Written questions by Holden.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 Janaury 2026 to Question 104987, what forms of legislative modification a Harbour Revision Order is capable of making.

Harbour Revision Orders can amend, repeal, or consolidate existing harbour legislation.These take the form of works orders or non-works orders. Works orders authorise a project, starting works or other installations or schemes. Non-works orders typically alter harbour boundaries, modernise governance arrangements, borrowing powers, or management structures to improve efficiency.Any changes that are proposed must be consulted on and then must be considered and approved by the Marine Management Organisation, which is the body in that oversees this process in England.

What assessment she has made of the potential costs to port developers of setting target modal shares for rail or coastal shipping, as referenced in the draft National Policy Statement for Ports; and what further assessment she has made of how such targets would be designed to ensure that developers are not required to fund measures beyond those that are cost-effective and directly attributable to the development.

The costs of requirements and obligations for rail and/or coastal shipping can only be determined in the specific circumstances of individual applications for development consent. The draft National Policy Statement for Ports makes clear that such requirements should be directly related to the prospective impacts of the developments, and that while target modal shares may sometimes be appropriate, they are not automatically mandatory. The final text of the National Policy Statement for Ports will be published in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2026 to Question 101488, what information her Department holds on revenue lost due to fare evasion by individual train operating companies.

Deliberate fare evasion reduces revenue needed to support the railway and disadvantages passengers who pay the correct fare. The Department does not hold data on revenue lost to fare evasion at the level of individual train operating companies. Industry estimates from the Rail Delivery Group indicate that fraud and ticketless travel result in at least £350–£400 million in lost revenue annually. In June 2025, the Office for Rail and Road published its independent review of revenue protection practices. The Department has accepted the review’s recommendations in full and will publish its formal response shortly.

Since 1 January 2024, how many additional civil servants have been recruited into DfTO on a headcount basis; and for each quarter in the period January 2024 to the most recent quarter for which figures are available, what the net change in total civil service headcount has been at DfTO.

DFT Operator Limited (DFTO) is a public corporation. It is not a Crown employer and it does not employ civil servants.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104866, what is the expected month and year of publication of the new Plan for Freight.

The Government intends to publish the plan in spring this year.

With reference to page 19 of the Final stage impact assessment entitled UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Scope Expansion - Domestic maritime, published on 25 November 2025, for what reason no quantified analysis was undertaken on the regional and equalities impacts.

The Impact Assessment did not include quantified regional or equalities analysis because the available evidence did not support robust estimations of impacts at that level of granularity. The Assessment finds that compliance costs are modest relative to operators’ overall costs and, as a result, a qualitative assessment found that regional or distributional impacts are expected to be limited. The Government will review the maritime element of the United Kingdom Emissions Trading Scheme in 2028 with further consideration of regional or distributional impacts.

What estimate she has made of the costs to port developers of the requirement in paragraph 4.7.23 of the draft National Policy Statement for Ports to provide infrastructure to support alternative fuels and zero-emission HGVs.

The costs of providing appropriate infrastructure will be determined on a case-by-case basis as applications progress. The final text of the National Policy Statement for Ports will be published in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2026 to Question 100958, whether her Department (a) receives or (b) reviews data on the proportion of rail journeys using fully digital tickets for each train operating company owned or operated by DfT Operator Limited.

The Department does not receive or review data for journeys using digital ticketing for train operating companies owned or operated by DfT Operator Limited. The Department does have data for all industry digital ticketing but not broken down by journeys on specific train operating companies or owning groups.

What assessment the Department has made of the potential impact of higher electric vehicle repair costs on insurance premiums, and by when it expects its proposed battery health measures to reduce those costs for consumers.

The Government works closely with the insurance sector to ensure the transition to zero emission vehicles is sustainable and affordable. The setting of premiums is a commercial decision for individual insurers and the Government does not seek to control the market. The Government is exploring options to adopt battery health regulations which would provide consumers with clearer information on an electric vehicle’s remaining battery capacity. These measures would aim to raise consumer confidence in second-hand electric vehicle purchases.

Whether her Department has included the foregone Dartford Crossing toll revenues in the Lower Thames Crossing project’s cost–benefit analysis.

In line with departmental guidance, cost-benefit analysis for the Lower Thames Crossing is ongoing and incorporates potential impacts at the Dartford Crossing. These include the loss of toll revenue and the transfer of operations, maintenance and renewal costs to a new regulated private sector entity under the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model.

How many new buses were registered in the UK broken down by country of manufacture in each of the last 10 years.

Information regarding Buses & Coaches (including minibuses) registered for the first time in the UK by country of manufacture, as recorded by DVLA, from 2015 to 2024 can be found in the attached Excel document. Data, supplied by DVLA, regarding new registration of vehicles in the UK is unable to distinguish between Buses, Coaches, or other vehicles, with nine seats or more (excluding the driver), constructed for passenger carrying purposes.

Which driving test centres the DVSA have proposed for closure.

DVSA has no current plans to close any driving test centres.

How many practical car driving tests were conducted in (a) July 2024 and (b) each subsequent month up to the most recent month for which data is available.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) publishes data on the number of practical driving tests conducted on GOV.UK. The number of practical driving tests conducted by month, including from July 2024, is available on report DRT121G This data is updated monthly and currently shows data to January 2026.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Rail Delivery Groups' updated fare search limits on (a) passenger choice, (b) the cost of rail fares and (c) levels of passenger demand.

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) plays an important role in managing functions and services upon which train operators, retailers and passengers rely. The configuration of these systems is a matter for the RDG.

Whether the Royal Train will be treated as a Great British Railways service for the purposes of network access, charging and operational control once Great British Railways is established.

The 2024-2025 Sovereign Grant and Sovereign Grant Reserve Annual Reports and Accounts, published by the Royal Household, confirmed that the Royal Train will be decommissioned ahead of the current contract expiring in 2027, following a thorough review into its use and value for money. As such it will not become part of Great British Railways (GBR).

With reference to rail fares in England, what the average percentage change was between July 2024 and the current fares period for a) Advance fares b) First Class fares c) Super Off-Peak fares, and what methodology was used to calculate these averages.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) publishes annual statistics measuring the change in prices charged by train operating companies to rail passengers in Great Britain. The annual statistical release is presented by sector, ticket type, class and regulated status. The rail fares index statistical release includes the methodology that the ORR uses.

What the cost was of his Department's initiatives aimed at reducing official travel emissions in 2024–25, including behavioural programmes, reporting systems and policy compliance activity.

Records are not held that identify the cost of the Department's initiatives aimed at reducing official travel emissions including behavioural programmes, reporting systems and policy compliance activity.

For what reason the portrait of William Shakespeare was removed from the Pillared Room in 10 Downing Street.

The Government Art Collection is a working collection, used across government buildings in the UK and the global estate, which means that artworks may change their display location from time to time. The portrait was pre-planned to be moved by the Government Art Collection prior to the General Election in July 2024.

What the total cost to the British Business Bank was in 2024–25 of policies, programmes and staffing related to net zero, decarbonisation, sustainability or the green economy, broken down by a) programme expenditure, b) staffing costs and c) consultancy and professional services.

The British Business Bank does not record or allocate its costs based on thematic categories such as net zero, decarbonisation, sustainability or the green economy. Its programme expenditure, staffing costs, and consultancy and professional services are managed and reported with reference to the programme or business line to which they relate, rather than by policy objective. For this reason, the Bank is not in a position to provide a breakdown of costs for the year 2024–25 in the format requested.

Food and Rural Affairs, what consideration her Department has given to banning non-stun slaughter of animals.

Regulations require that animals must be stunned prior to slaughter so that they are unconscious and insensible to pain, and the only exception is where animals are slaughtered in accordance with religious rites. The Government would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter, but we respect the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs.