Written questions by Holden.

Whether she plans to introduce additional independent oversight mechanisms beyond the Office of Rail and Road.

GBR will be required to deliver transparently. As the single shareholder of GBR, the Transport Secretary will have oversight of GBR, supported by independent monitoring and scrutiny by ORR. An independent Passenger Watchdog will also ensure passenger interests are clearly represented.

What assessment her Department has made of the regulatory changes required to enable the commercial deployment of autonomous ride-hailing services at scale in the UK, similar to those operating in cities including San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles.

The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 (the Act) sets the foundation for enabling the safe deployment of self-driving vehicles on roads in Great Britain with full implementation of the Act planned for the second half of 2027. Earlier this year, government announced the decision to accelerate implementation of the Automated Passenger Services permitting scheme to Spring 2026. This permitting scheme can help to facilitate pilots of commercial self-driving passenger services with no safety driver, from spring 2026. Any companies looking to deploy their vehicles will need to meet safety requirements and gain local authority consent. The deployment of these services as self-driving vehicles is enabled through the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018. To be seen as self-driving, the vehicle must, in the opinion of the Secretary of State for Transport, be capable of safely driving themselves without human oversight or intervention for some or all of journey. The Vehicle Certification Agency will undertake the assessment, on behalf of the Secretary of State, to assess whether a vehicle is capable of driving itself without human intervention.

What steps she plans to take to ensure that track access charges for operators outside Great British Railways remain based on the direct operating costs incurred by the infrastructure manager.

Clause 64 of the Bill sets a clear legal requirement for charges to be set at the cost that is directly incurred to cover the operating costs incurred by the GBR, subject to exclusions on discounts and mark-ups. GBR will establish a charging framework that must be consistent with its duties and functions set out in legislation.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2024 to Question 39576 on Prime Minister: Aviation, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel for the Prime Minster's flights; and whether he plans to do so.

Prime Ministerial flights are carbon offset where that is possible.

Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of non-regulated large-scale prize draws on (a) the National Lottery and (b) society lotteries.

This Government recognises that prize draws are a significant and growing market, and we want to ensure that people who participate in prize draws are confident that proportionate protections are in place.Independent research was commissioned in 2023, which provided the Government with firm insights into the prize draws sector and included a section on the impact on the lottery industry. This led to the announcement earlier this year of the intention to introduce a Voluntary Code for prize draw operators which was published on 20 November 2025.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2025 to Question 85919 on South Western Railway: Personnel Management, whether the same company continues to manage payroll services for South Western Railway following its transfer into public ownership; and what the company's name is.

South Western Railway (SWR) has managed its payroll services internally following the transfer to public ownership. It is not outsourcing this service, therefore it is SWR that is responsible for its payroll services.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87421 on Rolling Stock: Leasing, on what terms South Western Railway’s rolling stock leasing arrangements were transferred into public ownership; and what the cost to the public purse is of those arrangements.

South Western Railway’s (SWR) rolling stock leases had the same end dates as the operator’s National Rail Contract, 25 May 2025. Rolling stock leases were negotiated and awarded alongside the transfer of SWR’s operations into public ownership. Details can be found on the Government’s Find a Tender website.The Department had been aware of the details of SWR’s rolling stock leases from when they were first put in place. The expected costs of renewing the lease were therefore already recognised in expected future budget requirements for SWR.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 84700 on Road Traffic Control: Oxford, how much the DVLA has received from (a) Oxford City Council and (b) Oxfordshire County Council, or their agents who operate their car parks, in payments for personal details relating to number plates, to date in (i) 2023-4, (ii) 2024-25 and (iii) to date in 2025-26.

Some local authorities use intermediary companies which request data on behalf of the local authority and pass on the cost. While limited information may be available about intermediary companies that may request vehicle keeper data on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council or Oxford City Council, it can only be extracted and provided at disproportionate cost.

Whether manufacturers who have not signed up to the (a) Science Based Targets Initiative and (b) Zero Emission Vehicles Declaration will be eligible for the Electric Car Grant.

The Electric Car Grant requires manufacturers to hold a verified Science Based Target (SBT) from the Science Based Target Initiative. Vehicles made by manufacturers who do not hold either a verified near-term or net-zero SBT will not be eligible for the Electric Car Grant (ECG). The Zero Emission Vehicles Declaration is not a specific requirement of the ECG. The Science Based Target Initiative is an independent body responsible for setting the requirements for new SBT targets and accreditation.

With reference to the press notice entitled Mirror, signal, manoeuvres: Military driving examiners mobilised to cut test backlog, published on 12 November 2025, what the total full-time employee equivalent contribution of the defence driving examiners is expected to be during the year of their deployment.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has agreed with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) that 36 defence driving examiners (DDE) will do driving tests for one day a week for 12 months. This equates to a total full-time employee equivalent contribution of up to 6,500 more tests during the year of their deployment. The DDE will predominantly focus on car driving tests but will have the flexibility to do vocational testing as well if needed.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Electric Car Grant scheme on market competition.

The Department completed an internal impact assessment for the Electric Car Grant’s potential impact on the UK market.Officials will continue to monitor the grant and its impact, to ensure the scheme meets its objectives and assess its ongoing value for money.

With reference to the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill, what is the policy rationale for legislating for byelaws which can ban vaping outside bus stops.

The Government is committed to tackling anti-social behaviour on the bus network. The Bus Services Act 2025 provides Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) with the power to create byelaws, should they wish to do so, and deploy officers who can deal with low level anti-social behaviour and fare evasion on buses. These measures give LTAs greater flexibility to ensure that passengers feel safe and will make it easier for LTAs to prevent behaviours such as vaping, smoking and causing a nuisance on their bus networks. It will be up to LTAs to decide which behaviours they most need to target with these powers and the Government will be publishing guidance for LTAs which will emphasise the need for

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87426 on Railways: Essex, what estimate her Department has made of the capital cost of electrifying the branch between London Gateway and Thames Haven Junction.

As per the answer of 11th November, initial assessments indicate that electrifying the branch between London Gateway and Thames Haven Junction would improve the efficiency and reliability of rail freight while reducing emissions. We will continue to work closely with Network Rail and other industry partners in assessing the viability and affordability of this proposal.

Whether her Department was involved in the development of the Electric Car Grant.

Government policy is developed and agreed through the collective agreement process, with His Majesty’s Treasury responsible for scrutinising public spending to ensure value for money.

Whether it is her Department's policy for all airport operations in England to be zero emission by 2040.

The Government is committed to delivering greener transport and supporting its missions to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower. We are making great strides in transitioning to greener aviation, including work on sustainable aviation fuels, airspace modernisation, and low-emission technologies. We are considering what role an airport decarbonisation target could play as part of our broader approach to decarbonising aviation. We will set out the next steps in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25857 on Written Questions: Government Responses, and to the Answer of 24 October 2025 to Question 82741 on Transport: Finance, if she will provide a relevant hyperlink to the information.

Transport for City Regions settlements (TCR) allocations, published in June 2025, can be found at Transport for City Regions funding allocations - GOV.UK

Communities and Local Government, what his planned timetable is for the full private parking regulation regime to be (a) in place, (b) implemented and (c) in force.

This government is committed to raising standards across the private parking sector and protecting motorists. On the 11th July, the government launched a consultation outlining its proposals for a new Private Parking Code of Practice. The consultation closed on the 26th September, and we are currently analysing all responses. The government will publish a response to this consultation and confirm its final proposals for the code and its enforcement framework in due course.

When she expects her Department to issue a response to the call for evidence on a 2040 zero emissions airport target that was published in May 2023.

The Government is committed to delivering greener transport and supporting its missions to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower. We are making great strides in transitioning to greener aviation, including work on sustainable aviation fuels, airspace modernisation, and low-emission technologies. We are considering what role an airport decarbonisation target could play as part of our broader approach to decarbonising aviation. We will set out the next steps in due course.

Whether the former Secretary of State for Transport (the Hon Member for Sheffield Heeley) received and accepted a Ministerial severance payment.

Information relating to Ministerial severance payments are published in the annual DfT accounts.

Whether she has produced an impact assessment for the Electric Car Grant criteria.

The Department has completed an internal impact assessment for the Electric Car Grant. Officials will continue to monitor the grant and its impact, to ensure the scheme meets its objectives and assess its ongoing value for money.