has made of changes to business rates for the Channel Tunnel from 2025-26 to 2026-27 as a consequence of the (i) business rate revaluation and (ii) surcharge on Rateable Values above £500,000; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of those changes on rail investment in Channel Tunnel services.
The Government cannot comment on the bills of individual ratepayers.At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic.While rateable values have increased, the multipliers rates have decreased, meaning, from April, all ratepayers will face a lower multiplier than they do now, including those paying the high-value multiplier. The Government recognises that this does not necessarily mean a lower bill for everyone which is why, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation.This support package includes a redesigned transitional relief scheme, which caps bill increases over the next 3 years. Compared to the 2023 transitional relief scheme, the redesigned scheme will provide more support for properties paying higher tax rates (such as the new high-value multiplier), including airports, hotels and key Industrial Strategy properties, who are facing large increases and are important for growth in the UK.
Pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 102835, under what conditions would a contract be terminated.
Where the generator is found to be non‑compliant with the conditions of public support, enforcement action is available, including the withholding of subsidy and contract termination. The Low Carbon Dispatchable Contract for Difference (LCD CfD) contains various rights of termination for the contract Counterparty (LCCC) in the event the Generator (Drax) breaches key obligations. This includes the ability to terminate the CfD in the event of repeated and material breaches of the sustainability requirements. For the full text setting out the LCD CfD Termination rights, see Termination - Part 12 (p.186) here: Low Carbon Dispatchable Contracts for Difference Terms and Conditions - Low Carbon Contracts. Any such action would be taken on the basis of evidence and in line with the relevant statutory and contractual frameworks.
How many miles of wire rope safety barriers are installed on roads managed by National Highways; and in which years they were installed.
National Highways has approximately 143 miles of wire rope safety barrier on its network. For context, the total length of Vehicle Restraint Systems (VRS) on National Highways’ network is approximately 6462 miles, of which wire rope safety barrier is one type. National Highways does not hold the data on when all wire rope safety barriers were installed.
Pursuant to the Written Statement of 23 February 2026 on Update on disclosed documents for AC-2025-LON-003837, which official was responsible for the incorrect application of fuel efficiency measures within the Department’s Aviation Model; and what grade that official was.
The Department does not name individual members of staff. Such updates are always quality assured, which involves checks from various analysts who are not directly involved in the work. The Department’s quality assurance processes are fully aligned with the Government’s AQuA Book (the quality assurance guidance), but I have asked my officials to strengthen our practices further.
Pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2025 to Question 91460 on Airports: Business Rates, if she will publish the revised guidance alongside the draft rating list.
The Valuation Office Agency's guidance will be published when the Rating List is compiled on 1 April 2026.
Whether the offence of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 is within the scope of the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
The offence of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 is not within the scope of the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme as it is not an indictable only offence and is not specified in statute as qualifying for review under the scheme.
Pursuant to the answer of 2 January 2026 to Question 71251 on Street Trading: Westminster Bridge, what discussions he has had with the (a) police and (b) local authority on ice cream vans parking on red lines on Westminster Bridge.
All vehicles operating within this zone are a matter for the police. They continue to monitor the situation and maintain contact with relevant partners. In line with policy under successive administrations, security arrangements within the Government Secure Zone are not subject to detailed public disclosure.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the alignment of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme with the EU scheme on the costs of the operation of passenger ferries in Great Britain.
Linking the UK Emissions Trading Scheme and EU Emissions Trading Scheme is about making life easier for operators. It should minimise the administrative burden for operators and unlock greater access to a larger market, supporting economic growth and decarbonisation. Ongoing negotiations will determine the details and extent of alignment.
With reference to the Road Safety Strategy, published in January 2026, whether the updated Setting Local Speed Limits guidance will encourage lower speed limits.
Decisions on the most appropriate speed limits will continue to rest with local traffic authorities, working with the police who enforce them.
Pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2025 to Question 90730 on Ministers: Official Cars, whether the figures provided include Government Car Service transport for civil servants.
I refer the Rt Hon Member to my answer on 5th November 2025 (PQ 86664).
With reference to her Department's publication entitled Local highway authority highways maintenance ratings and underlying metric scores, 2025, of 11 January 2026, when she plans to update the road condition datasets with (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 data.
The Department will update the local road maintenance ratings on an annual basis. Each update will use the most recent road condition data available at the time of publication. The current ratings already incorporate road condition statistics for the financial year ending 2024. Future ratings will incorporate datasets from the financial year ending 2025 and, if available at the time of publication, from the financial year ending 2026.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of kill switches in Chinese-made (a) cars and (b) buses on cyber security.
Modern vehicles – including cars and buses - are increasingly using software to support safer driving, to improve diagnostics and to provide a host of other services such as navigation and entertainment. The Government takes national security extremely seriously and recognises the systemic challenges of increased connectivity and the cyber security implications for almost every area of government policy, including vehicles. The National Cyber Security Centre has published guidance to help organisations understand and manage the associated risks, ensuring that system connectivity is approached in a way that balances security with the significant benefits it provides. The department introduced two new regulations: one to strengthen vehicle cybersecurity and one on software updates (UN Reg 155 and UN Reg 156). The cybersecurity regulation sets out requirements to mitigate potential threats in vehicle construction, to monitor emerging threats and to respond to cyber-attacks. We are aware of recent reports from Norway concerning an electric bus manufacturer and officials are looking into this, and the Transport Secretary will update the Transport Committee once the work is complete.
With reference to the Road Safety Strategy, published January 2026, whether the updated Manual for Streets will encourage an increase in the amount of road and parking space for cars.
Decisions on how to allocate road space between different modes remain for local authorities, designers and practitioners.