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 1,001–1,020 of 1,056 · Department for Transport
Pursuant to the Answer of 4 September 2025 to Question 71270 on Aviation: Fares, what her Department's policy is on airlines using (a) individualized and (b) surveillance pricing when setting air fares.
The UK aviation market operates predominantly in the private sector. The cost of air fares is therefore determined by airlines, but airlines must always be compliant with competition and consumer protection laws when setting fares.
With reference to her Department's press releases entitled (a) London to Essex c2c services return to public control in step towards Great British Railways, published on 18 July 2025 and (b) New dawn for rail as South Western services return to public hands, published on 25 May 2025, what the rigorous performance standards are that each of the public sector operators will have to meet; when she plans to publish details of those performance standards; and whether those standards are outlined to companies before nationalisation takes place.
The standards will be set out in due course.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of a licensing authority taking an extended period of time to accept or reject a private hire vehicle licence application.
The Department for Transport’s best practice guidance to licensing authorities in England is clear that all authorities should consider how best to deliver the statutory function of taxi and private hire vehicle licensing. Providing an efficient licensing system benefits both those in the trade and those wishing to enter it, and passengers through greater choice and availability of services.
What assessment she has made of the level of variation in the time taken to complete private hire vehicle licence applications across local authorities in England.
The Department for Transport’s best practice guidance to licensing authorities in England is clear that all authorities should consider how best to deliver the statutory function of taxi and private hire vehicle licensing. Providing an efficient licensing system benefits both those in the trade and those wishing to enter it, and passengers through greater choice and availability of services.
If she will take steps to improve transparency in the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s decision‑making process for over‑70s driving licence renewals; and what weightings are given to recent eyesight tests conducted by qualified opticians when assessing over-70s driving licence renewals.
Information about renewing a driving licence at the age of 70 and over and eyesight tests for driver licensing is available online at:https://www.gov.uk/driving-eyesight-ruleshttps://www.gov.uk/eye-conditions-and-drivingRenew your driving licence if you're 70 or over - GOV.UK.
If she could publish a breakdown of the Government's £4.5 billion spend on the transition to electric vehicles by (a) scheme and (b) year.
The Government is investing over £4.5 billion to help industry and consumers transition to zero emission vehicles. Following the Spending Review, the Government committed £1.8 billion in investment to decarbonise road transport from 2026-27 to 2029-30. This includes £1.4 billion to support the continued uptake of zero emission vehicles, including vans and HGVs, and £400 million to support the rollout of charging infrastructure. The £400m includes funding for charging along the strategic road network in England, charging infrastructure to facilitate the deployment of zero emission vans and HGVs, and existing grants.In financial year 2025/26, £320m was made available at the Autumn Statement in 2024 to support investment in charging infrastructure and the uptake of zero emission vehicles. A further £2.5 billion has been made available to industry through the DRIVE35 programme.
Whether her Department has a policy on airlines using (a) individualized and (b) surveillance pricing when setting air fares.
The UK aviation market operates predominantly in the private sector with the cost of flights determined by airlines according to a range of factors. The Minister for Aviation and officials from the Department for Transport meet regularly with airlines to discuss a range of topics, including pricing. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has statutory competition functions in relation to airline markets. In addition, the CMA and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) both have responsibilities for enforcing consumer protections relating to price transparency, contract terms and passenger rights, including those during flight disruption.
Pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2025 to Question HL9412 on Heathrow Airport: Planning Permission, what the provisional timetable is for the review of the Airports National Policy Statement; and what her planned target date is for (a) publication for consultation and (b) ratification by Parliament of a revised National Policy Statement.
The Government published a letter to potential promoters inviting proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer. The Government is now assessing the proposals against the criteria set out in the letter. Once this is complete the Government will move quickly to review the Airports National Policy Statement. We cannot speculate on the timings of the review at this stage, however when conducting the review, the Secretary of State will comply with the requirements in the Planning Act 2008, including consultation, publicity and parliamentary requirements.
What role (a) her Department and (b) its agencies will play in making agreements with trade unions on the nationalised railways.
As the employers, Network Rail and individual train operators, including those owned by DfT Operator Ltd, are responsible for negotiating agreements with the trade unions, under established collective bargaining arrangements. The future role of Great British Railways in this process has still to be determined.
What information (a) her Department and (b) Great British Railways holds on (i) the trade union agreements with each railway operator and (ii) the operating practices on employees rights in each railway operator.
The Department for Transport does not hold any records of individual trade union agreements or operating practices relating to employee rights for each individual railway operator. These matters are managed directly by the operators themselves. Great British Railways does not currently exist as a statutory body and therefore holds no such information.
What plans she has to support the roll out of automated train operation technology on (a) rail, (b) light rail, (c) Tube and (d) metro lines.
There are already a number of automated systems currently in use on various networks, the most notable being the Docklands Light Railway. Semi-automated systems are also operational on parts of Thameslink, the Elizabeth line and several London Underground lines. Further roll out would be subject to a full assessment of regulatory, technical and operational factors.
Whether she plans to adopt working parking taxes.
The power to introduce a workplace parking levy sits with the local traffic authority.
What substantive proposals her Department received relating to the construction of a third runway at Heathrow, other than from (a) Heathrow Airport Limited and (b) the Arora Group; and from which organisations.
The Department received seven proposals for consideration through a structured internal assessment process.The assessment process is designed to ensure that each proposal is examined carefully and consistently against the criteria set out in the Secretary of State’s 30 June letter. This includes a review of the proposals’ overall feasibility, their timelines, the costs and revenues associated with the scheme, details of the scheme’s financing and funding, the environmental impacts and mitigations, and deliverability of the scheme.While we are not disclosing the names of promoters or details of their proposals at this stage, a further update will be provided in due course.
With reference to the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority's Annual Report 2024–25, published on 11 August 2025, for what reason no evaluation was completed for the East Coast Mainline programme.
The Department has continued to work closely with Network Rail and industry stakeholders on development of the recast East Coast Main Line timetable, planned for introduction this December. This timetable will realise the benefits of the investment made through the Enhancements Programme, and so discussions are ongoing with the Department’s Research and Evaluation team, and NISTA, to develop a suitable Evaluation Plan for the Programme once the final details of the timetable have been formally confirmed.
What guidance (a) Network Rail, (b) her Department and its agencies and (c) Great British Railways have produced on trade union facility time for railways staff.
Facility time arrangements are matters for individual rail employers and the trade unions to agree, in accordance with trade union and labour relations legislation.
What steps her Department has taken to strengthen guidance to help ensure bus lanes operate only (a) when buses are running and (b) when traffic is heavy enough to cause delay to buses.
It is for local authorities to decide whether bus lanes are appropriate on their network, and to set the times of operation. The Department published Local Transport Note 1/24: Bus User Priority in March 2024 which includes advice on all aspects of bus priority including the design of bus lanes and their times of operation. LTN 1/24 is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-user-priority-ltn-124.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the cancellation of the THINK! Road Safety communications campaign on road (a) injuries and (b) fatalities.
The Department continues to run the THINK! Campaign. In 2025/26 it has delivered a paid campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of drink driving and will continue to prioritise budget where it can have the most impact. The THINK! campaign has successful cut through and trust among young drivers. We consistently see high claimed action taken, including changing driving behaviour, and positive shifts in attitudes towards priority issues including drink driving and speeding. THINK! also promotes key road safety messages across its social channels and via ongoing radio advertising. The partner-led platform, THINK! 0%, continues to encourage drivers to always opt for 0% over an alcoholic drink if they’re getting behind the wheel. Assets are also made available for stakeholders and partners to promote. THINK! also supports road safety education for children via free resources for schools, parents and local authorities. The Government treats road safety seriously, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. We continue to adapt and evolve our campaign strategy and will consider any requirements aligned to the future Road Safety Strategy.
Whether the nationalised railways will be subject to (a) the Freedom of Information and (b) Environmental Information Regulations regimes.
Great British Railways will be subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 in accordance with the statutory provisions that apply to public authorities. This means that information held by these bodies can, in general, be requested under these regimes, subject to the usual exemptions and exceptions.
How much her Department has spent on (a) designing, (b) producing and (c) installing posters on departmental workstreams for its headquarters in London since 4 July 2024.
Since 4 July 2024, the Department for Transport has made no spend on designing posters to promote departmental workstreams in London offices. Costs of producing and installing posters are covered by the fixed cost of the total Facilities Management contract.
Pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2025 to Question 64502 on Road Traffic Control: Oxford, whether DVLA will be providing vehicle registration data to (a) Oxfordshire County Council and (b) Oxford City Council to facilitate the penalty notice enforcement of the Oxford traffic filters from 2026.
The law allows the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to make information about UK vehicles and their registered keepers available for use by a local authority for any purpose connected with the investigation of an offence. The law also allows the DVLA to make this information available to a local authority in England and Wales when that local authority is acting as an enforcement authority under Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004. These provisions would apply to Oxfordshire County Council and Oxfordshire City Council in the usual way.