Every parliamentary written question tabled by Richard Holden this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 641–660 of 1,046 · Department for Transport
Pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2025 to Question 77643 on London Underground: Strikes, for what reason her Department met with Transport for London on 8 September 2025.
To confirm the Answer of 27 October 2025 to Question 84702, the meeting referred to took place on 11 September 2025. Ministers and officials have regular meetings with Transport for London to discuss a variety of issues including any continuing industrial action on the London transport network.
How many Departures from Standard have been granted to permit the replacement of life-expired steel barrier with further steel barrier in the last two years; and what the kilometre length is of steel barrier covered by those departures.
A total of four Departures from Standards have been granted to permit the replacement of life-expired steel barrier with further steel barrier in the last two years, covering a total length of 12.22km.
Whether it is her Department's policy that 50% of journeys in towns and cities should be walked or cycled by 2030.
The second Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, which ended in March 2025, included an objective that 50% of short journeys in towns and cities should be walked or cycled by 2030. The consultation on the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy was launched on the 3rd November and seeks the views of stakeholders on a national vision, statutory objectives and underlying performance indicators. The shape of the final strategy, intended to be published next year, including future targets, will be informed by the responses to the consultation.
Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of Chiltern Railways’ decision to adopt driver-only operation on the Oxford to Milton Keynes section of East West Rail on the future operating framework for Great British Railways (GBR); and whether GBR plans to implement this on other parts of the network.
In line with the Government's priorities for rail reform, the design work for the future of rail services in Britain is focused on improvements for passengers, better value for taxpayers and the key themes of reliability, affordability, efficiency, quality, accessibility and safety. We will continue to engage with the industry on our plans for GBR.
How many kilometres of life-expired steel barrier have been replaced with concrete barrier on the Strategic Road Network in each of the last four years excluding upgrades delivered through the Smart Motorways Programme and the Smart Motorways Alliance; and what her projection is for steel-to-concrete barrier replacement outside the smart motorway programme in 2025–26.
Through its renewals programme, National Highways has delivered 52.6 kilometres of concrete barrier over the last four years and are projecting to deliver a further 14 kilometres of concrete barrier in 2025-26. This is excluding upgrades delivered through the Smart Motorways Programme and Smart Motorways Alliance. A breakdown of National Highways’ delivery over the four-year period: 2021-222022-232023-242024-25RIS2 TotalConcrete Barrier (KM)3.19.813.626.152.6
With reference to the Interim Settlement: Investment and Management of the Strategic Road Network from April 2025 to March 2026, what the estimated quantity is of life-expired steel barrier that will be replaced with concrete barrier as part of the delivery of 261 kilometres of vehicle restraint systems.
For the Interim Settlement period of 2025-2026, National Highways are currently forecasting to deliver 14 kilometres of concrete barrier replacing life-expired steel barrier.
Pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 83389 on Transport: Exhaust Emissions, if she will provide a breakdown of the remaining 33.7MtCO₂e by mode, including (a) HGVs, (b) buses and coaches, (c) rail, (d) domestic and international aviation attributable to the UK, (e) domestic shipping, and (f) other transport sources.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero publishes estimates of UK greenhouse gas emissions annually. The most recent accredited official statistics cover the period 1990 to 2023 and are available online as part of the UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions statistics.
What the estimated cost to the public purse is of UK transport-sector decarbonisation policies relating to (a) the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate for cars and vans, (b) HGV decarbonisation programmes, (c) bus and coach decarbonisation schemes and (d) sustainable aviation fuel and wider aviation decarbonisation initiatives by mode.
The transition to zero emission vehicles, including cars, vans and HGVs, received £1.8bn in the spending review settlement, which is additional to the £320m allocated at Autumn Budget 2024.£40m was allocated for zero emission bus projects through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) Scheme at Autumn Budget 2024.£63m in 2025/2026 will support Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production in the UK through the Advanced Fuels Fund. Further support is committed through the next SR period to 2029/30 – the parameters of this funding will be published in due course.The SAF Revenue Certainty Mechanism will be industry funded.The Government has announced up to £2.3bn of funding over ten years to extend the Aerospace Technology Institute Programme to 2035. The programme supports industry led projects including the development of new low and zero carbon aircraft.
When her Department last met (a) the Mayor of Greater Manchester, (b) combined authorities and (c) other local authorities to discuss potential reforms to taxi licensing across local authority boundaries; when her Department last met (i) local authority's children’s services, (ii) police forces and (iii) local safeguarding partnerships to discuss the risks identified in chapter 7 of Baroness Casey's independent report entitled National audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse, published on 16 June 2025; and what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of the Mayor of Greater Manchester's campaign entitled Backing our taxis: local, licensed, trusted on public safety and out-of-area licensing.
Department for Transport Ministers and officials meet regularly with a range of stakeholders and discuss various issues relating to taxi and private hire vehicle licensing policy. The Department is aware of the Mayor of Greater Manchester’s campaign entitled “Backing our taxis: local, licensed, trusted”. The public should be safe in taxis and private hire vehicles regardless of where they live or travel. The Government has tabled an amendment to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill that would enable national minimum standards to be set for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing. National minimum standards would enable Government to set a strong baseline for licensing right across England, to keep vulnerable children and indeed all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel.
Pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2025 to Question 84696 on Shipping: Investment, when her Department plans to publish the competition scopes and assessment criteria for the maritime funding programme.
The Department plans to launch the next round of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition and the Zero Emission and Vessel Infrastructure competition in Spring 2026.
Further to the £616 million capital allocation for active travel announced on 3 November, if she will publish a breakdown of that funding by programme, scheme and spending category, including the amount allocated to each and the expected outputs or purposes for which those allocations are intended.
In the Spending Review we announced that we are allocating £616 million for Active Travel England from 2026-27 to 2029-30 to support local authorities to build and maintain walking and cycling infrastructure. Further details concerning specific programmes and revenue funding will be announced in due course.
A) what steps her Department is taking to ensure consistent national safeguarding standards for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing, including (i) DBS checks, (ii) knowledge and safeguarding tests and (iii) the use of in-vehicle CCTV; b) whether her Department collects data on (i) the number of licences issued by each authority, (ii) the proportion issued to drivers residing outside that authority area, and (iii) the number of drivers operating predominantly beyond the area where they are licensed; and c) what assessment her Department has made of the approach taken by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council in retrospectively applying enhanced licensing standards, and whether it plans to encourage or mandate similar practices nationally.
On Tuesday 18 November, the Government tabled an amendment to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill to seek a power for the Secretary of State to set in regulations the national minimum standards for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing. These standards would be subject to consultation and would be primarily focused on passenger safety and accessibility. This would mean that wherever they are travelling in England, passengers can be reassured that the drivers of any taxi or private hire vehicle service they are using are subject to robust safeguarding standards. If agreed by Parliament, it would be possible for national standards to be applied to existing licence holders. The Department has published data about the number of licences issued by each licensing authority. This can be viewed at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/taxi-and-private-hire-vehicle-statistics-england-2024 The Department does not collect data on where licensed taxi or private hire vehicle drivers reside or on the number of taxi or private hire vehicle journeys that take place outside of the area in which the drivers are licensed. Licensing authorities may hold this information. The Department recognises the good work carried out by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council following the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse to improve their taxi and private hire vehicle licensing functions.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of i) timetable planning, ii) signalling and iii) freight pathing margins on barrier down-times at level crossings; and how Network Rail monitors and reports performance experienced by road users at level crossings.
Network Rail is responsible for assessing the impact of timetable changes, freight paths and upgrades to signalling on level crossing down-time, as part of its overall management of level crossings on the rail network. These arrangements are kept under review, to ensure crossings remain safe for all users while minimising the impact on communities where practicable.
What estimate she has made of the potential impact of biodiversity net gain requirements on the cost of non completed strategic road network improvement projects since the implementation of the relevant legislation, by schemes within Road Investment Strategy (a) two and (b) three.
Mandatory biodiversity net gain requirements for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects will apply from May 2026. The 16 National Highways road enhancement schemes that already have development consent, along with one scheme awaiting a decision expected in February 2026, are not therefore within scope of mandatory biodiversity net gain.
Pursuant to Question 88884, how much income has been collected by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency by providing vehicle registered keeper details in 2025.
The table below shows the income received in the calendar year 2025 and financial year 2025/26. Income collected from the release of keeper detailsCalendar year 1 January to 31 October 2025£36,694,204.23Financial year 25/26 1 April to 31 October 2025£27,536,357.11 The £2.50 fee is set to recover the cost of providing the information and ensures that the cost is borne by the requester, not passed on to the taxpayer. In line with Managing Public Money, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency reviews its fees regularly to ensure that fees are set to recover the costs of providing the service.
Whether her Department holds information on a) the average barrier down-time at each public highway level crossing in England, b) the five crossings with the longest average down-times in the most recent year, and c) the frequency with which barriers remain down for more than ten minutes at any location.
The Department does not hold this information.
What performance indicators her Department uses to assess level-crossing down-time; whether she plans to introduce maximum permitted barrier down-time standards; and if she will publish annual statistics on average barrier down-times at level crossings.
My Department does not use performance indicators to assess down-time at level crossings, nor does it plan to publish annual statistics on these. These decisions are the responsibility of Network Rail, which has a statutory duty to ensure the safe management of Britain’s railway infrastructure, and reflect the specific conditions at each level crossing.
With reference to chapter 7 and recommendation 11 of Baroness Casey's independent report entitled National audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse, published on 16 June 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of taxi and private hire vehicle drivers operating outside of the local authority in which they are licensed on the level of risk of child sexual exploitation; what steps her Department has taken to tackle taxi and private hire vehicle drivers operating outside of the local authority in which they are licensed; and if she will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent taxi and private hire vehicle drivers from operating predominantly outside of the local authority in which they are licensed.
The Department has been actively looking at safeguarding and regulatory reform in relation to taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs). Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse added valuable evidence to this ongoing work.The English Devolution White Paper, published in December last year, committed to consult on making all Local Transport Authorities, including Strategic Authorities, responsible for taxi and PHV licensing. Administering taxi and PHV licensing over larger areas could increase consistency and efficiency in taxi and PHV licensing across England, reduce out-of-area working and better match licensing revenue and compliance and enforcement burdens. The consultation will be launched soon. The Government response to Baroness Casey’s National Audit committed to legislate to address the important issues raised, tackling the inconsistent standards of taxi and PHV driver licensing. On Tuesday 18 November, the Government tabled an amendment to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill to seek a power for the Secretary of State to set in regulations national minimum standards for taxi and PHV licensing. These standards would be subject to consultation and would be primarily focused on passenger safety and accessibility. This would mean that wherever the public live or travel any taxi or PHV service they use would be subject to robust standards. The power was approved by the Commons at Report Stage and the Bill will now move to the Lords. The Department continues to consider further options for reform, including out-of-area working and enforcement. We need to ensure that taxis and PHVs are able to work in a way that facilitates the journeys passengers want and need to make, in a consistently safe way, whilst achieving the best overall outcomes for passenger safety.
How many driving test centres recorded the maximum waiting time of 24 weeks for a practical car driving test in each month from July 2023 to October 2025; and if he will list those centres.
The national average waiting time for a car practical driving test in October 2025 was 21.9 weeks. There were four test centres in total where the waiting time for a practical car driving test was 24 weeks for each month from July 2023 to October 2025. Those test centres are Bletchley, Goodmayes, Pinner and Wanstead.
Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78713 on Driving Tests: Waiting Lists, what the national average car driving test waiting time was in weeks in October 2025.
The national average waiting time for a car practical driving test in October 2025 was 21.9 weeks. There were four test centres in total where the waiting time for a practical car driving test was 24 weeks for each month from July 2023 to October 2025. Those test centres are Bletchley, Goodmayes, Pinner and Wanstead.