Written questions by Holden.

How much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4 July 2024; and what estimate their Department has made of the difference in capital cost between (A) the electric vehicles purchased by their Department and (B) comparable (1) petrol and (2) diesel models.

The Department and its arm’s length bodies have not incurred any expenditure on the installation of electric vehicle charging facilities since 4 July 2024.The Department and its arm’s length bodies have not purchased any electric vehicles since 4 July 2024.The Department has not made an estimate of the difference in capital cost between the electric vehicles purchased and comparable petrol or diesel models.

Media and Sport, how much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4 July 2024; and what estimate their Department has made of the difference in capital cost between (A) the electric vehicles purchased by their Department and (B) comparable (1) petrol and (2) diesel models.

The Department has not incurred any expenditure on the installation of electric vehicle charging facilities since 4 July 2024. The Department has also not purchased any electric vehicles since 4 July 2024. We are unable to provide data relating to the expenditure of arm’s length bodies on the installation of electric vehicle charging facilities or the purchase of electric vehicles as we do not collect such data centrally. The Department has not made an estimate of the difference in capital cost between the electric vehicles purchased and comparable petrol or diesel models.

How much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4 July 2024; and what estimate their Department has made of the difference in capital cost between (A) the electric vehicles purchased by their Department and (B) comparable (1) petrol and (2) diesel models.

The department and its arm’s length bodies have not incurred any expenditure on the installation of electric vehicle charging facilities or purchased any electric vehicles since 4 July 2024.

How much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4 July 2024; and what estimate their Department has made of the difference in capital cost between (A) the electric vehicles purchased by their Department and (B) comparable (1) petrol and (2) diesel models.

The Scotland Office and its associated arm’s length bodies have not incurred any expenditure on the installation of electric vehicle charging facilities or purchased any electric vehicles since 4 July 2024.

What estimate his Department has made of the annual cost to the public purse for NHS of treating (a) congenital and (b) genetic disorders arising from consanguineous unions.

The Department does not hold this information.

How much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4 July 2024; and what estimate their Department has made of the difference in capital cost between (A) the electric vehicles purchased by their Department and (B) comparable (1) petrol and (2) diesel models.

The Department occupies GPA and HMRC estate and therefore has not purchased any electric vehicle charging points at its sites or purchased any electric vehicles. Data for arms-length-bodies is not held centrally.

How much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4 July 2024; and what estimate their Department has made of the difference in capital cost between (A) the electric vehicles purchased by their Department and (B) comparable (1) petrol and (2) diesel models.

The Department for Transport has not spent money on electric vehicle (EV) charging device installations on the central Department estate since July 2024. The Department for Transport does not hold information on money spent by its arm’s-length bodies on EV charging infrastructure or vehicles. According to industry statistics the average upfront price difference between new electric and new petrol cars is 19%, compared to 29% last year. DfT analysis shows that by switching to an EV, drivers could save as much as £1,500 a year compared to petrol car drivers on running and vehicle maintenance costs.

How much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4 July 2024; and what estimate their Department has made of the difference in capital cost between (A) the electric vehicles purchased by their Department and (B) comparable (1) petrol and (2) diesel models.

Since 4 July 2024, the Department for Business and Trade and its arm’s length bodies have spent £9,066.00 on the installation of electric vehicle charging facilities.The Department and its arm’s length bodies have not purchased any electric vehicles since 4 July 2024.

How much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4 July 2024; and what estimate their Department has made of the difference in capital cost between (A) the electric vehicles purchased by their Department and (B) comparable (1) petrol and (2) diesel models.

CDEL – HOPS Change BudgetRDEL – Resource BudgetFY CDEL RDEL20/21 £1,153,957.7721/22 £1,066,198.0322/23 £495,547.89 £721,655.0023/24 £442,482.0024/25 £1,123,253.8625/26 £318,642.00Sub Total £4,600,081.55 £721,655.00Total £5,321,736.55

Communities and Local Government, how much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4 July 2024; and what estimate their Department has made of the difference in capital cost between (A) the electric vehicles purchased by their Department and (B) comparable (1) petrol and (2) diesel models.

The Department has not purchased any electric vehicles since 4 July 2024. The Department has also not incurred any expenditure on the installation of electric vehicle charging facilities since 4 July 2024. We do not hold information of this nature in relation to our arm’s length bodies.

What steps he is taking to (a) improve data collection and (b) integrate indicators related to (i) parental consanguinity and (ii) genetic risk into future (A) public health strategy and (B) NHS resource allocation frameworks.

The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) in NHS England is directed by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to collect data and report on the prevalence of cancer, and congenital and rare conditions in England, and this includes genomic data where available. NDRS publishes official national statistics on the birth prevalence of congenital conditions in England, presented by geographical region and stratified by the presence or absence of a known genomic cause. Parental consanguinity is a data item within the NDRS congenital conditions dataset, but reporting remains incomplete across many data providers. As a result, the data is insufficient to support routine reporting on the birth prevalence of congenital conditions in consanguineous families. NDRS is working with hospital trusts to continually improve the quality and completeness of data. Other relevant initiatives include the Born in Bradford study, which provides valuable insights into congenital conditions and associated risk factors, including consanguinity, in a defined population. Further information on the NDRS is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs/

Whether the Government has (a) commissioned and (b) plans to commission studies using (i) genomic datasets, (ii) UK Biobank and (iii) Genomics England to estimate levels of (A) inbreeding and (B) runs of homozygosity and F coefficients across UK populations.

The Department has not, and has no plans to, commission such research via Genomics England, UK Biobank, Our Future Health, or the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4 July 2024; and what estimate their Department has made of the difference in capital cost between (A) the electric vehicles purchased by their Department and (B) comparable (1) petrol and (2) diesel models.

The information below relates to Defra and the Environment agency only.Since 4 July 2024, the Department and its arm’s length bodies have spent £996k on the installation of electric vehicle charging facilities.Since 4 July 2024, the Department and its arm’s length bodies have spent £278k on the purchase of electric vehicles.The Department estimates that the capital cost of the electric vehicles purchased is approximately £50k (£4.1k per vehicle) higher than comparable diesel models.The Department is working towards a government target of 100% Zero Tailpipe Emissions by 31 December 2027.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to improve the enforcement of ecological conditions attached to planning consents; and whether he has had recent discussions with (a) Natural England and (b) local planning authorities on improving post-occupancy inspections of biodiversity enhancements.

Monitoring and ensuring compliance with ecological conditions attached to planning permissions are matters for local planning authorities who already have a wide range of enforcement powers, with strong penalties for non-compliance, to use as they consider appropriate. For a summary of the steps the government is taking to support capacity and capability within local planning authorities, including within their enforcement teams, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to question UIN 67508 on 14 July 2025. In respect of post-occupancy monitoring, my Department does not collect the data requested. Officials in my Department have engaged with Natural England and local planning authorities about the monitoring of biodiversity enhancements, particularly in relation to the implementation of biodiversity net gain.

Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on compliance with ecological mitigation and enhancement conditions attached to planning permissions; and if he will publish post-occupancy monitoring data on the implementation of (a) bird boxes, (b) hedgehog highways, (c) tree planting and (d) other biodiversity features.

Monitoring and ensuring compliance with ecological conditions attached to planning permissions are matters for local planning authorities who already have a wide range of enforcement powers, with strong penalties for non-compliance, to use as they consider appropriate. For a summary of the steps the government is taking to support capacity and capability within local planning authorities, including within their enforcement teams, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to question UIN 67508 on 14 July 2025. In respect of post-occupancy monitoring, my Department does not collect the data requested. Officials in my Department have engaged with Natural England and local planning authorities about the monitoring of biodiversity enhancements, particularly in relation to the implementation of biodiversity net gain.

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2025 to Question 82740 on Electric Vehicles: Grants, what information his Department holds on the number of people who were employed in the automotive manufacturing sector on (a) 4 July 2024 and (b) the most recent date for which data is available.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 3rd November is attached.

Whether she plans to require MOT tests to check that (a) front windows and (b) windscreens comply with legal light transmission limits.

Driver visibility is an important safety consideration at the MOT, with the tester required to check the driver’s field of vision for obstructions. This includes inspecting the windscreen and front side windows for excessive tinting and discolouration. The MOT tester will fail the vehicle if the windscreen or window are excessively tinted and visibility through the swept area of the windscreen, or of an obligatory external mirror, is seriously affected. This approach aligns with legal light transmission levels that are intended to ensure the driver has good visibility of the road for safety purposes.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2025 to Question 82992 on Railways: Freight, which schemes set out in the Spending Review were identified as having potential for increasing the capacity for freight on the routes; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of those schemes on freight network performance.

The government recognises that the economic and environmental potential of rail freight is significant and that is why we are committed to supporting its growth. The Spending Review confirmed a number of infrastructure schemes across the country to help support the economy, housing and jobs. These include £3.5 billion for the TransPennine Route Upgrade and £2.5 billion for the continued delivery of East-West Rail between Oxford and Cambridge. Both projects will deliver benefits for rail freight, as well as passenger services. Options are currently being developed for the Transpennine Route Upgrade to provide increased capacity for rail freight from east and west coast ports to inland terminals.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2025 to Question 82990 on Railways: Essex, what estimate her Department has made of the capital cost of that proposal; and what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposal on (a) efficiency and (b) emissions.

As per the answer of 27th October, 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.

What information his Department holds on the number of (a) marriages and (b) other unions between (i) first cousins and (ii) closer relatives in each nation of the UK in each year since 1997; and whether the Office for National Statistics (A) collects and (B) plans to collect such data through (1) the census, (2) birth records and (3) linked administrative datasets.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 3rd October is attached.