Written questions by Holden.

Whether the Government’s view, as set out in paragraph 4.5.10 of the draft National Policy Statement for Ports dated 4 June 2025, that there is no national resilience case for requiring climate resilience standards beyond those needed for commercial viability, will be applied consistently by decision-makers when considering development consent for port infrastructure.

Section 104(3) Planning Act 2008 requires the Secretary of State to decide an application in accordance with any relevant national policy statement, except to the extent that one or more of subsections (4) to (8) applies.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104868, what the service standard wait times at passport control are, and what assessment the Department has made of the economic impact of passenger delays at the border.

Border Force publish data on the percentage of sampled measurements cleared within service standards, with the target of 95%.The service standard is 25 minutes for passengers using eGates or queues where the majority of passengers are GBR/ EEA/ B5JSSK nationalities / 45 minutes for passengers using queues dedicated to other nationalities.The latest published data was Quarter 3 2025 (Jul-Sept) which showed 97.9% of sampled measurements were cleared within service standards.

A) what estimate his Department has made of the average additional cost per passenger ticket on domestic ferry services arising from the inclusion of domestic maritime within the UK Emissions Trading Scheme from 2026; b) what estimate has been made of the average additional cost per vehicle crossing; and c) whether these estimates vary by route type, including island-mainland, short-sea, and longer-distance domestic routes.

The Government has not produced estimates of the additional cost per passenger ticket arising from the inclusion of domestic maritime within the UK Emissions Trading Scheme. The Impact Assessment considers costs at sector-level rather than by route or fare type, as ticket prices and commercial decisions vary widely and cannot be robustly modelled. The Assessment finds compliance costs are modest relative to operators’ overall costs and does not identify significant consumer price impacts, but notes early evidence from the EU Emissions Trading System suggesting short‑sea shipping routes and ferry fares increased by 3-11% under comparable carbon pricing.

Whether his Department has identified general dental practices participating in locally commissioned schemes to provide prioritised oral healthcare for patients undergoing cancer treatment.

The Government is working to ensure that patients who have a diagnosis of cancer receive timely, safe, and effective dental care.NHS England has produced guidelines which aim to ensure that patients across England with a diagnosis of cancer, including oral cancer, have equitable access to oral healthcare. This could include oral health assessments, prevention, rehabilitation, and reconstruction in primary, either National Health Service or independent, community, secondary, or tertiary care settings. This would be provided as part of a multi-disciplinary team care plan. Ongoing oral health management for the duration of the cancer therapy would take place. Further information can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/oral-healthcare-provision-for-cancer-pathways/ The responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population is delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. In the South West a number of pilot models are being trialled, for example, if a patient does not have 'a usual dental practice’ and has primary dental care requirements, they will be referred to specific general dental practices, referred to as cancer action support practices, based in ICBs where the pathway is running. Participation in schemes supporting patients undergoing cancer treatment does not create any automatic entitlement to additional contractual or financial support. Any supplementary funding, including through flexible commissioning, is determined locally and subject to commissioner discretion, identified local need, and available resources.

What steps NHS England is taking to encourage integrated care boards to commission prioritised oral health pathways for patients undergoing cancer treatment; and whether practices that participate in such schemes are eligible for additional contractual or financial support.

The Government is working to ensure that patients who have a diagnosis of cancer receive timely, safe, and effective dental care.NHS England has produced guidelines which aim to ensure that patients across England with a diagnosis of cancer, including oral cancer, have equitable access to oral healthcare. This could include oral health assessments, prevention, rehabilitation, and reconstruction in primary, either National Health Service or independent, community, secondary, or tertiary care settings. This would be provided as part of a multi-disciplinary team care plan. Ongoing oral health management for the duration of the cancer therapy would take place. Further information can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/oral-healthcare-provision-for-cancer-pathways/ The responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population is delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. In the South West a number of pilot models are being trialled, for example, if a patient does not have 'a usual dental practice’ and has primary dental care requirements, they will be referred to specific general dental practices, referred to as cancer action support practices, based in ICBs where the pathway is running. Participation in schemes supporting patients undergoing cancer treatment does not create any automatic entitlement to additional contractual or financial support. Any supplementary funding, including through flexible commissioning, is determined locally and subject to commissioner discretion, identified local need, and available resources.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2026 to Question 101488, what information her Department holds on revenue lost due to fare evasion by individual train operating companies.

Deliberate fare evasion reduces revenue needed to support the railway and disadvantages passengers who pay the correct fare. The Department does not hold data on revenue lost to fare evasion at the level of individual train operating companies. Industry estimates from the Rail Delivery Group indicate that fraud and ticketless travel result in at least £350–£400 million in lost revenue annually. In June 2025, the Office for Rail and Road published its independent review of revenue protection practices. The Department has accepted the review’s recommendations in full and will publish its formal response shortly.

What assessment she has made of the potential costs to port developers of setting target modal shares for rail or coastal shipping, as referenced in the draft National Policy Statement for Ports; and what further assessment she has made of how such targets would be designed to ensure that developers are not required to fund measures beyond those that are cost-effective and directly attributable to the development.

The costs of requirements and obligations for rail and/or coastal shipping can only be determined in the specific circumstances of individual applications for development consent. The draft National Policy Statement for Ports makes clear that such requirements should be directly related to the prospective impacts of the developments, and that while target modal shares may sometimes be appropriate, they are not automatically mandatory. The final text of the National Policy Statement for Ports will be published in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 Janaury 2026 to Question 104987, what forms of legislative modification a Harbour Revision Order is capable of making.

Harbour Revision Orders can amend, repeal, or consolidate existing harbour legislation.These take the form of works orders or non-works orders. Works orders authorise a project, starting works or other installations or schemes. Non-works orders typically alter harbour boundaries, modernise governance arrangements, borrowing powers, or management structures to improve efficiency.Any changes that are proposed must be consulted on and then must be considered and approved by the Marine Management Organisation, which is the body in that oversees this process in England.

What schemes and programmes her Department has in place to help support zero-emission in (a) shipping and (b) aviation.

The Government recognises the potential decarbonisation and growth benefits that new forms of zero-emission maritime vessels and aircraft could provide. The Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy, published in March 2025, sets out our policies and commitments to decarbonise the sector. We are already meeting these commitments through the expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to domestic maritime from July 2026, and we will consult on maritime fuel regulations later this year. We have announced a further £448 million of funding of the UK SHORE programme, the biggest government investment ever in the UK’s commercial maritime sector, which will unlock innovation and investment potential in UK technologies, ports and shipyards. We will continue to work closely with maritime industry partners to help the sector unlock the investment it needs to transition to zero, and near-zero, emission fuels and technologies. We have already made significant progress on aviation decarbonisation, with considerable support for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), airspace modernisation and development of new technologies. Alongside other measures, zero emission flight has a role to play in decarbonising the sector. In January, we announced up to £43m of R&D funding for aviation decarbonisation, including confirming our continued support of the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) Hydrogen in Aviation Regulatory Challenge. This is informing the development of a regulatory framework for zero-emission hydrogen aircraft. Also, the Department for Transport (DfT) will publish shortly a report into the barriers and opportunities to commercialising hydrogen in aviation, completed by a Jet Zero Taskforce Task and Finish Group.

Since 1 January 2024, how many additional civil servants have been recruited into DfTO on a headcount basis; and for each quarter in the period January 2024 to the most recent quarter for which figures are available, what the net change in total civil service headcount has been at DfTO.

DFT Operator Limited (DFTO) is a public corporation. It is not a Crown employer and it does not employ civil servants.

With reference to page 19 of the Final stage impact assessment entitled UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Scope Expansion - Domestic maritime, published on 25 November 2025, for what reason no quantified analysis was undertaken on the regional and equalities impacts.

The Impact Assessment did not include quantified regional or equalities analysis because the available evidence did not support robust estimations of impacts at that level of granularity. The Assessment finds that compliance costs are modest relative to operators’ overall costs and, as a result, a qualitative assessment found that regional or distributional impacts are expected to be limited. The Government will review the maritime element of the United Kingdom Emissions Trading Scheme in 2028 with further consideration of regional or distributional impacts.

What estimate she has made of the costs to port developers of the requirement in paragraph 4.7.23 of the draft National Policy Statement for Ports to provide infrastructure to support alternative fuels and zero-emission HGVs.

The costs of providing appropriate infrastructure will be determined on a case-by-case basis as applications progress. The final text of the National Policy Statement for Ports will be published in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2026 to Question 100958, whether her Department (a) receives or (b) reviews data on the proportion of rail journeys using fully digital tickets for each train operating company owned or operated by DfT Operator Limited.

The Department does not receive or review data for journeys using digital ticketing for train operating companies owned or operated by DfT Operator Limited. The Department does have data for all industry digital ticketing but not broken down by journeys on specific train operating companies or owning groups.

Whether her Department has included the foregone Dartford Crossing toll revenues in the Lower Thames Crossing project’s cost–benefit analysis.

In line with departmental guidance, cost-benefit analysis for the Lower Thames Crossing is ongoing and incorporates potential impacts at the Dartford Crossing. These include the loss of toll revenue and the transfer of operations, maintenance and renewal costs to a new regulated private sector entity under the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model.

How many new buses were registered in the UK broken down by country of manufacture in each of the last 10 years.

Information regarding Buses & Coaches (including minibuses) registered for the first time in the UK by country of manufacture, as recorded by DVLA, from 2015 to 2024 can be found in the attached Excel document. Data, supplied by DVLA, regarding new registration of vehicles in the UK is unable to distinguish between Buses, Coaches, or other vehicles, with nine seats or more (excluding the driver), constructed for passenger carrying purposes.

Which driving test centres the DVSA have proposed for closure.

DVSA has no current plans to close any driving test centres.

How many practical car driving tests were conducted in (a) July 2024 and (b) each subsequent month up to the most recent month for which data is available.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) publishes data on the number of practical driving tests conducted on GOV.UK. The number of practical driving tests conducted by month, including from July 2024, is available on report DRT121G This data is updated monthly and currently shows data to January 2026.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104866, what is the expected month and year of publication of the new Plan for Freight.

The Government intends to publish the plan in spring this year.

What assessment the Department has made of the potential impact of higher electric vehicle repair costs on insurance premiums, and by when it expects its proposed battery health measures to reduce those costs for consumers.

The Government works closely with the insurance sector to ensure the transition to zero emission vehicles is sustainable and affordable. The setting of premiums is a commercial decision for individual insurers and the Government does not seek to control the market. The Government is exploring options to adopt battery health regulations which would provide consumers with clearer information on an electric vehicle’s remaining battery capacity. These measures would aim to raise consumer confidence in second-hand electric vehicle purchases.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Rail Delivery Groups' updated fare search limits on (a) passenger choice, (b) the cost of rail fares and (c) levels of passenger demand.

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) plays an important role in managing functions and services upon which train operators, retailers and passengers rely. The configuration of these systems is a matter for the RDG.