Written questions by Holden.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2025 to Question 87433 on Hereditary Diseases, which NHS trusts and other data providers are submitting incomplete information on parental consanguinity to the National Disease Registration Service congenital conditions dataset; what the rate of completeness is for each provider; and what action is being taken in respect of providers not meeting required data standards.

Since assuming responsibility for the registration of congenital and rare conditions in 2015, the National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) has focused on improving the accuracy of case completeness and strengthening regional coverage to monitor trends in congenital and rare conditions. NDRS is reviewing the data items recommended for reporting of congenital conditions, including which information should be collected through specialist congenital condition registration datasets and which is better captured for all pregnancies through the Maternity Services Data Set. NDRS has not assessed completeness of the consanguinity field at a provider level. NHS England is working to improve the recording of consanguinity. NDRS continues to work closely with reporting trusts, maternity services, and clinical teams to improve the quality and completeness of congenital condition data, supported by a dedicated data liaison function.

If he will take steps to prioritise domestic oil and gas production over imports.

Our priority is a fair, orderly transition to homegrown clean energy to ensure energy security and protect billpayers. Further oil and gas exploration and production licences would not meaningfully increase UK production levels, nor would they change the UK’s status as a net importer of oil and gas. The UK benefits from a secure and diverse energy system, drawing on multiple sources to reduce reliance on any single supply. Our ‘North Sea Future Plan’ sets out how we will implement our manifesto commitments in relation to domestic oil and gas production.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Energy Profits Levy on investment in North Sea oil and gas projects; and whether her Department has estimated the capital investment generated by reforming that levy before 2026.

The Government has carefully considered the potential impacts of the Energy Profits Levy (EPL), including on investment. The Treasury publishes impacts in summary form for tax measures in tax information and impact notes (TIINs) alongside the Finance Bill. The most recent summary of impacts from the EPL can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-profits-levy-reforms-2024.The Government is clear that the EPL will end in 2030, or earlier if the EPL’s price floor, the Energy Security Investment Mechanism (ESIM), is triggered. While it remains in place, the EPL is forecast to raise around £8.5 billion between 2025/26 and 2030/31, contributing towards funding vital public services. This is in addition to more than £11 billion in tax revenues already raised through the EPL since its introduction in May 2022.The Government is committed to providing the oil and gas industry with the long-term certainty it needs on the future fiscal landscape and to support capital investment. At Budget 2025, the Government announced the details of the EPL successor regime, the Oil and Gas Price Mechanism. This new regime is designed to respond to future price shocks once the EPL ends, to create a stable, predictable fiscal environment that ensures companies continue to contribute fairly when oil and gas prices are unusually high while supporting investment in the UK’s oil and gas sector.

To publish all assessments his Department has made of the implications for UK energy security of importing approximately 40% of the UK’s energy in the last five years.

The Department and Ofgem jointly publish annual statutory security of supply reports, which provide a comprehensive assessment of the availability of secure and affordable electricity, gas and oil to meet the UK’s energy needs. These reports consider the contribution of both domestic production and imports to the UK’s overall energy security. The link to the most recent report is included below. Statutory security of supply report: 2024 - GOV.UK

Whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on prioritising access to the national grid for port electrification, including in relation to onshore power supply for ferries and cruise ships.

Reforming the connections process and investing in the grid is a key Government priority. This includes reforms that are expected to deprioritise over half of the existing queue based on readiness and strategic alignment with our strategy as set out in Clean Power 2030. Department for Transport Ministers and officials meet regularly with their counterparts in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. These include discussions on the significance of getting sufficient grid capacity to electrify ports, for cruise and ferries to use shore power and policy options to accelerate connection dates for strategic demand customers, such as critical port sites. This is informed by the Department for Transport call for evidence on Net Zero Ports, published in March 2025, which posed questions on managing future energy demand at ports.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2025 to Question 87433 on Hereditary Diseases, for what reasons reporting of parental consanguinity within the National Disease Registration Service congenital conditions dataset remains incomplete; what assessment he has made of the impact of this incomplete reporting on the accuracy and usefulness of prevalence data; and what steps his Department is taking to help tackle this and improve compliance.

Since assuming responsibility for the registration of congenital and rare conditions in 2015, the National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) has focused on improving the accuracy of case completeness and strengthening regional coverage to monitor trends in congenital and rare conditions. NDRS is reviewing the data items recommended for reporting of congenital conditions, including which information should be collected through specialist congenital condition registration datasets and which is better captured for all pregnancies through the Maternity Services Data Set. NDRS has not assessed completeness of the consanguinity field at a provider level. NHS England is working to improve the recording of consanguinity. NDRS continues to work closely with reporting trusts, maternity services, and clinical teams to improve the quality and completeness of congenital condition data, supported by a dedicated data liaison function.

Pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2025 to question 92688, what progress he has made on reducing regulation by 25% by 2029.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is working within the framework set out in the ‘New Approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth’ (also known as the Regulators Action Plan – RAP) to identify potential administrative burden reductions. As part of the RAP, HSE committed to look at three areas: Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrence Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR); Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 (PSSR) and Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) and reforms to aspects of chemicals regulation for which HSE holds the policy lead. These three areas are in the process of consultation and/or call for evidence. The analysis of the responses will be used to inform the next steps in supporting the 25% administrative burden reduction target.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2025 to Question 89631 on Driving under Influence: Testing, whether her Department will begin collecting and publishing data on tests conducted by police for drug driving.

The Home Office does not collect data on tests conducted by police for drug driving.The Department for Transport is developing a Road Safety Strategy, the first in a decade and intends to publish by the end of the year.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2025 to Question 91465 on Electric Vehicles: Charging Points, if she will provide the hyperlink to the electric vehicle charging infrastructure statistics listing the number of public charging devices at local authority level.

The Department’s latest published statistics on the number of public charging devices at local authority level are available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6900f9b584b816d72cb9aab6/electric-vehicle-public-charging-infrastructure-statistics-october-2025.ods.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2025 to Question 89631 on Driving under Influence: Testing, if she will publish all assessment her Department has made of the impact of the absence of any data on drug testing on road safety policy and enforcement.

The Home Office does not collect data on tests conducted by police for drug driving.The Department for Transport is developing a Road Safety Strategy, the first in a decade and intends to publish by the end of the year.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of a weight-based system of vehicle taxation for cars.

Vehicle Excise Duty is a tax on vehicles used or kept on public roads. For certain vehicle classifications, VED liability is partially calculated in accordance with the vehicle’s weight, reflecting the greater road damage caused by heavier vehicles. For example, Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) VED rates are set based on a vehicle’s weight, suspension and trailer. The Government annually reviews the rates and thresholds of taxes and reliefs to ensure that they are appropriate and reflect the current state of the economy. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the public finances.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2025 to Question 92061 on Great British Railways, when the Department expects to publish the rollout plan for Great British Railways branding; and whether that plan will include a timetable, cost breakdown and value-for-money assessment of the transition process.

Ministers will empower rail industry leaders to deliver an efficient and cost effective rollout of the Great British Railways brand, maximising value for money and growing revenue. The Department is working to finalise more detail on the rollout plan and will announce next steps in due course.

In the next two years, how many new oil and gas licences his Department will examine and what proportion he estimates will be approved; and what assessment he has made of the impact of licensing policy on the future viability of existing North Sea infrastructure.

The Government will legislate to meet its landmark manifesto commitment to end new licences to explore new oil and gas fields. To support existing fields and infrastructure, the Government will introduce new Transitional Energy Certificates for a managed, prosperous and orderly transition.The evidence suggests that even if new licenses were issued it would have only a marginal impact on overall production in the North Sea given it is a super mature basin which has been in decline for more than two decades.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2025 to Question 90403 on the Electric Car Grant, if she will publish the internal impact assessment produced for the Electric Car Grant criteria.

The Government does not plan to publish the internal impact assessment for the Electric Car Grant. Officials continue to monitor the grant and assess its impact.

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2025 to Question 92677 on London North Eastern Railway: Fares, how many tickets introduced or sold under the LNER demand-based pricing trial for travel between 1 August and 12 December 2025 were priced higher than the equivalent previously available ticket types, broken down by( a) Semi-Flexible tickets and (b) Standard Advance tickets, for journeys from (i) London, (ii) Newcastle and (iii) Edinburgh.

The London North Eastern Railway (LNER) trial is making more flexible options available to passengers and making it easier for passengers who are able to travel at less busy times to benefit from cheaper tickets on less crowded trains. Through this trial, all tickets except the Flexible (formerly Anytime) ticket are priced according to demand. This means prices vary according to availability. Unlike the old super off-peak ticket, it is possible to purchase the Semi Flex ticket for what were previously peak times when the Anytime ticket was the only ticket available that had flexibility. Therefore, the relative pricing between super off-peak tickets and semi flexible tickets cannot be validly compared.The vast majority of passengers on routes covered by the trial will find Fixed or Semi-Flexible fares to be the same price or cheaper than the former super off-peak fare, and there are more Fixed fares available than before. For the specific period referenced, LNER has not published those statistics to date, although the period between 1 August and 12 December has also not yet concluded and therefore sales data is incomplete at this stage.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2025 to Question 90806 on Railways: Contracts, in what circumstances track access rights would be extended; and what role (a) she and (b) Great British Railways will have in decisions undertaken by the Office of Rail and Road.

Further to the answer from 21 November to Question 90806, the government is maintaining its commitment to honour existing rights in Schedule 5 of track access contracts until they expire. As existing contracts expire, operators will move on to new GBR model access contracts. It will be for GBR as the directing mind for the railway to decide whether existing rights represent best use of the network and whether they are extended. The ORR will be a robust appeals body for GBR’s access decisions, ensuring fairness, and able to impose remedies on GBR to correct a decision that is not consistent with its statutory duties, SoS issued guidance or its own AUP.

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2025 to Question 92692 on South Western Railway: Rolling Stock, if she will publish in full the modelling and departmental assessments associated with the new rolling stock leases.

The Department's internal modelling draws upon a number of sources and data from third parties which is not publicly available and is commercially sensitive, and therefore unable to be released.

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2025 to Question 92685 on Railways: Reform, whether she will request that the Office for Budget Responsibility or the National Audit Office examine and validate the Department’s estimates of (a) the £200 to £400 million set-up and transitional costs and (b) the projected £110 to £150 million annual savings from bringing rail services into public ownership.

We have no current plans for the Office for Budget Responsibility or the National Audit Office to examine or validate these estimates. The Office for Budget Responsibility provides economic and fiscal forecasts and scrutinises government performance against its fiscal rules. It does not examine the financial details of individual Departmental investment projects at a granular level. The National Audit Office published a value for money report on rail reform in 2024. We are focused on delivering long overdue reforms to the railway promised by the last Government, which will put the interests of passengers and taxpayers at the heart of our railway again.

What analysis she has undertaken of the impact of the Railways Bill on private sector investment and innovation within the rail industry; and if she will publish that analysis.

Establishing GBR through the Railways Bill will provide an integrated approach and greater longer-term certainty for rail, giving the private sector the confidence it needs to invest and support innovation throughout the sector. The Railways Bill Impact Assessment provides an assessment of the potential impacts of the rail reform policies within the Railways Bill, including the impacts on Business Environment.

How her Department will measure the impact of the Railways Bill on private sector innovation in the rail industry; and what baseline data has been established to assess the impact of that Bill on levels of innovation.

Establishing GBR through the Railways Bill will provide an integrated approach and greater longer-term certainty for rail, giving the private sector the confidence it needs to invest and support innovation throughout the sector. The Railways Bill Impact Assessment provides an assessment of the potential impacts of the rail reform policies within the Railways Bill, including the impacts on Business Environment.