Written questions by Holden.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2025 to Question 99967, whether he will place copies of the training modules on close relative marriage and genetic risk for midwives and health visitors, and the associated guidance on submitting data on consanguinity and pregnancy to the Maternity Services Dataset, in the Library of the House of Commons.

There are no plans to place the training modules on close relative marriage and genetic risk for midwives and health visitors, or the associated guidance on submitting data on consanguinity and pregnancy to the Maternity Services Dataset, in the library of the House of Commons.

Pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2025 to WPQ 96699, if he will provide a hyperlink to that information.

Guidance on how to submit data about consanguinity and pregnancy to the Maternity Services Dataset is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-sets/maternity-services-data-set/guidance/msds-consanguinity-data-quality-guidance

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2025 to Question 99925, what assumptions were used to estimate that the funding increases described will enable local authorities to fill an additional one million potholes per year, including assumptions on (a) the average cost of a pothole repair, (b) the proportion of funding allocated to reactive pothole repairs rather than other maintenance activity, and (c) regional variation in repair costs.

The estimate is based on the industry assumption that the national average cost of repairing a pothole is approximately £70. Using this figure, the £7.3 billion of funding from 2026/27 - 2029/30 would enable local authorities to fix millions of additional potholes each year when compared to previous funding levels. Alongside funding to support local authorities in repairing potholes, the Government has also taken action to prevent them from forming in the first place. A share of the increased investment that the Government made available in this financial year and in future years is contingent on local highway authorities demonstrating how they are complying with best practice in highways maintenance, including the greater adoption of preventative maintenance. These requirements are intended to incentivise local authorities to adopt more preventative maintenance and other best practice to ensure roads are kept in good condition for longer, fewer potholes form in the first place and that this funding is spent as effectively as possible in improving the condition of local roads.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of (a) British Board of Agrément and (b) HAPAS-approved (i) self-adhesive surfacing membranes and (ii) other patch repair products on the long-term cost and failure rate of pothole repairs carried out by local highway authorities; and whether she plans to issue any guidance to local authorities and their contractors on (A) trialling and (B) adopting such measures.

The Government welcomes innovations that can help local highway authorities maintain their roads more effectively and efficiently. The Department encourages and supports innovation in road surface repairs in various ways.For example, it has started the task of updating the Code of Practice for Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure, which will include new advice on matters such as surface treatments. The Department is also providing £30 million to the ADEPT ‘Live Labs’ research programme, enabling local authority-led consortia to trial innovative low-carbon ways of looking after their networks. One of the projects within the Live Labs programme is enabling novel resurfacing materials to be tested and evaluated through the Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads, led by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2025 to Question 96490, how much revenue the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency received in 2024-25 from a) local authorities, and b) agents acting on behalf of local authorities, for the provision of vehicle keeper details.

The information requested is not readily available and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 97165 and the Answer of 4 December 2025 to Question 93786 on Road Traffic Control: Oxford, whether the DVLA provides registered keeper data to (a) Oxfordshire County council and (b) a third-party service provider to support the enforcement of the Oxford congestion charge.

Regulation 27 of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 allows the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to make information about UK vehicles and their registered keepers available for use by local authorities for a range of appropriate purposes. The DVLA has provided registered keeper data to Oxford County Council via its third-party service provider for the purpose of enforcing a congestion charge scheme.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of rolling stock availability for Great Western Railway services in the South West; how many Class 175 units are in operation on Great Western Railway services; how many drivers and conductors Great Western Railway plans to train to operate those units; and what plans she has to mitigate (a) cancellations and (b) overcrowding on those services.

The Department closely monitors rolling stock availability across the South West as well as the wider network, and is working on a rolling stock strategy to more effectively plan and utilise assets in future. There is currently one Class 175 unit in operation on Great Western Railway services. The first Class 175 entered service in December 2025, with the remainder of the fleet due to follow throughout this year. There is sufficient rolling stock to operate the current timetable, and the introduction of the Class 175s will provide additional resilience and capacity. Driver and conductor training is progressing well to support this deployment.

With reference to HMRC's guidance entitled Newsletter 173 — September 2025, updated on 11 December 2025, what her planned timetable is for publishing draft regulations and laying legislation on the treatment of scheme-specific lump sums for individuals with Enhanced Protection.

Further Pensions (Abolition of Lifetime Allowance Charge etc) Regulations will be made in Spring 2026 and will include updates to the treatment of scheme-specific lump sums for individuals with Enhanced Protection.The majority of the regulations will have retrospective effect from 6 April 2024 when the Lifetime Allowance was abolished.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to have discussions with devolved Administrations on their experiences of developing proposals for licensing domestic rescue and rehoming organisations.

Defra works closely with the devolved governments on a range of shared priorities and will discuss any relevant matters as necessary.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department plans to have with animal welfare charities and sector bodies ahead of the consultation on licensing rescue and rehoming organisations; and if Ministers will meet with organisations including national animal welfare charities and representative bodies for rescue and rehoming centres.

Defra will engage with stakeholders, including animal welfare groups, as part of the consultation process on its proposals for licensing rescue and rehoming centres. Defra welcomes the input of interested parties and will maintain communication with these groups as part of the consultation process.

Whether South Western Railway plans to consult on a new timetable in 2026.

South Western Railway (SWR) is planning to consult on its future timetable proposals with stakeholders and passengers during 2026.

How many vehicles on the West of England line have been modernised by South Western Railway since December 2025.

The 15X Fleet refurbishment programme started in December 2025 with refurbishment works on the first unit commencing on 29 December.

How many Southeastern stations had pay as you go ticketing on 1 January in each year since 2010.

From 1 January 2010, Pay As You Go (PAYG) was available at 65 Southeastern stations, increasing to 68 from 1 January 2015. On 2 February 2025, Project Oval expanded PAYG ticketing to National Rail Stations in the Southeast of England, bringing the total of Southeastern stations with PAYG services on 1 January 2026 to 74.

Whether the GPS based pay as you go trial between Sheffield and Barnsley has commenced.

Three Digital Pay As You Go (DPAYG) trials have successfully launched across the North and Midlands. The final trial, originally due to go live in November 2025, has been delayed. During rigorous pre-launch testing, issues were identified that would have prevented the DPAYG application from functioning as intended for participants. To ensure the trial delivers the best possible passenger experience and provides robust data for evaluation, the decision was taken to postpone the launch until these issues were resolved. We continue to work closely with Northern and the supplier to address the problems and launch as soon as possible. Northern will provide an update to participants in the respective trial in due course.

How many and what proportion of journeys on Greater Anglia services are within scope of pay as you go ticketing.

Greater Anglia has advised that as of the beginning of December 2025, Pay As You Go (PAYG) journeys on Greater Anglia services were 18 million per annum, accounting for 21 per cent of total Greater Anglia journeys. There are plans to further expand PAYG for journeys on Greater Anglia in the coming year.

What funding has been allocated to onboard WiFi and catering on TransPennine Express services in the last 12 months.

In the 2025-26 operating year, TransPennine Express has enhanced its catering, recruiting additional staff and supporting local small suppliers. These changes have led to improved customer satisfaction and additional ticket and catering revenue. Net catering costs for 2025-26 are £5.4 million. All TransPennine Express services offer customers free Wi-Fi. The cost of providing this in 2025-26 is £0.6 million.

Whether AI powered disruption updates are in use on LNER services.

This project is currently in development. LNER is working to introduce instant updates during disruption, powered by AI, to keep passengers informed and in control when travelling. This will enable faster, smarter decision-making, reduce delays, and help services recover more quickly, with delivery planned for later in 2026.

Whether the Railways Bill will include a statutory target for passenger growth.

The Railways Bill was published on 5 November and will be debated at Committee stage later this month. GBR, as a passenger operator, will be incentivised to grow passenger numbers and will have a number of legal duties to support this. This includes duties to promote the interests of users, and potential users, and to maintain high standards of rail performance.

How many passenger information screens have been replaced at LNER managed stations in the last 12 months.

Fifty screens have been replaced in the last 12 months at York and Newcastle stations. This forms part of LNER’s wider programme to enhance passenger information across all managed stations.

Whether the modernised training programme for LNER frontline staff has been completed.

This project is currently underway. London North Eastern Railway is modernising frontline training to ensure every passenger receives a consistently helpful and informed service. The programme will be completed by March 2026 and will include continuous refreshers delivered through modern learning methods.