Written questions by Holden.

What proportion of vehicles used by Government departments are electric; and what recent progress she has made in increasing the use of electric vehicles within the Government fleet.

The Government publishes data on its progress in decarbonising the central Government fleet, as part of wider reporting on the Greening Government Commitments. The most recent published data can be found online at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greening-government-commitments-april-2021-to-march-2024-report/greening-government-commitments-april-2021-to-march-2024-report.

Whether she expects unregulated rail fares to move in line with regulated rail fares this year and over the next five years.

Changes to unregulated fares have typically followed a similar trend to regulated fares in recent years – so we expect the majority of passengers to benefit from savings. We are also continuing to reform the complex fares system that we know creates significant confusion and does not work for passengers, including through introducing more tap in, tap out pay as you go across the country, and delivering long-distance fares reforms, such as through the trial with London North Eastern Railway (LNER).

What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of remote monitoring equipment used to detect landslips on the rail network; and what steps she is taking to improve detection rates.

Network Rail, as the infrastructure manager of Britain’s railways, is responsible for maintaining the integrity and safety of the rail network to ensure passenger and freight services can operate reliably. Following the tragic derailment at Carmont in August 2020, Network Rail commissioned two task forces looking at earthworks management and extreme weather response. In response to these, Network Rail have taken forward a number of actions including commissioning an active nationwide monitoring regime using remote sensors, modelling and geotechnical assessments to monitor slope stability across the network. In its 24/25 Annual Assessment, the independent safety regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, indicated that Network Rail is making good progress in its delivery of weather resilience and climate adaptation plans.

What is the estimated net cost to the public purse of freezing certain regulated rail fares in March 2026 for this and the subsequent five financial years.

The estimated net cost to the public purse of freezing certain regulated rail fares in March 2026 is set out in the table below. This is putting money back in the pockets of hardworking people when they need it most. With savings set to be available on over a billion journeys, the freeze will also make rail more affordable, encouraging more people to use the railway. (£m)2025-262026-272027-282028-292029-302030-31Rail Fares: Freeze rail fares in England for one year from 1 March 2026+0m-145m-150m-155m-160m-165m

What assessment the Government has made of a) annual levies and monitoring charges associated with environmental mitigation and disposal sites used by UK ports, b) the consistency of fee structures across different regions, and c) the cumulative impact of these charges on port operators and logistics businesses.

a) ‎ The assessment annual levies and monitoring charges associated with environmental mitigation and disposal sites used by UK ports is undertaken by the ports who collect the fees. Ports are required to review their port waste management plan and get it re-approved every five years. The waste management plan amongst other specifications sets out the fee, and how this is calculated. Any major changes will require the port to review and change their port waste management plan before the five-year period. MCA surveyors' review, inspect and approve port waste management to ensure compliance with the regulations. b) Ports are required to calculate their fees as mandated by the regulations, which means the ports can recover their cost and the ‘polluter’ pays. These fees will vary due to regional variances in the cost of waste management in the different regions. c) A post implementation review of the regulations was also undertaken and published in 2023. The review found that the regulations were fit for purpose and were achieving the policy objectives and indicated that although industry had the opportunity to communicate any impacts of the requirements to the MCA, no significant concerns have been raised.

What estimate the Government has made of a) the annual cost to UK port operators of dredging and disposing of dredged material required to maintain navigational access, b) the proportion of those costs arising from disposal levies and monitoring fees, and c) how those costs compare with equivalent charges in France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

a) Information relating to the annual cost to UK port operators of dredging and disposing of dredged material required to maintain navigational access is not held centrally.b) The costs arising from the disposal levies and monitoring fees for last three years are shown in the table below: Calendar YearTotal Tonnes DisposedChargeable TonnageFees (1p per tonne, £15k cap)202417,564,23912,363,054£114,025202325,410,85917,679,722£89,322202232,147,78725,476,658£89,332 c) The equivalent information for France, Belgium and the Netherlands is not held centrally.

What recent assessment her Department has made of a) the structural condition of the A180 between the M180 and Immingham Port, b) the adequacy of current life-extending works to support projected increases in HGV traffic, c) the number of delays to freight movements arising from ongoing National Highways works on the A180 and adjacent links, and d) the expected timetable for completing those works.

There are no current Life Extension Works (LEW) underway on the A180. A LEW scheme was completed in 2024/25 on this section to provide an operational life extension of 5+ years and intended to ensure the section remained safe and operational, until a planned reconstruction scheme in Road Investment Strategy 3 (RIS3), planned to be undertaken in 2030/31. As part of the design activity related to the planned RIS3 reconstruction scheme, traffic management options and journey time impact studies will be undertaken to ensure impacts to road users are minimised.

What estimate her Department has made of the cost of upgrading and expanding monitoring and stabilisation works on Victorian railway embankments; and whether she plans to publish a timetable for funding for this infrastructure.

Network Rail, as the infrastructure manager of Britain’s railways, is responsible for maintaining the integrity and safety of the rail network to ensure passenger and freight services can operate reliably. Network Rail manages Victorian-era embankments—some over 150 years old—as part of a comprehensive, risk-based earthworks strategy. Its approach comprises policies, monitoring, maintenance, and engineering interventions. It is spending over £1bn on drainage and earthworks in 2024-2029 to ensure the integrity of the rail network, which includes embankment stabilisation.

What steps she is taking to support ports wishing to offer onshore power supply connections to cruise line customers.

On 25 March, the Government published the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy and a call for evidence on Net Zero Ports. This call for evidence focused on potential options to reduce emissions from vessels at berth and how ports are managing their future energy demand, including the provision of shore power to customers such as cruise operators. We are considering the responses to the call for evidence and will set out next steps in due course. In September, we announced an additional £448m of Research and Development investment for the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) programme. Through previous rounds of UK SHORE funding, we have already funded shore power projects, including nearly £20m for a shore power installation at Portsmouth International Port, which will soon allow visiting cruise ships to connect. Future rounds of funding will continue to support clean maritime solutions. Given the importance of securing grid connections to providing shore power, the Government is working closely with Ofgem and the National Energy System Operator on fundamental reforms to the connections process, which will reduce the connections queue and prioritise progressing viable projects.

Whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on prioritising access to the national grid for port electrification, including in relation to onshore power supply for ferries and cruise ships.

Reforming the connections process and investing in the grid is a key Government priority. This includes reforms that are expected to deprioritise over half of the existing queue based on readiness and strategic alignment with our strategy as set out in Clean Power 2030. Department for Transport Ministers and officials meet regularly with their counterparts in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. These include discussions on the significance of getting sufficient grid capacity to electrify ports, for cruise and ferries to use shore power and policy options to accelerate connection dates for strategic demand customers, such as critical port sites. This is informed by the Department for Transport call for evidence on Net Zero Ports, published in March 2025, which posed questions on managing future energy demand at ports.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2025 to Question 91465 on Electric Vehicles: Charging Points, if she will provide the hyperlink to the electric vehicle charging infrastructure statistics listing the number of public charging devices at local authority level.

The Department’s latest published statistics on the number of public charging devices at local authority level are available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6900f9b584b816d72cb9aab6/electric-vehicle-public-charging-infrastructure-statistics-october-2025.ods.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2025 to Question 92061 on Great British Railways, when the Department expects to publish the rollout plan for Great British Railways branding; and whether that plan will include a timetable, cost breakdown and value-for-money assessment of the transition process.

Ministers will empower rail industry leaders to deliver an efficient and cost effective rollout of the Great British Railways brand, maximising value for money and growing revenue. The Department is working to finalise more detail on the rollout plan and will announce next steps in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2025 to Question 90806 on Railways: Contracts, in what circumstances track access rights would be extended; and what role (a) she and (b) Great British Railways will have in decisions undertaken by the Office of Rail and Road.

Further to the answer from 21 November to Question 90806, the government is maintaining its commitment to honour existing rights in Schedule 5 of track access contracts until they expire. As existing contracts expire, operators will move on to new GBR model access contracts. It will be for GBR as the directing mind for the railway to decide whether existing rights represent best use of the network and whether they are extended. The ORR will be a robust appeals body for GBR’s access decisions, ensuring fairness, and able to impose remedies on GBR to correct a decision that is not consistent with its statutory duties, SoS issued guidance or its own AUP.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2025 to Question 90403 on the Electric Car Grant, if she will publish the internal impact assessment produced for the Electric Car Grant criteria.

The Government does not plan to publish the internal impact assessment for the Electric Car Grant. Officials continue to monitor the grant and assess its impact.

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2025 to Question 92685 on Railways: Reform, whether she will request that the Office for Budget Responsibility or the National Audit Office examine and validate the Department’s estimates of (a) the £200 to £400 million set-up and transitional costs and (b) the projected £110 to £150 million annual savings from bringing rail services into public ownership.

We have no current plans for the Office for Budget Responsibility or the National Audit Office to examine or validate these estimates. The Office for Budget Responsibility provides economic and fiscal forecasts and scrutinises government performance against its fiscal rules. It does not examine the financial details of individual Departmental investment projects at a granular level. The National Audit Office published a value for money report on rail reform in 2024. We are focused on delivering long overdue reforms to the railway promised by the last Government, which will put the interests of passengers and taxpayers at the heart of our railway again.

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2025 to Question 92692 on South Western Railway: Rolling Stock, if she will publish in full the modelling and departmental assessments associated with the new rolling stock leases.

The Department's internal modelling draws upon a number of sources and data from third parties which is not publicly available and is commercially sensitive, and therefore unable to be released.

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2025 to Question 92677 on London North Eastern Railway: Fares, how many tickets introduced or sold under the LNER demand-based pricing trial for travel between 1 August and 12 December 2025 were priced higher than the equivalent previously available ticket types, broken down by( a) Semi-Flexible tickets and (b) Standard Advance tickets, for journeys from (i) London, (ii) Newcastle and (iii) Edinburgh.

The London North Eastern Railway (LNER) trial is making more flexible options available to passengers and making it easier for passengers who are able to travel at less busy times to benefit from cheaper tickets on less crowded trains. Through this trial, all tickets except the Flexible (formerly Anytime) ticket are priced according to demand. This means prices vary according to availability. Unlike the old super off-peak ticket, it is possible to purchase the Semi Flex ticket for what were previously peak times when the Anytime ticket was the only ticket available that had flexibility. Therefore, the relative pricing between super off-peak tickets and semi flexible tickets cannot be validly compared.The vast majority of passengers on routes covered by the trial will find Fixed or Semi-Flexible fares to be the same price or cheaper than the former super off-peak fare, and there are more Fixed fares available than before. For the specific period referenced, LNER has not published those statistics to date, although the period between 1 August and 12 December has also not yet concluded and therefore sales data is incomplete at this stage.

How her Department will measure the impact of the Railways Bill on private sector innovation in the rail industry; and what baseline data has been established to assess the impact of that Bill on levels of innovation.

Establishing GBR through the Railways Bill will provide an integrated approach and greater longer-term certainty for rail, giving the private sector the confidence it needs to invest and support innovation throughout the sector. The Railways Bill Impact Assessment provides an assessment of the potential impacts of the rail reform policies within the Railways Bill, including the impacts on Business Environment.

With reference to the consultation outcome entitled Lowering the minimum age requirement for train drivers from 20 to 18 – outcome, updated on 7 May 2025, when she plans to respond to the coordinated implementation plan submitted by the industry.

The Department intends to make an announcement shortly.

What steps her Department is taking to help prepare the maritime sector for the expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.

We are working closely with the sector as part of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Authority to ensure that maritime operators will be sufficiently prepared to join UK ETS from July next year.Regulators are running a voluntary onboarding period from next month which will help the sector engage with the ETS ahead of July and give them extra time to become familiar with how it works.Additionally, the Authority will allow for ‘double-surrender’ for maritime operators for the first two scheme years, giving maritime operators extra time to familiarise themselves with UK ETS, and the digital systems.