Written questions by Holden.

Which UK automotive manufacturers and tier-one suppliers Ministers and officials have met to discuss the provisions of the Employment Rights Bill since 1 July 2024; on what dates those meetings took place; and what sector-specific concerns were raised.

The Government is committed to engaging closely with employers throughout the development and implementation of Make Work Pay. Officials meet regularly with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders to discuss the Employment Rights Bill, as well as other bodies representing automotive manufacturers and suppliers, such as Make UK, the largest representative of UK manufacturers. There is also regular engagement through the Auto Council’s Skills Working Group.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87431 on Congenital Abnormalities, what consanguinity data NHS England collects through the Maternity Services Data Set; what assessment he has made of the completeness and reliability of those data; and whether he has reviewed that information in his Department.

Consanguinity can be recorded in the Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS) at any point in the maternity care pathway, by maternity services providers, including a relevant clinical code in the submitted MSDS record for an individual receiving maternity care. NHS England has published guidance for maternity services providers on preferred clinical codes to submit, and in which data tables. Only a small number of National Health Service trusts have recently submitted any of the consanguinity clinical codes to MSDS. An evaluation of the Genetic Risk Equity Project will include an analysis of the quality of the consanguinity data on MSDS.

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 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.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87431 on Congenital Abnormalities, whether he has plans to (a) publish aggregated consanguinity statistics collected through the Maternity Services Data Set, (b) improve the completeness and reliability of those data and (c) integrate consanguinity indicators into wider national population health or genomics datasets; and whether he has reviewed options for doing so in his Department.

NHS England has no current plans to publish aggregated consanguinity statistics collected through the Maternity Services Data Set. Through the Genetic Risk Equity project, the National Health Service is seeking to improve the quality of consanguinity data in nine pilot sites. There are no plans to integrate consanguinity indicators into wider national population health or genomics datasets.

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.

What the national average car driving test waiting time is 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.

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.

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.

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.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 89627 on the Electric Car Grant, whether the eligibility criteria for that scheme could be amended to allow access to manufacturers that do not hold a verified Science Based Target from the Science Based Targets Initiative.

All vehicle grants are regularly reviewed to ensure they continue to achieve their objectives and deliver value for taxpayer's money. This includes the eligibility criteria for the Electric Car Grant.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 90406 on South Western Railway: Rolling Stock, what the the total cost is of the renewed rolling stock leasing contract; how long that contract is for; and if she will make a comparative assessment of the (a) cost and (b) annualised cost of (i) the current contract and (ii) previous leasing arrangements.

As part of the transfer to public ownership of South Western Railway’s operations, the Department undertook modelling to assess whether the costs associated with new rolling stock leases were objective and reasonable. Details of the new leases, including their value and duration, have been published on the Government’s Find a Tender website.  The ORR also publish consolidated details of rolling stock costs for each train operator as part of their annual statistical releases.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 89630 on London North Eastern Railway: Fares, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of the LNER demand-based pricing trial on ticket prices for LNER passengers from (a) London, (b) Newcastle and (c) Edinburgh.

London North Eastern Railway (LNER) have made their customer offer easier to understand by removing tickets with complicated validity rules and introducing a more straightforward Semi-Flexible ticket. Some passengers will benefit from getting flexible options at lower prices than before, and the most popular and the cheapest type of ticket, the Advance, remains available.As of July 2025, LNER reported that for travel between 1 August and 12 December 2025 there were:• 1.1 million new Semi-Flexible tickets priced at less than the Super Off-Peak fare.• 1.8 million Standard Advance fares available and priced lower than the Super Off-Peak fare on trains where that fare was previously valid.The results of this trial – including prices and revenue, will be carefully considered before taking any further decisions.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2025 to Question 88361 on Railways: Reform, whether either the estimated £200–£400 million set-up and transitional cost range cited in the Impact Assessment or the projected £150 million annual saving from bringing forward state control of rail has been independently validated.

These are internal estimates. The assessments of set-up and transitional costs are based on engagement with industry partners, including Network Rail and DfT Operator Limited. The estimate that public ownership could save taxpayers up to £110 to £150 million annually, once all currently contracted services have transferred, is based on the fixed and performance-based fees currently paid to private sector train operating companies as set out in their National Rail Contracts.