Written questions by Holden.

What the national average waiting time in weeks was for a practical car driving test in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.

The national average waiting time in November for car practical driving tests will not be available until later in December. The national average for any given month is usually not available until the middle of the following month. The respective answers to Question 78713 on 20 October 2025, and Question 93246 on 28 November 2025, provided data covering the period July 2024 to October 2025.

Whether she plans to lay Great British Railways’ draft and final Integrated Business Plans before Parliament for scrutiny.

The new funding period review set out in the Bill will require the publication of Great British Railway’s (GBR) integrated business plan, including updates, and a summary of the advice provided by the Office of Rail and Road to the Secretary of State on the quality of that plan.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2025 to Question 93226 on Level Crossings, for what reason responsibility for assessing and managing level-crossing down-time rests solely with Network Rail rather than being shared with local authorities or National Highways.

Level crossings form part of the rail estate and legal responsibility for their safe operation falls to the relevant infrastructure manager, such as Network Rail. Infrastructure managers must operate level crossings in line with their statutory duties but they work closely with local authorities, highways agencies and users to understand the impacts of barrier downtime. Effective co-operation and collaboration between these parties is critical and each has an important role to play.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2025 to Question 93219 on Roads: Biodiversity, whether those schemes undertaking biodiversity net gain requirements are on a voluntary basis.

All Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects which are already delivering biodiversity net gain (BNG) are doing so on a voluntary basis. This will remain the case until the legal requirement applies to schemes that submit development consent applications after May 2026. National Highways is already committed to delivering BNG for those Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects starting construction in the third Road Period (2026/27 to 2030/31).

How many environmental assessments relating to HS2 have been carried out since 4 July 2024; in which months those assessments took place; and what the cost was of each assessment.

Assessments published by HS2 since 4 July 2024 include an Environmental Sustainability Progress Report, Supplementary Environmental Information reports and reports on Noise & Vibration and Air Quality. These are all made publicly available on gov.uk.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of additional dedicated cross-Pennine rail freight capacity to support ports (a) in the Humber Estuary and (b) on the east coast of England, including Immingham.

Analysis undertaken to develop the TransPennine Route Upgrade suggests there could be strong potential for new rail freight capacity from both east and west coast ports to inland terminals. Work to develop options for investment, in conjunction with the rail freight sector, is on-going. Such freight flows could lead to environmental and social benefits, such as reducing carbon emissions and road congestion by removing the requirement for large numbers of lorries on cross-Pennine roads. Decisions will be taken in time to allow integration of any suitable projects into the existing TransPennine Route Upgrade programme.

What (a) number and (b) proportion of rail journeys were made using (i) advance purchase, (ii) off-peak and (iii) anytime tickets in in each month since and including July 2024 up to and including the most recent month for which figures are available.

The Office for Road and Rail publish quarterly data on rail journeys by ticket type. The most recent quarter available is April 2025 to June 2025 and the quarterly breakdown can be found athttps://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/passenger-rail-usage/table-1222-passenger-journeys-by-ticket-type/

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of air traffic controller recruitment and training capacity; and what steps she is taking to ensure adequate air traffic controller staffing for regional airports.

Air Traffic Control services in the UK operate in the private sector and Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) who provide these services must ensure that they have adequate resources in place to safely operate. The pipeline for training new Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) is robust, with UK training centres currently operating at capacity. However, my department has just introduced secondary legislation giving the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) powers to recognise the previous training of third country and military ATCO’s towards meeting the requirements needed to achieve a UK civil ATCO licence. This will reduce the time it takes these individuals to become a civil ATCO in the UK and increase resilience across the sector.

Pursuant to WPQ 93460, which roads are covered by the four departures from standards that were granted; and when those decisions were made.

The following four schemes were granted departures from standard:- The A1(M) J37-38. The departure was granted on the 2nd of December 2024- The M5 J23-24. The departure was granted on the 24th of April 2024- The M6 J37-38. The departure was granted on the 12th of May 2025- The M4 J13-14. The departure was granted on the 20th of August 2025

Pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2025 to WPQ 91458, how much revenue local authorities made from (a) traffic junction enforcement, (b) clean air zones and (c) congestion charging in 2024-25.

The Department does not hold this information centrally.

What estimates National Highways has made of a) the average daily number of HGV movements to and from Immingham Port, b) expected daily HGV movements over the next five years, and c) whether current road capacity and maintenance plans are sufficient to support that growth.

National Highways’ select link analysis using regional traffic models, identified an average annual daily flow of 1,851 HGV movements between Immingham Port and the A180.While the current Route Strategies (published May 2023) do not provide specific HGV forecasts for Immingham, they note that freight-related HGVs account for over 30% of traffic on key routes including the A160 and M180. Stakeholder engagement indicates HGV volumes are expected to rise, particularly with Freeport developments.National Highways’ investment and maintenance plans, set out in the Route Strategies and underpinning the Road Investment Strategy, aim to maintain network reliability and resilience to support this growth. Traffic trends will continue to be monitored to help inform whether capacity needs are being met.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2025 to Question 90814, what are the names of the third party organisations or agents, acting on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council, that have been provided with vehicle keeper data.

This information relates to a commercial arrangement between Oxfordshire County Council and the third party and it would not be appropriate to disclose that information.

Pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2025 to Question 93855, if she will break down those (a) nominal and (b) real terms rises by year.

The Office of Rail and Road publish annual statistics measuring the change in prices charged by train operating companies to rail passengers, normally introduced in March of each year. Table 7180 provides the average change in fares by regulated and unregulated tickets, for Great Britain, from 1995 to 2025. The data set also includes the Retail Prices Index from which real fare changes can be calculated. This can be found at the following link: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/finance/rail-fares/

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2025 to Question 93455, whether it ceased to be her department's policy that 50% of journeys in towns and cities should be walked or cycled by 2030 when the second Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy ended in March 2025.

Decisions on future active travel targets will be confirmed in the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy when it is published next year.

How many new publicly available electric vehicle charge points were (a) installed and (b) brought into operation in each month since July 2024 up to and including the most recent month for which figures are available.

The Department publishes statistics on the number of public electric vehicle charging devices available across the UK each month: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69135a271fcc92b3f34963ca/electric-vehicle-public-charging-devices-november-2025.ods.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of regional airlines and air links in the last five years on regional communities; and what steps she is taking to support the retention of regional air services.

The UK aviation market operates predominantly in the private sector and it is for airports to invest in their infrastructure to attract passengers and airlines, while airlines deliver services by responding to demand for different routes. The Aviation Council was established earlier this year as a strategic platform for Government and industry to work collaboratively on the long-term challenges and opportunities facing the UK aviation sector. The Council is co-chaired by myself, the Minister for Aviation, and Ken O’Toole, the CEO of Manchester Airport Group (MAG). The Council has formed five working groups to look at priority areas, including a Regional Connectivity working group to understand the factors that have influenced UK regional aviation connectivity, so recommendations can be made that would encourage growth. The Government continues to provide support for existing domestic air routes which are in danger of being lost through the use of the Public Service Obligation (PSO) regulations. The Department for Transport currently joint-funds three PSO air routes into London from Newquay, Dundee and Derry/Londonderry.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2025 to Question 89642 on High Speed 2 Line, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the deferral of works on the Handsacre link on (a) journey times from the North West of England to London and (b) the economy during the four year deferral period.

As set out in my response of 20 November 2025 to question 89642, the deferral of work at Handsacre is not expected to have any impact on journey times for services from the North West of England to London once the delivery of HS2 is complete. The Department and HS2 Ltd are currently undertaking a full reset of the programme. As part of this reset the department will provide an update on the economic impact of the programme in a revised business case.

Pursuant to the Answer to WPQ 94294, what is the (a) number (b) proportion of fares per week that will not be the same price or cheaper than the former super off-peak fare on the routes covered.

Although London North Eastern Railway voluntarily publish the proportion of Semi flexible fares sold that track against the adjusted price for the former super off-peak fare, as that fare no longer formally exists, the passenger assurances that are being tested in place of fares regulation are instead based upon a percentage of the price of the fully flexible ticket which remains available. The assurances are: There is a maximum price: prices cannot rise above the fully flexible price. A large selection of cheap seats: at least 2/3 of all fixed tickets sold are priced at 50 per cent or less than the price of the fully flexible ticket. A maximum of 10 per cent of all fixed tickets can be sold at 80 per cent or more of the fully flexible price. London North Eastern Railway has reported that only 10.1 per cent of standard advance fares were sold at over half the price of the fully flexible ticket as of July 2025.

Which driving test centres were at 24 weeks wait times in i.) July 2024 ii.) July 2025 and iii.) the latest month for which figures are available.

The attached Excel document shows which driving test centres had a waiting time of 24 weeks in i) July 2024, ii) July 2025 and iii) November 2025.

In respect of train operating companies for which the Department is the operator, how many services were (a) cancelled and (b) delayed by (i) 30 minutes or more and (ii) 60 minutes or more in each month since July 2024 up to and including the most recent month for which figures are available.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) publish statistics on punctuality and reliability of trains operating on the mainline network on a periodic basis on their data portal: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/.CancellationsInformation on train cancellations in Great Britain by operator is available in Table 3128: Pre-cancellations and adjusted cancellations score by operator, Great Britain (periodic data): https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/p-coded-cancellations/The table showsNumber of trains planned – confirmed between the operator and Network Rail at 22:00 on the previous evening.Number of part-cancelled trains – trains that ran at least half, but not all, of its planned journeys length or if it completed its whole journey length but failed to stop at one or more of its planned stations.Number of fully cancelled trains – trains that failed to run at least half of their planned journey length (including those that did not run at all).DelaysInformation on train punctuality in Great Britain by operator is available in Table 3138: Train punctuality at recorded station stops by operator (periodic): https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/table-3138-train-punctuality-at-recorded-station-stops-by-operator-periodic/A recorded station stop refers to any location that has both a scheduled date and time in the Great Britain timetable and an actual recorded arrival date and time.The table shows:The proportion of trains arriving at recorded station stops within 59 seconds of their scheduled arrival time.Trains arriving within 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 minutes of schedule.The proportion of services arriving more than 15, 20, and 30 minutes late.