Written questions by Holden.

What criteria her Department uses to assess the value for money of devolved transport funding allocations to mayoral combined authorities.

Mayoral Combined Authorities (MSAs) in receipt of devolved City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) and Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlements are required to assess the value for money of schemes against Green Book guidance as part of their business case development. In addition, certain schemes that reach defined thresholds are retained with additional scrutiny provided by the Department.

How many senior executive roles at Great British Railways have been appointed at salaries exceeding £150,000 per annum.

No senior executive appointments have been made to Great British Railways, as it does not exist yet.

Whether any mayoral combined authorities have requested flexibility in the use of devolved transport funds allocated through the 2025 Spending Review.

As City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) and Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlements funding is devolved, the programme already affords Mayoral Combined Authorities (MSAs) flexibility in the use of funds to support local needs and strategic aims. From April 2026, six MSAs will receive CRSTS and TCR as part of an Integrated Settlement providing greater flexibility. The Department will continue to engage with MSAs as they develop their programmes.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the electric vehicle grant on employment in the automotive manufacturing sector.

The Electric Car Grant supports sustainably manufactured electric vehicles, which the UK automotive sector is well placed to benefit from. The Government is supporting domestic manufacturers, which directly employ 132,000 people, to transition to zero emission technology with the £2.5 billion DRIVE35 programme, part of the UK’s modern Industrial Strategy.

How much funding from the HGV Parking and Driver Welfare Fund was contractually committed to specific projects as of 1 October 2025.

The total amount of funding contractually committed to improvement projects for the HGV Parking Matched Funding Grant Scheme, as of 1st October, is £13,849,303.45. The scheme held three windows (each open approximately 8 weeks) for which the financial breakdown is recorded per window rather than financial years. Application window openedTotal awardedTotal - spend to dateWindow 1 - Nov 2022£5,427,497.05£4,654,503.89Window 2 - Sept 2023£4,778,778.09£4,156,025.66Window 3 - May 2024£3,643,028.31£1,361,536.83Overall MFGS£13,849,303.45.£10,172,066.38

Whether the review of powered mobility devices will consider (a) restricting and (b) prohibiting the use of mobility scooters on pavements.

Mobility scooters and powered wheelchairs are already legally restricted to 4 miles per hour on pavements. As part of the powered mobility device review, we intend to consult publicly to ensure everyone has the opportunity to give their views and make sure the regulations are designed with, and not for, disabled people. The safety of all users who rely on a powered mobility device, pedestrians and other road users will be a key consideration in the review.

Whether her Department has made an estimate of projected administrative savings from consolidating train operating companies under Great British Railways.

The Government expects to make efficiencies and savings through public ownership of rail services and from rail reform with the creation of Great British Railways. This means that the rail passenger services subsidy will reduce over the period covered by the Spending Review 2025. Moreover, Great British Railways will deliver the integration and cost-saving benefits that come with overseeing both infrastructure and service delivery together in a single organisation.

Whether her Department has set a maximum proportion of devolved transport funds that may be used for (a) programme management and (b) administration costs in the 2025-26 financial year.

For the financial year 2025/26, the Department secured and allocated a City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) revenue resource funding (RDEL) uplift of £93 million for the nine recipient Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSAs), which was confirmed by the Department in January this year. This devolved funding is for MSAs to build capacity and capability within their organisations, in order to support the delivery of their CRSTS programmes, as well as manage the transition between CRSTS and the next five-year Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlement period from April 2027 to March 2032.

What mechanisms her Department uses to ensure consistency in (a) data reporting and (b) financial control between Great British Railways and devolved transport bodies.

The creation of Great British Railways (GBR) will bring about changes in the way that rail services are managed, and in the way rail operates as a whole. In its role as the ‘directing mind’, GBR will integrate track and train at a local level to better deliver for passengers, taxpayers, and freight customers and to unlock growth. Given GBR is not yet established, detailed work on its design, implementation, and interactions with other bodies remains underway.

With reference to the press release entitled Biggest ever investment in city region local transport as Chancellor vows the 'Renewal of Britain', published on 4 June 2025, how much and what proportion of the funding announced for local transport projects has been allocated to each mayoral combined authority.

Allocations for each Mayoral Strategic Authority were confirmed in June and published on gov.uk. online.

Pursuant to the the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 71272 Lower Thames Crossing, for what reason no evaluation of the Lower Thames Crossing was completed prior to approval of the Full Business Case; and whether any interim assessments have been undertaken by (a) her Department and (b) the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority.

The Full Business Case (FBC) for the scheme has not yet been developed. Decisions on the scheme remain subject to the Department’s established governance and assurance processes. These include rigorous internal scrutiny and oversight mechanisms, as well as engagement with external assurance bodies, including the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA).

Whether her Department has set targets for growth in rail freight volumes between 2025 and 2030.

The Government is committed to supporting rail freight growth, recognising its significant economic and environmental benefits, as well as the role it plays in the UK’s resilience. We have confirmed that there will be an overall target of a 75% increase in rail freight moved by 2050. More granular growth targets for GBR will follow in due course. For the current Control Period 7 (2024 to 2029) Network Rail have a regulated growth target of 7.5% increase in freight moved. In the first year, statistics from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) reported a 5% increase.

How much her Department has spent through the HGV Parking and Driver Welfare Fund in each year since 2021.

The total amount of funding contractually committed to improvement projects for the HGV Parking Matched Funding Grant Scheme, as of 1st October, is £13,849,303.45. The scheme held three windows (each open approximately 8 weeks) for which the financial breakdown is recorded per window rather than financial years. Application window openedTotal awardedTotal - spend to dateWindow 1 - Nov 2022£5,427,497.05£4,654,503.89Window 2 - Sept 2023£4,778,778.09£4,156,025.66Window 3 - May 2024£3,643,028.31£1,361,536.83Overall MFGS£13,849,303.45.£10,172,066.38

Whether she plans to raise rail fares above the rate of inflation; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of any such increase on (a) passengers and (b) the economy.

No decisions have been made on next year’s rail fares, but our aim is that prices balance affordability for both passengers and taxpayers. There will be an update on changes to regulated rail fares in due course.

Whether her Department will use the same performance metrics as were applied under private operation under public ownership of Greater Anglia; and if she will publish those metrics on (a) punctuality, (b) cancellations, (c) passenger satisfaction and (d) financial efficiency.

While train operating companies will be measured on a similar basis, there will be a greater whole-industry focus for the growing group of public sector operators as we move towards GBR. GA Trains Limited will be required to meet targets for punctuality, reliability, service quality and customer satisfaction under the Services Agreement, and will be required to publish its performance against these targets on a regular basis.

With reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 13 October 2025 on Transfer of Greater Anglia’s Services into Public Ownership, HCWS949, whether her Department plans to (a) define and (b) publish guidance on best practice across publicly-owned train operating companies; and who will be responsible for monitoring compliance with those standards.

Ahead of the establishment of Great British Railways, public sector operators are managed by Department for Transport Operator Limited (DFTO), the Government’s public sector owning group. As more services move into public ownership, DFTO will be able to identify and share examples of what works well among public sector operators, in turn driving improvement across the railways.

What estimate her Department has made of the proportion of the 300,000 public chargepoints required by 2030 that will come from the installation of the 100,000 local chargepoints announced on 13 June 2025.

An estimate of potential UK future demand for chargepoints was originally published in the 2022 “Taking Charge: the National Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy” and ranged from 280,000 to 720,000 in 2030. This analysis was updated in 2024 resulting in a range of 250,000 to 550,000 in 2030. While the precise number of public chargepoints needed is uncertain, the majority of these will be delivered by industry. The Government’s LEVI Fund will support the installation of at least 100,000 chargepoints across England, nearly all in addition to over 86,000 publicly available chargepoints to date.

What the total amount of public funding committed to electric vehicle charging infrastructure to date is; and what estimate her Department has made of the average cost per operational public chargepoint delivered.

In the 2025 Spending Review £400 million of capital funding was allocated to support the rollout of charging infrastructure in the four financial years from 2026/27 to 2029/30. The cost of deploying public chargepoints varies widely due to a range of factors including location, speed, anticipated utilisation, and grid connection costs, with many chargepoints delivered without any public funding. Where funding is provided, we monitor average public chargepoint costs via data from DfT grants to ensure value for money for the taxpayer. The Government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund has been designed to minimise cost to the public by encouraging local authorities to leverage significant private investment.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of public electric vehicle chargepoints that will be installed in each year between 2025 and 2030.

An estimate of potential future demand for chargepoints was originally published in the 2022 “Taking Charge: the National Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy” and ranged from 280,000 to 720,000 in 2030. This analysis was updated in 2024 resulting in a range of 250,000 to 550,000 in 2030. Both the 2024 NAO ‘public chargepoints for electric vehicles’ report, which presents annual projections out to 2030, and the Climate Change Committee 2025 Progress report, concluded that rollout to date is on track.

With reference to the press notice entitled New dawn for rail as South Western services return to public hands, published on 25 May 2025, on what evidential basis her Department calculated that public ownership of railways would save £150 million from the public purse; and if she will publish (a) the categories of fees that are no longer payable and (b) the estimated value of each fee category.

Private sector train operating companies are paid fixed and performance-based fees are set out in their National Rail Contracts with the Department. Operations are being transferred into public ownership as their National Rail Contract expire, meaning these fees will no longer be applicable once services have transferred. This saving is estimated to be up to £150million per annum once all franchised contracts have expired, with a proportion of these savings achieved each year in the interim as individual operators’ services transfer.