Every parliamentary written question tabled by Charlie Dewhirst this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–19 of 19 · Department for Transport
What information her Department holds on seating capacity on all routes operated by London North Eastern Railway in each of the last 12 months, broken down by month.
The Department does not hold information on seating capacity on all routes operated by London North Eastern Railway in each of the last 12 months, broken down by month.
What the (a) name, (b) job title, (c) annual remuneration, (d) time commitment and (e) expected end date is for each direct ministerial appointment in her Department.
Current Direct Ministerial Appointments are set out in the table below: NameRoleRemunerationTime CommitmentTermLaura ShoafShadow Great British Railways Chair£1,600 day rateUp to two days a week19/3/2026Lee McDonoughHS2 Shareholder Board Independent MemberNil1 day every 2 months12 monthsAndrew SageFuture of Flight Industry Group MemberNil1.5 hour per meeting approx 2 meetings per yearNot SpecifiedAnne-Lise ScaillierezFuture of Flight Industry Group MemberNil1.5 hour per meeting approx 2 meetings per yearNot SpecifiedChristopher BradshawFuture of Flight Industry Group MemberNil1.5 hour per meeting approx 2 meetings per yearNot SpecifiedDuncan WalkerFuture of Flight Industry Group MemberNil1.5 hour per meeting approx 2 meetings per yearNot SpecifiedGary ElliottFuture of Flight Industry Group MemberNil1.5 hour per meeting approx 2 meetings per yearNot SpecifiedJayne GoldingFuture of Flight Industry Group MemberNil1.5 hour per meeting approx 2 meetings per yearNot SpecifiedJoeBen BevirtFuture of Flight Industry Group MemberNil1.5 hour per meeting approx 2 meetings per yearNot SpecifiedKate KennallyFuture of Flight Industry Group MemberNil1.5 hour per meeting approx 2 meetings per yearNot SpecifiedKevin CravenFuture of Flight Industry Group MemberNil1.5 hour per meeting approx 2 meetings per yearNot SpecifiedLouisa SmithFuture of Flight Industry Group MemberNil1.5 hour per meeting approx 2 meetings per yearNot SpecifiedMarc BaileyFuture of Flight Industry Group MemberNil1.5 hour per meeting approx 2 meetings per yearNot SpecifiedNeil PakeyFuture of Flight Industry Group MemberNil1.5 hour per meeting approx 2 meetings per yearNot SpecifiedRichard ParkerFuture of Flight Industry Group MemberNil1.5 hour per meeting approx 2 meetings per yearNot SpecifiedSimon MastersFuture of Flight Industry Group MemberNil1.5 hour per meeting approx 2 meetings per yearNot SpecifiedRose RouseFuture of Flight Industry Group MemberNil1.5 hour per meeting approx 2 meetings per yearNot SpecifiedSophie O'SullivanFuture of Flight Industry Group MemberNil1.5 hour per meeting approx 2 meetings per yearNot SpecifiedStuart SimpsonFuture of Flight Industry Group MemberNil1.5 hour per meeting approx 2 meetings per yearNot Specified
Pursuant to the oral Answer of 20 November 2025, Official Report, Column 834, on Motorists, and further to the point of order of 25 November 2025, Official report, Column 261, on what date was she first aware of the proposal to introduce a national pay-per-mile Electric Vehicle Excise Duty scheme in the Budget 2025.
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with HM Treasury ministers about a range of topics, but final tax decisions are for the Chancellor of the Exchequer to make and are announced at the Budget.
What engagement she has had with small and medium-sized enterprises in the aviation sector to better understand the challenges and opportunities they face.
The Department believes that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have a vital role to play within the aviation and maritime sectors and in supporting our objectives on growth, innovation and the environment. The Department has regular engagement with SMEs and their trade bodies on these matters and on the challenges and opportunities they face. The Department and other government bodies have provided support to SME companies via innovation and decarbonisation funding in both the aviation and maritime sectors. This includes the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) Clean Maritime Demonstration Competitions. The Future of Flight Programme will also enable the routine use of drones and eVTOLs in the UK in this Parliament. This will unlock growth for small and medium businesses in the aviation sector and beyond, including innovative aerospace manufacturing startups, and existing service providers such as surveyors that use drones to expand their markets. In addition, the Department continues to work with the Civil Aviation Authority and Maritime and Coastguard Agency to consider how the regulatory regimes interact with these factors in relation to SMEs. The UK aviation and maritime sectors are predominantly privately operated therefore operators are responsible for managing their own contingency plans and ensuring that they are robust and meet their own individual circumstances. My officials engage regularly with these sectors to gain assurances that plans are in place to ensure that disruptions are kept to a minimum.
What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises in the (a) aviation and (b) maritime sectors have adequate access to Government procurement contracts.
The Department for Transport runs a series of regional Meet the Buyer Small Business roadshows across the UK to highlight opportunities and encourage participation in our supply chains. This programme also enables the Department to identify opportunities to remove barriers to SME participation in our competitions. In total the Department has hosted nineteen events with around 3500 small businesses attending so far. The programme is continuing in 2025/26 following very positive feedback from the small business community.
What recent assessment her Department has made of the role of small and medium-sized enterprises in supporting (a) innovation and (b) resilience in the UK (i) aviation and (ii) maritime sectors.
The Department believes that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have a vital role to play within the aviation and maritime sectors and in supporting our objectives on growth, innovation and the environment. The Department has regular engagement with SMEs and their trade bodies on these matters and on the challenges and opportunities they face. The Department and other government bodies have provided support to SME companies via innovation and decarbonisation funding in both the aviation and maritime sectors. This includes the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) Clean Maritime Demonstration Competitions. The Future of Flight Programme will also enable the routine use of drones and eVTOLs in the UK in this Parliament. This will unlock growth for small and medium businesses in the aviation sector and beyond, including innovative aerospace manufacturing startups, and existing service providers such as surveyors that use drones to expand their markets. In addition, the Department continues to work with the Civil Aviation Authority and Maritime and Coastguard Agency to consider how the regulatory regimes interact with these factors in relation to SMEs. The UK aviation and maritime sectors are predominantly privately operated therefore operators are responsible for managing their own contingency plans and ensuring that they are robust and meet their own individual circumstances. My officials engage regularly with these sectors to gain assurances that plans are in place to ensure that disruptions are kept to a minimum.
What steps her Department is taking to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises can contribute to the Government’s sustainable aviation fuel targets.
There are a number of steps we are taking to support enterprises of all sizes to contribute to SAF targets. We are encouraging the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the UK through the SAF mandate, which obligates fuel suppliers to supply a proportion of SAF in their fuel. To minimise the impact on small or micro businesses from being obligated, the minimum threshold for registering with the SAF mandate scheme and being set an obligation is 15.9 terajoules of aviation fuel, or 450,000 litres, per annum. This minimises unnecessary administrative burdens with negligible impact on GHG emissions reductions. We are supporting the production and development of UK supplies of SAF through the Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF). Applicants were invited to apply for funding in 2025 with no restriction on the size of the project. Previous rounds have supported a range of proposals from demonstration to commercial scale. The Spending Review 2025 will continue support for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the UK to 2029/30. Our SAF Clearing House also supports SAF producers through the testing process – a grant funding window is currently open to applications. Finally, we have introduced to Parliament the legislation required to implement a revenue certainty mechanism to support SAF producers to secure the private funding needed to construct SAF plants.
What engagement his Department has had with small and medium-sized enterprises in the (a) aviation and (b) maritime sectors on barriers to (i) growth, (ii) innovation and (iii) sustainability.
The Department believes that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have a vital role to play within the aviation and maritime sectors and in supporting our objectives on growth, innovation and the environment. The Department has regular engagement with SMEs and their trade bodies on these matters and on the challenges and opportunities they face. The Department and other government bodies have provided support to SME companies via innovation and decarbonisation funding in both the aviation and maritime sectors. This includes the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) Clean Maritime Demonstration Competitions. The Future of Flight Programme will also enable the routine use of drones and eVTOLs in the UK in this Parliament. This will unlock growth for small and medium businesses in the aviation sector and beyond, including innovative aerospace manufacturing startups, and existing service providers such as surveyors that use drones to expand their markets. In addition, the Department continues to work with the Civil Aviation Authority and Maritime and Coastguard Agency to consider how the regulatory regimes interact with these factors in relation to SMEs. The UK aviation and maritime sectors are predominantly privately operated therefore operators are responsible for managing their own contingency plans and ensuring that they are robust and meet their own individual circumstances. My officials engage regularly with these sectors to gain assurances that plans are in place to ensure that disruptions are kept to a minimum.
How much funding has been (a) allocated to and (b) spent by the Great British Railways Transition Team since it was established; and how many external consultants were employed by that team on 28 April 2025.
The Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) was set up as a temporary organisation under the previous government to design and transition towards Great British Railways, including building cross-industry capability. Total funding allocated to GBRTT was: £20.9m in the financial year 2021-22; £54.4m in financial year 2022-23; £50m in financial year 2023-24; and £29.3m in financial year 2024-25. Total funding spent by GBRTT was: £12.9m in the financial year 2021-22; £52.7m in the financial year 2022-23, £41.3m in the financial year 2023-24; and £27.6m in the financial year 2024-25. No external consultants were employed by GBRTT on 28 April 2025. No staff have been employed by GBRTT since 31 March 2025.
If she will make an estimate of the costs to LNER of operating once-a-day train services to (a) Hull and (b) Bradford.
London North Eastern Railway (LNER) already operates one service a day to Hull and two services a day, increasing to seven next month, to Bradford. The cost of these services are included within LNER's annual budget agreed by the Department.
For what reason LNER has withdrawn its London to Sunderland services from the East Coast Main Line timetable.
The recast timetable being implemented in December 2025 can no longer accommodate the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) service. This was made clear in the 2021 consultation.The new December 2025 East Coast Timetable change will see additional services between Sunderland and Newcastle where passengers can join the East Coast Mainline.Regular metro services provide connectivity to Newcastle where two LNER trains operate to London per hour and Grand Central has increased its services from five to six trains per day between London King’s Cross and Sunderland.
What discussions she has had with (a) Network Rail and (b) the Office of Rail and Road on the necessary provision of information by Network Rail to the Office of Rail and Road, so the Office of Rail and Road can take decisions on open access rail applications.
The Department for Transport works closely with both the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and Network Rail to ensure that information to inform access decisions is provided in as timely a manner as possible. However, it is important that decisions are fully considered and potential impacts to taxpayers, the efficient and reliable operation of the network, and to other operators are properly assessed.
What progress her Department has made with the Office of Rail and Road and Network Rail on (a) identifying unused track access rights and (b) making underused rail capacity available to open access operators.
Identification and address of unused track access rights is through the robust industry process for maintenance of rights in accordance with the Network Code, applied by the Operators and Network Rail as overseen by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). Open access operators may apply to utilise available capacity alongside operators contracted by Government. It will then be a matter for Network Rail and the ORR to decide through the established systems and processes how capacity should ultimately be allocated.
What information her Department holds on the amount of land owned by Train Operating Companies that is (a) unused, (b) undeveloped and (c) available for commercial use.
The Department does not hold information on land owned by train operating companies as they do not typically own land; rather they lease stations and pay track and depot access charges to the relevant infrastructure owner.
What information her Department holds on the amount of (a) land and (b) property estate owned by Network Rail that is (i) unused, (ii) under-developed and (iii) available for commercial use.
Network Rail owns c.52,000 hectares of land. All of Network Rail’s land is deemed to be operational and required for the specific functioning of the railway network. Land can only be deemed surplus once it has gone through a regulatory process governed by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).Network Rail regularly reviews whether land can be released from operational use and has a pipeline of potential sites that are at different stages of the business release and regulatory process. This is not a static list and information is released to potential purchasers and delivery partners at the appropriate time. Significant sites that are in the pipeline for development, include:Newcastle Forth Yards: a 100-acre regeneration opportunity which could deliver 5,000 new homesManchester Mayfield: opportunity for 1,500 new homesCambridge: a mixed-use development with 425 homesNottingham: 200 new homes following 348 successfully delivered homes at The Barnum, Nottingham Network Rail also owns, and manages, other commercial uses on its estate principally within in its managed stations (retail and advertising for example) and within the retained arch portfolio.
Pursuant to the Answers of 14 October 2024 to Questions 7031 and 7032 on Department for Transport: Official Cars, which senior officials in her Department have access to a government car; and whether those officials had that access before the general election.
The Government Car Service (GCS) offers vehicles to government departments as a shared resource. Each department independently determines the allocation of these vehicles.The arrangements relating to the using of vehicles in the Government Car Service is set out in the Civil Service Management Code.There has been no change in this policy since the general election.
What meetings (a) Ministers and (b) her officials have held with external stakeholders since 5 July 2024.
Details of ministers’ and senior officials’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Data for the period of July to September 2024 will be published in due course.
What her Department's policy is on the allocation of Government Car Service cars to senior officials; what the policy was on 24 May 2024; and which senior officials have been granted access to the service since 4 July 2024.
The Government Car Service (GCS) offers vehicles to government departments as a shared resource. Each department independently determines the allocation of these vehicles to its ministerial cadre/officials. Cabinet Office is responsible for the management of the Government Car Service.
Pursuant to the Answers of 6 September 2024 to Questions 2306 and 2308 on Ministers: Official Cars, which (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have (i) been allocated a dedicated vehicle and (ii) access to use of a shared vehicle from the Government Car Service; what the (A) make, (B) model and (C) fuel type is for each car; and what the budget was for those cars in the 2024-25 financial year.
The Government Car Service (GCS) offers vehicles to government departments as a shared resource. Each department independently determines the allocation of these vehicles to its ministerial cadre/officials. The Department for Transport is currently allocated 1 x Hybrid Land rover Discovery Sport, 2 x Electric Jaguar I-Pace and 1 x Hybrid Ford Mondeo. These vehicles were not purchased in the 2024-25 financial year and were provided from the existing fleet. Cabinet Office is responsible for the management of the Government Car Service.