Written questions by Holden.

Whether Drax’s current Contract for Difference contains any binding obligations requiring the development and deployment of carbon capture and storage; and what assessment his Department has made of the continued burning of imported wood pellets for electricity generation under that contract.

The current Contract for Difference (CfD) and recently announced Low-Carbon Dispatchable CfD agreements will be in place until 2031 and do not include contractual requirements for the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) at the site. The focus of the new CfD is ensuring security of supply for the contract duration, and the development of CCS in the future remains under consideration. The Government published an impact assessment in early 2024 as part of its consultation on support options for large-scale biomass generators. This assessment was consistent with the views of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which recognise that bioenergy can play a significant role in decarbonising economies, provided policies are in place to mitigate the use of unsustainable biomass.

Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of the modified heather dominated upland peat managed by Natural England is degraded.

Natural England manages 7,865 hectares of upland peat areas with a mosaic of dwarf shrub heath and blanket bog vegetation types. The latest condition assessments report that whilst 15% is unfavourable, either with no signs of change or declining, 72% is unfavourable recovering meaning that positive management is restoring the habitats and the ecosystem services they provide and 13% is recorded as favourable.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2025 to Question 99840, whether she will publish the full cost-benefit analysis underpinning the Government’s assessment of the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate, including all assumptions, modelling inputs, sensitivity analyses, and any internal estimates of the proportion of costs falling to the public purse.

A full, final cost-benefit analysis was published alongside the VETS order 2023 on Gov.UK.A projection of the overall costs falling to government from the policy were not estimated as part of this assessment.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2025 to Question 97184, what estimate the Department has made of the annual cost of extending the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme to provide concessionary passes for companions of disabled people.

The Department for Transport does not hold a current assessment of the cost of expanding the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) to include companion passes as part of the statutory provision. In the year ending March 2025, the ENCTS cost around £795 million.Any decision to expand the statutory offering would involve rigorous cost analysis of a range of options.

With reference to the press release entitled Fuel margins remain “persistently high” and this is not explained by operating costs, CMA finds, published on 22 December 2025, what steps he is taking to help reduce average fuel margins for non-supermarket fuel retailers.

The Government notes the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) annual road fuel monitoring report. Addressing the CMA’s findings, the Government is implementing Fuel Finder, a statutory open data scheme for road fuel prices to improve price transparency and incentivise competition in the market from both supermarket and non-supermarket retailers. The CMA also has statutory powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 to monitor the market and advise on any further action.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2025 to Question 95965, what assessment his Department has made of whether the £8 to £13 per tonne electricity cost differential faced by UK steel producers reflects any difference in the quality or specification of steel produced, expressed as a percentage where possible.

The energy intensity factor used only relates to the production of crude or liquid steel, which is not further treated or rolled into specific products. The electricity cost differential per tonne of steel between specific plants will depend on various factors including electrical conversion efficiency, material inputs, and further quality and specification of the final steel product produced.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2025 to Question 99930, what the current maximum fine is for the use of incorrect or non-compliant vehicle number plates; and whether she has made any assessment of the deterrent effect of that penalty, including whether she will consider increasing it.

The consultation on proposed amendments to BS AU 145e was carried out by the British Standards Institution and the BSI is responsible for publishing the response to the consultation. The current penalty for using an incorrect or non-compliant number plate is a £100 fixed penalty notice. Fixed penalty notices are issued by the police. The current penalty for using a vehicle with a cloned number plate is up to two years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both. The government published its new Road Safety Strategy on 7 January 2026, setting out its vision for a safer future on our roads for all. As part of this, the Department from Transport is reviewing motoring offences and has published a consultation which seeks views on the introduction of penalty points and vehicle seizure for the offence of “being in charge of a motor vehicle with an incorrect/altered/false number plate”. The consultation can be found online at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-penalties-for-motoring-offences.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2025 to Question 96341, what consideration her Department has given to funding Public Service Obligation air routes between UK airports which do not involve the service starting or ending in London.

In December 2023, the Department for Transport published updated Public Service Obligation (PSO) guidance extending support to region-to-region PSOs which removes the historical requirement for eligible PSO routes to operate into London.Region-to-region PSOs can be used on existing routes if a route is at risk of being lost and the route meets the criteria for PSO support. These would need to be funded by the relevant local authorities.

When she was first informed of the decision by John Larkinson, Chief Executive of the Office of Rail and Road, to step down from his role.

The Secretary of State received a letter from the Chair of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) on 8 December 2025 informing her of John Larkinson’s decision to retire from the role of Chief Executive of the ORR with effect from the end of April 2026.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2025 to Question 96800, what the cost was of each of the following HS2 environmental assessments published since 4 July 2024: a) the Environmental Sustainability Progress Report, b) Supplementary Environmental Information reports, c) Noise and Vibration reports, and d) Air Quality reports.

HS2 Ltd and its supply chain undertake routine environmental assessments throughout design and construction to confirm compliance with the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Act, the HS2 Environmental Minimum Requirements, and other commitments and obligations, including those set out in existing UK environmental legislation. Environmental assessments are a constituent part of the design and construction process, and may relate to individual assets, sectors or the whole route and can relate to a variety of environmental factors such as noise, vibration, dust or biodiversity. In view of this, neither the Department for Transport, nor HS2 Ltd, collect information related to the cost of each individual environmental assessment undertaken on the route. Such assessments inform the content of the reports referenced in the question, and it is therefore not possible to disaggregate the cost of each individual report.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2025 to Question 99978, when she expects the Government to publish its response to the public consultation on proposed amendments to BS AU 145e.

The consultation on proposed amendments to BS AU 145e was carried out by the British Standards Institution and the BSI is responsible for publishing the response to the consultation. The current penalty for using an incorrect or non-compliant number plate is a £100 fixed penalty notice. Fixed penalty notices are issued by the police. The current penalty for using a vehicle with a cloned number plate is up to two years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both. The government published its new Road Safety Strategy on 7 January 2026, setting out its vision for a safer future on our roads for all. As part of this, the Department from Transport is reviewing motoring offences and has published a consultation which seeks views on the introduction of penalty points and vehicle seizure for the offence of “being in charge of a motor vehicle with an incorrect/altered/false number plate”. The consultation can be found online at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-penalties-for-motoring-offences.

Communities and Local Government, whether the postponement or delay of the 2025 Basildon Borough Council elections was discussed during the meeting between Baroness Taylor and Basildon Borough Council councillors or officials during her visit to Basildon on Friday 12 December.

As would be expected, topics relating to local government reorganisation were raised with the Minister, including 2026 elections. We have invited Basildon Borough Council and other councils undergoing local government reorganisation to set out their views on the postponement of their local election and if they consider this could release essential capacity to deliver local government reorganisation. This is a locally led approach. Councils are best placed to judge their local capacity and we will consider representations carefully.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2025 to Question 96800, on what dates each HS2 environmental assessment published since 4 July 2024 was published, and to provide a link to each document, in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidance on transparency.

HS2 Environmental Assessments published since 4 July 2024 are available on www.gov.uk alongside their corresponding publication dates here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-environmental-sustainability-progress-report- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sei-reports-for-new-significant-environmental-effects-on-the-hs2-phase-one-route- https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/monitoring-the-environmental-effects-of-hs2-2025- https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/monitoring-the-environmental-effects-of-hs2-2024

Pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2025 to WPQ 96699, if he will provide a hyperlink to that information.

Guidance on how to submit data about consanguinity and pregnancy to the Maternity Services Dataset is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-sets/maternity-services-data-set/guidance/msds-consanguinity-data-quality-guidance

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2025 to Question 99967, whether he will place copies of the training modules on close relative marriage and genetic risk for midwives and health visitors, and the associated guidance on submitting data on consanguinity and pregnancy to the Maternity Services Dataset, in the Library of the House of Commons.

There are no plans to place the training modules on close relative marriage and genetic risk for midwives and health visitors, or the associated guidance on submitting data on consanguinity and pregnancy to the Maternity Services Dataset, in the library of the House of Commons.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2025 to Question 99925, what assumptions were used to estimate that the funding increases described will enable local authorities to fill an additional one million potholes per year, including assumptions on (a) the average cost of a pothole repair, (b) the proportion of funding allocated to reactive pothole repairs rather than other maintenance activity, and (c) regional variation in repair costs.

The estimate is based on the industry assumption that the national average cost of repairing a pothole is approximately £70. Using this figure, the £7.3 billion of funding from 2026/27 - 2029/30 would enable local authorities to fix millions of additional potholes each year when compared to previous funding levels. Alongside funding to support local authorities in repairing potholes, the Government has also taken action to prevent them from forming in the first place. A share of the increased investment that the Government made available in this financial year and in future years is contingent on local highway authorities demonstrating how they are complying with best practice in highways maintenance, including the greater adoption of preventative maintenance. These requirements are intended to incentivise local authorities to adopt more preventative maintenance and other best practice to ensure roads are kept in good condition for longer, fewer potholes form in the first place and that this funding is spent as effectively as possible in improving the condition of local roads.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of (a) British Board of Agrément and (b) HAPAS-approved (i) self-adhesive surfacing membranes and (ii) other patch repair products on the long-term cost and failure rate of pothole repairs carried out by local highway authorities; and whether she plans to issue any guidance to local authorities and their contractors on (A) trialling and (B) adopting such measures.

The Government welcomes innovations that can help local highway authorities maintain their roads more effectively and efficiently. The Department encourages and supports innovation in road surface repairs in various ways.For example, it has started the task of updating the Code of Practice for Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure, which will include new advice on matters such as surface treatments. The Department is also providing £30 million to the ADEPT ‘Live Labs’ research programme, enabling local authority-led consortia to trial innovative low-carbon ways of looking after their networks. One of the projects within the Live Labs programme is enabling novel resurfacing materials to be tested and evaluated through the Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads, led by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2025 to Question 96490, how much revenue the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency received in 2024-25 from a) local authorities, and b) agents acting on behalf of local authorities, for the provision of vehicle keeper details.

The information requested is not readily available and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to have discussions with devolved Administrations on their experiences of developing proposals for licensing domestic rescue and rehoming organisations.

Defra works closely with the devolved governments on a range of shared priorities and will discuss any relevant matters as necessary.

With reference to HMRC's guidance entitled Newsletter 173 — September 2025, updated on 11 December 2025, what her planned timetable is for publishing draft regulations and laying legislation on the treatment of scheme-specific lump sums for individuals with Enhanced Protection.

Further Pensions (Abolition of Lifetime Allowance Charge etc) Regulations will be made in Spring 2026 and will include updates to the treatment of scheme-specific lump sums for individuals with Enhanced Protection.The majority of the regulations will have retrospective effect from 6 April 2024 when the Lifetime Allowance was abolished.