Every parliamentary written question tabled by Richard Holden this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 901–920 of 2,875 · this parliament
How much her Department has spent on (a) purchasing and (b) installing soundproof meeting pods for its headquarters in London since 17 October 2024; and how much of this relates to meeting pods for the Ministerial private office.
No further funds have been spent on purchasing or installing soundproof meeting pods beyond that detailed in the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 71266.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of up-front pilot training costs on (a) the pilot workforce, (b) diversity within the profession and (c) the long-term resilience of the aviation sector; and what steps she is taking to help tackle barriers to entry for trainees from lower- and middle-income backgrounds.
This Government works closely with industry to address financial barriers to pilot training and to support the growth of a diverse aviation workforce, including through the Aviation Industry Skills Board. This area is a priority not only for my Department, but also the Department for Business and Trade, the Department for Work and Pensions and Skills England. A training organisation has been approved to deliver a first officer apprenticeship, which would provide training completely cost-free to young people. In addition, British Airways, Jet2.com, and TUI have periodically offered partly or fully funded training programmes. My officials are working with the Department for Education and airlines to encourage them to deliver this apprenticeship.
Whether she has assessed the potential merits of extending eligibility for government-backed student finance to standalone commercial pilot training courses; and what discussions her Department has had with the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority on the potential merits of recognising pilot training as an eligible education route.
The courses designated for higher education student finance are set out in secondary legislation. To attract funding, students studying in England must generally be undertaking a course leading to a designated qualification at a provider registered with the Office for Students. The funding available for designated programmes, including pilot training, does not normally extend to costs associated with the commercial pilot’s licence and flying experience. The department has previously explained this position to the Department for Transport.
Whether the powers conferred by the Harbours Act 1964, as amended by the Transport and Works Act 1992, allow Ministers to amend the text of primary legislation by Harbour Revision Order.
Harbour Revision Orders (HROs) are normally initiated by a harbour authority, but the Secretary of State can seek to impose a HRO under the Harbours Act 1964. The department is consulted on all HRO applications, but the Secretary of State does not have the power to directly amend orders that have been applied for by a harbour authority.
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 December 2025.
The Department has not issued any Notices to Improve on any of the DfT Operator train operating companies in December 2025 because none have been in breach of their formal contractual terms. The DfT regularly engages with all operators on service performance and financial management, aligned with this Government's priorities on improving performance and reducing subsidy.
What steps she is taking to ensure adequate provision of safeguarding for the ePEP online system.
The department’s statutory guidance for Virtual School Heads sets out what electronic Personal Education Plans (ePEPs) must cover and the outcomes they are intended to support. While we do not mandate or endorse specific ePEP platforms, local authorities, as data controllers, are expected to comply with data protection requirements and safeguarding standards when selecting and using such systems. This means they are responsible for selecting secure platforms that comply with UK GDPR and safeguarding requirements to protect sensitive information about children in care.In addition, the department’s ‘Data Protection in Schools’ guidance helps the education sector and local authorities understand their legal responsibilities when processing sensitive data. This guidance includes information on complying with UK GDPR, secure data storage and appropriate data sharing, all of which are appropriate to safeguarding children’s personal information.
What information his Department holds on the number of people who were employed in the automotive manufacturing sector in each month since June 2025 up to and including the most recent month for which figures are available.
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 12th January is attached.
On what evidential basis her Department has concluded that the majority of passengers benefit from the long-distance simplified ticketing trials.
The Department has commissioned independent evaluation on the trial, this research has not yet concluded. The current evidence is provided by LNER and is available at https://assets.ctfassets.net/mxack5k9p2sw/6k2Evw4OmGsvywKgBg9U9j/e63a4ca09d2c4e01fada29f731d90f7b/Simpler_Fares_LNER_Website_Copy_Enhanced_Sept_2025.pdf .
What progress her Department has made in identifying a National Freight Network.
The 2022 Future of Freight plan committed to developing a fuller understanding of our domestic freight network from a multimodal perspective, before considering how it could be consolidated into a National Freight Network. The Department is making good progress towards the goal of improving understanding of the freight and logistics system as an integrated multimodal network. This progress includes identifying, developing, and delivering a package of measures to enhance key data and insights capabilities. Further detail on these measures and the overarching approach we are taking forward will be provided in the upcoming publication of the new plan for freight.
Pursuant to the Answer to Question 97331 on Airports: Immigration Controls, for what reason Border Force set queue time service standards at passport control.
The service standards for wait times at passport control, which Border Force publish against, stem from a Ministerial decision to monitor performance more accurately at the border. A huge amount of work is involved to keep passenger wait times to a minimum, whilst maintaining border security, and we remain fully committed to working with our partners to minimise delays. Monitoring wait times, amongst other internal performance indicators, allows us to do just that.
What assessment her Department has made of changes in LNER ticket prices since the introduction of simpler fares for long-distance travel.
The Department has commissioned independent evaluation on the trial, this research has not yet concluded. The current evidence is provided by LNER and is available at https://assets.ctfassets.net/mxack5k9p2sw/6k2Evw4OmGsvywKgBg9U9j/e63a4ca09d2c4e01fada29f731d90f7b/Simpler_Fares_LNER_Website_Copy_Enhanced_Sept_2025.pdf .
Whether the Department expects to reach a decision on Transport for London’s proposal for Great Northern inner services before any change to the current operating model takes effect.
The Department is working with TfL to assess the benefits of the proposal, including housing growth opportunities such as the potential development of 21,000 homes at Crews Hill.
What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the information her Department holds on (a) key transport routes (b) main transport bottlenecks for freight movements across transport modes and (c) freight data; and what assessment she has made of whether her Department's analytical capabilities support the improvement of that information.
The Department holds a broad range of information on the freight and logistics system that provides an effective evidence-base for our work. This includes information that helps understand key transport routes, like our published road traffic and maritime statistics, and information to help understand network bottlenecks, such as our congestion statistics and stakeholder intelligence. The Department recognises the importance of continually improving its analytical capabilities, as evidenced in the important recent update to the road freight values of time in our Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG). Further actions to improve our freight data provision and analytical capability are ongoing and will be announced in the upcoming Transport Data Action Plan and new plan for freight.
How many bus passenger journeys were taken in (a) London and (b) England outside London in each month from January 2023 for which data is available.
The Department does not hold information on bus passenger journeys operated by calendar month in London or England outside London.
How many full-time equivalent driving examiners employed by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency were (a) in post and (b) delivering practical car driving tests in December 2025.
As of 30 December 2025, there were 1,618 full-time equivalent (FTE) driving examiners (DE) in post. Of those, 1,542 FTE were available to deliver 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.
Pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2025 to Question 96696 on Roads: Biodiversity, what estimate she has made of the average cost for each Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project of (a) voluntarily delivering biodiversity net gain (BNG) prior to May 2026, (b) delivering BNG on a compulsory basis during the third Road Period and (c) delivering BNG overall for schemes (i) currently under construction or (ii) in the delivery pipeline.
The department does not estimate the average cost of voluntary biodiversity net gain for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects on the Strategic Road Network. Biodiversity net gain provisions are determined on a project by project basis and assessed as part of the consenting process where relevant. The Roads Period 3 pipeline has not yet been finalised, and currently no schemes fall within the scope of mandatory biodiversity net gain requirements; therefore, no overall estimate has been made.
What the average waiting time for a practical car driving test was in December 2025.
The national average waiting time for a practical car driving test in December 2025 was 21.9 weeks.
Which driving test centres were at 24 weeks wait times in December 2025.
The attached Excel document shows which driving test centres had a waiting time of 24 weeks in December 2025 for a practical car driving test.
Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle wildfires in 2026.
The Government recognises that the impact of climate change is likely to increase and intensify fire incidents in England and Wales – with potential to impact fire and rescue service’s (FRS) resources, capacity, and strategical response. As the lead government department for wildfire, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) maintains regular and ongoing engagement with other government departments including the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and Cabinet Office on this national risk. This is alongside the department’s work with national bodies including the National Fire Chiefs Council and England and Wales Wildfire Forum to monitor and review sector led improvements and mitigations. Since 2024 we have also funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.
Pursuant to the Answer of 22 December 2025 to Question 99799, whether NHS England has adopted a net zero target date for the National Health Service that differs from the United Kingdom’s statutory target of net zero by 2050.
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided to him on 27 November 2025 to Question 92091 which set out the National Health Service’s Net Zero ambitions. Additionally, the answer provided to Queston 99799 on 22 December 2025 is clear that NHS England’s intent was to set ambitious but achievable aims that align with different sectoral pathways and expectations. This aims to support the United Kingdom’s overall approach to the statutory Net Zero target of 2050, which applies to the whole UK economy.As per the 10-Year Health Plan, the Department is committed to supporting these ambitions, and we will do so in a way that delivers better value for money for the taxpayer and better care for patients, and which remains aligned to the Government's approach to carbon budgets and the overall Net Zero statutory target.