Written questions by Holden.

If she will support the financial resilience of small and medium-sized haulage businesses facing increased fuel and operating costs.

We regularly engage with road haulage industry associations and wider industry to understand the financial challenges faced by the sector including its small and medium sized businesses. At the Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced continued support for people and businesses by extending the temporary 5p fuel duty cut and cancelling the planned increase in line with inflation for 2025/26. HGVs will see an average saving of £1,100 in 2025/26.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Railways Bill on the coordination of services in London.

GBR will maintain and strengthen collaborative arrangements with Transport for London (TfL), recognising its role in operating London Overground and Elizabeth line services on the national network and supporting seamless journeys across modes. London is integral to the rail network: in April 2023 to March 2024, it accounted for 952 million passenger journeys, the highest of any region. We will continue to engage with TfL and the Greater London Authority on the organisational design of GBR to ensure effective coordination. The design of GBR is being developed alongside the passage of this legislation.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Railways Bill on private sector innovation within the rail industry.

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. In addition, open access operators can bring benefits to the rail network and passengers and will continue to play a role in delivering services where it represents best use of the network.

Whether she plans to introduce additional independent oversight mechanisms beyond the Office of Rail and Road.

GBR will be required to deliver transparently. As the single shareholder of GBR, the Transport Secretary will have oversight of GBR, supported by independent monitoring and scrutiny by ORR. An independent Passenger Watchdog will also ensure passenger interests are clearly represented.

What steps she plans to take to ensure that track access charges for operators outside Great British Railways remain based on the direct operating costs incurred by the infrastructure manager.

Clause 64 of the Bill sets a clear legal requirement for charges to be set at the cost that is directly incurred to cover the operating costs incurred by the GBR, subject to exclusions on discounts and mark-ups. GBR will establish a charging framework that must be consistent with its duties and functions set out in legislation.

With reference to the press notice entitled Mirror, signal, manoeuvres: Military driving examiners mobilised to cut test backlog, published on 12 November 2025, what the total full-time employee equivalent contribution of the defence driving examiners is expected to be during the year of their deployment.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has agreed with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) that 36 defence driving examiners (DDE) will do driving tests for one day a week for 12 months. This equates to a total full-time employee equivalent contribution of up to 6,500 more tests during the year of their deployment. The DDE will predominantly focus on car driving tests but will have the flexibility to do vocational testing as well if needed.

Whether manufacturers who have not signed up to the (a) Science Based Targets Initiative and (b) Zero Emission Vehicles Declaration will be eligible for the Electric Car Grant.

The Electric Car Grant requires manufacturers to hold a verified Science Based Target (SBT) from the Science Based Target Initiative. Vehicles made by manufacturers who do not hold either a verified near-term or net-zero SBT will not be eligible for the Electric Car Grant (ECG). The Zero Emission Vehicles Declaration is not a specific requirement of the ECG. The Science Based Target Initiative is an independent body responsible for setting the requirements for new SBT targets and accreditation.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2025 to Question 85919 on South Western Railway: Personnel Management, whether the same company continues to manage payroll services for South Western Railway following its transfer into public ownership; and what the company's name is.

South Western Railway (SWR) has managed its payroll services internally following the transfer to public ownership. It is not outsourcing this service, therefore it is SWR that is responsible for its payroll services.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87421 on Rolling Stock: Leasing, on what terms South Western Railway’s rolling stock leasing arrangements were transferred into public ownership; and what the cost to the public purse is of those arrangements.

South Western Railway’s (SWR) rolling stock leases had the same end dates as the operator’s National Rail Contract, 25 May 2025. Rolling stock leases were negotiated and awarded alongside the transfer of SWR’s operations into public ownership. Details can be found on the Government’s Find a Tender website.The Department had been aware of the details of SWR’s rolling stock leases from when they were first put in place. The expected costs of renewing the lease were therefore already recognised in expected future budget requirements for SWR.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 84700 on Road Traffic Control: Oxford, how much the DVLA has received from (a) Oxford City Council and (b) Oxfordshire County Council, or their agents who operate their car parks, in payments for personal details relating to number plates, to date in (i) 2023-4, (ii) 2024-25 and (iii) to date in 2025-26.

Some local authorities use intermediary companies which request data on behalf of the local authority and pass on the cost. While limited information may be available about intermediary companies that may request vehicle keeper data on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council or Oxford City Council, it can only be extracted and provided at disproportionate cost.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Electric Car Grant scheme on market competition.

The Department completed an internal impact assessment for the Electric Car Grant’s potential impact on the UK market.Officials will continue to monitor the grant and its impact, to ensure the scheme meets its objectives and assess its ongoing value for money.

What guidance her Department has provided to local authorities on 10mph speed limits.

Decisions on making local speed limits on roads in England rest with traffic authorities who have responsibility for roads in local areas. The Department for Transport issues best practice guidance to assist authorities setting local speed limits, designed to make sure that speed limits are appropriately and consistently set while allowing for flexibility to deal with local circumstances.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87426 on Railways: Essex, what estimate her Department has made of the capital cost of electrifying the branch between London Gateway and Thames Haven Junction.

As per the answer of 11th November, 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.

Whether the former Secretary of State for Transport (the Hon Member for Sheffield Heeley) received and accepted a Ministerial severance payment.

Information relating to Ministerial severance payments are published in the annual DfT accounts.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2024 to Question 85351, whether the Government plans to publish the individual scheme costs for Strategic Road Network projects as part of the third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3), in line with the Answer of 23 July 2024 to Question 67864.

The third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) will include a total funding line for all enhancements to the strategic road network to be delivered during the period 2026-2031.

When she expects her Department to issue a response to the call for evidence on a 2040 zero emissions airport target that was published in May 2023.

The Government is committed to delivering greener transport and supporting its missions to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower. We are making great strides in transitioning to greener aviation, including work on sustainable aviation fuels, airspace modernisation, and low-emission technologies. We are considering what role an airport decarbonisation target could play as part of our broader approach to decarbonising aviation. We will set out the next steps in due course.

What plans her Department has to promote the uptake of electric vehicles at rental installations on airport sites.

The Department engages actively with airport operators and infrastructure users, including rental companies, to support the provision of accessible EV charging infrastructure at major transport hubs. We will continue to facilitate discussions between operators and charging infrastructure users.

Whether she has produced an impact assessment for the Electric Car Grant criteria.

The Department has completed an internal impact assessment for the Electric Car Grant. Officials will continue to monitor the grant and its impact, to ensure the scheme meets its objectives and assess its ongoing value for money.

Whether it is her Department's policy for all airport operations in England to be zero emission by 2040.

The Government is committed to delivering greener transport and supporting its missions to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower. We are making great strides in transitioning to greener aviation, including work on sustainable aviation fuels, airspace modernisation, and low-emission technologies. We are considering what role an airport decarbonisation target could play as part of our broader approach to decarbonising aviation. We will set out the next steps in due course.

With reference to the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill, what is the policy rationale for legislating for byelaws which can ban vaping outside bus stops.

The Government is committed to tackling anti-social behaviour on the bus network. The Bus Services Act 2025 provides Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) with the power to create byelaws, should they wish to do so, and deploy officers who can deal with low level anti-social behaviour and fare evasion on buses. These measures give LTAs greater flexibility to ensure that passengers feel safe and will make it easier for LTAs to prevent behaviours such as vaping, smoking and causing a nuisance on their bus networks. It will be up to LTAs to decide which behaviours they most need to target with these powers and the Government will be publishing guidance for LTAs which will emphasise the need for