Written questions by Holden.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 90060 on Railway Network: Environment Protection, whether she plans to make changes to the size of the rail network under Great British Railways.

This government will continue to deliver high impact projects and enhancements to the railway that improve connectivity and capacity for passengers and freight to support unlocking economic growth. Schemes such as the Transpennine Route Upgrade, East West Rail and Midlands Rail Hub, which are expected to deliver after Great British Railways (GBR) has been established, will expand the capacity of the network and allow more services to be run. The government expects to work with GBR to continue to consider the appropriate size of rail network and deliver plans to support that.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 90058 on Railways: Safety, how the ORR’s railway safety enforcement regime will change following the establishment of Great British Railways.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is the independent railway safety regulator for the UK. Its enforcement powers derive from the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and range from giving advice and information through to prosecution in the courts. The creation of Great British Railways (GBR) does not change the legislation that underpins ORRs enforcement powers and therefore its regime will not change following the establishment of GBR.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on including locally manufactured materials such as natural stone in planning conditions and development frameworks.

National design guidance, which supports the National Planning Policy Framework, states that well-designed places should be responsive to local history, culture and heritage. The guidance highlights the role of resources, including the careful selection of materials and construction techniques, to minimise any environmental impacts. A local design code can introduce requirements on the use of materials for new development, if appropriate.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 87859 on Hereditary Diseases, if his Department will publish any estimates or research they have of the annual cost to the public purse for the NHS of treating (a) congenital and (b) genetic disorders arising from consanguineous unions.

No, the Department is not planning to publish any estimates or research on the annual cost to the public purse for the National Health Service of treating congenital and genetic disorders arising from consanguineous unions. The Department does not hold this information and has no plans to collect this information.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2025 to Question 88882 on Great British Railways, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of establishing and operating the regulatory oversight functions set out in the Railways Bill, including the Office of Rail and Road’s new statutory consultee role and its expanded appeals and enforcement powers over GBR’s access, contracting and pricing decisions.

The Railways Bill gives ORR a statutory power to levy a fee, providing stable and predictable funding to support its independence and effective operation. ORR's own analysis has been reflected in the SR settlement for 2026–27 to 2028–29. Final funding levels will depend on how ORR implements its new role and will remain subject to Spending Review outcomes.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 88363 on Freight: Fuels Excise Duties, whether her Department holds data on the relative changes in operating costs for (a) rail freight and (b) road freight since fuel duty was first frozen for HGVs in 2011; and whether it has assessed the impact of that freeze on the competitiveness of rail freight.

The Government is committed to supporting rail freight, recognising its economic and environmental benefits and the role it plays in the resilience of the UK’s supply chain. However, both road and rail freight are privately owned and operated, with a wide range of costs and other criteria which could affect competitiveness. The fuel duty decisions referenced – which were taken primarily under the last Government – are only one part of this. The Department does not hold data on relative changes to operating costs between road and rail freight.  As part of continued support for the rail freight sector, the Department has operated the Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme since 2010. Network Rail also offers the Access Charges Discount Policy to stimulate growth, supporting new to rail traffic.

How many driving tests a full-time driving examiner can conduct per year, allowing for annual leave.

A full-time driving examiner can be expected to add approximately 1,200 tests per year to the booking system.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential energy-efficiency benefits derived from using natural stone in public and private construction.

Energy efficiency requirements for new dwellings and buildings are set through the Building Regulations, which specify overall performance standards rather than mandating particular materials. This allows designers and developers to select the most practical and cost-effective materials for each project, including the use of natural stone where appropriate.

What steps his Department is taking to strengthen supply chain resilience by supporting the use of British natural stone in public building projects.

Government Property Agency Capital projects will use tools such as Whole Life Carbon Assessments (WLCA) to analyse the cost and carbon impact of materials and products used during construction. This would favour local materials that naturally have a lower carbon footprint. The GPA would also factor in maintenance and replacement considerations on the choice and sourcing of material. The Government Property Agency aims to utilise and support British businesses throughout our supply chain and in line with the principles of the Procurement Act 2023, which aims to support smaller local businesses and embeds social value into our contract delivery model.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 89632 on Great British Railways: Finance, if she will publish the assumptions on passenger ridership growth that underpin the Department’s estimate of a £1.2 billion reduction in rail passenger services subsidy over the Spending Review period.

The Department’s Spending Review settlement and additional commentary were set out on gov.uk. As is usual, the Department does not publish further detail. The reduction in the rail passenger services subsidy over the Spending Review period will be enabled through delivery of the public ownership programme, a relentless focus on improving operational performance and improvements for customers, and by driving passenger revenue growth.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78720 on South West Railway: Nationalisation, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of public ownership of the railways on levels of Government (a) spending, (b) borrowing and (c) debt.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government implemented emergency contractual arrangements which involved taking on all revenue and the vast majority of cost risk from the train operating companies. Therefore, public ownership of these rail services is not expected to change the Government’s financial exposure other than savings in the fees currently paid to privately-owned train operating companies of an estimated £110 million to £150 million every year once all currently contracted services have transferred.

What steps his Department is taking to support UK car manufacturers in developing and commercialising solid-state battery technology.

The Government has made the UK's largest single commitment to battery R&D of £452 million to 2030 in the new Battery Innovation Programme (BIP). This programme builds on the Faraday Battery Challenge to drive cross-sector innovation in emerging and next generation technologies, including Solid-State Batteries. BIP will target technical skills gaps to develop engineers and scientists of the future, connect academic researchers with UK industry, and fund investor partnerships that improve access to investment for innovative battery companies ready to commercialise and scale in the UK.This sits alongside DRIVE35, our long-term £2.5 billion commitment to zero emission vehicle manufacturing which provides capital support and additional R&D funding for strategic vehicle technologies, accelerating their commercial scale-up.

With reference to paragraph 221 of the Guide to Parliamentary Work, how many answers to Written Parliamentary Questions have (a) declined to provide information on the grounds that it should be sought via the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and (b) withheld information that would ordinarily be disclosable under that Act in this Parliament; what steps he is taking to ensure departmental compliance with that principle; what data his office holds on the (i) number of such (A) answers and (B) subsequent corrections and (ii) departmental performance against (1) timeliness and (2) completeness standards; and if he will place in the Library a list of such answers, including UIN and date, broken down by department.

The information requested is not held by the Government. Data on response times to written parliamentary questions (PQs) is published following the end of every session by the House of Commons Procedure Committee.I have written to all Members of Cabinet and spoken with Departmental Parliamentary Clerks to remind departments and Ministers about the importance of providing full and helpful responses to parliamentary questions.As the Hon. Member will be aware, the Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and their sessional reporting continues to be an effective tool to hold Departments to account.

If she will publish (a) copies of all Post Opening Project Evaluation (POPE) reports relating to (i) all lane running, (ii) dynamic hard shoulder and (iii) controlled motorway schemes on the Strategic Road Network that have been completed but not yet published and (b) a schedule for every such POPE report completed since 2015, setting out for each report (A) the scheme covered, (B) the date the report was completed, (C) the date it was submitted for assurance, (D) the date that assurance was signed off and (E) the date it was published or, where it has not been published, the reasons for non-publication and the expected publication date.

Post Opening Project Evaluation (POPE) reports are complex and detailed and it is right that we take the time to fully assure them before publication. We will provide an update on plans for the publication of further smart motorway POPEs in due course. National Highways has already published 19 smart motorway POPE reports and these can be found online at:https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/post-opening-project-evaluation-pope-of-major-schemes/.

What the net zero targets for NHS England are; and what guidance has been given to NHS bodies on adopting net zero targets earlier than 2050.

The 10-Year Health Plan commits to supporting NHS England’s existing commitments set out in 2020’s Delivering a Net Zero Health Service report, including achieving net zero by 2040 for the emissions the National Health Service controls and by 2045 for the emissions it can influence. The plan is clear that all NHS bodies will be expected to decarbonise, reduce environmental impact, and increase resilience to climate risks in line with the climate change duties set out in the Health and Care Act 2022. We continue to work with NHS England to ensure that the NHS’s net zero aims are delivered in a way that improves patient care and saves taxpayers money, and which is aligned to the Government’s wider approach to carbon budgets and the 2050 legislative target for the United Kingdom’s economy.

Pursuant to the answer of 14 October 2025, to Question 77640, on Road Traffic Control: Oxford, if he will publish the data sharing contract.

Such data sharing contracts are not routinely published and there are no plans to do so.

How the criteria for the Electric Car Grant was determined; and what engagement with industry was held on this issue.

The Electric Car Grant criteria were designed to support British drivers in accessing affordable, sustainably manufactured electric vehicles. Over 35,000 drivers have benefited from this scheme to date. The grant's design was not discussed with industry during its development to avoid market distortion.Following launch, the Department has engaged closely with vehicle manufacturers and will continue to do so as the grant develops. All grants are regularly reviewed to ensure value for taxpayer's money.

Whether she plans to provide mechanisms for (a) local authorities and (b) Transport for London to challenge service decisions made by Great British Railways that affect their areas.

GBR will be required to consult Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSAs) where decisions on passenger services or rail infrastructure could have a significant impact on their areas. GBR will also have regard to Local Transport Plans and the Mayor of London’s Transport Strategy to ensure local priorities are considered. Alongside this, GBR will agree partnerships with Mayoral Strategic Authorities, bringing local influence into railway planning. This collaborative approach is designed to maintain regular communication and a shared understanding of trade-offs. In addition, the Bill also establishes the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) as a robust and independent appeals body, providing a clear route for appeal of GBR’s access and charging decisions.

With reference to the recommendations of the Civil Justice Council's 2025 review, whether he plans to introduce legislation to clarify that third-party litigation funding agreements are not treated as damages-based agreements.

The Government recognises the critical role third-party litigation funding plays in access to justice and is committed to ensuring it works fairly for all.The Government welcomes the Civil Justice Council review of litigation funding, which will help inform the approach to potential reforms. We are considering the report carefully and will outline next steps in due course.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Chinese market dumping of (a) electric vehicles and (b) internal combustion engine vehicles on UK automotive sector.

The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) is the UK’s investigatory body that exists to defend the UK against unfair international trade practices, including dumping.I encourage UK industry to engage directly with the TRA if they believe they are being injured by dumped goods.While the Department remains vigilant to any reports of potential injury to industries from unfair trading practices, and regularly engages with the automotive sector, I am not aware any application to the TRA at this time.