Written questions by Holden.

What commission percentage is charged on ticket sales made through the digital platforms of all train operating companies managed by DfT Operator Limited.

Commission rates currently payable in connection with the sale of rail tickets are available to view on the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) website: https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/our-services/retail-commercial/how-to-become-a-retailer/documents/13079-rail-industry-commission-rates-from-1st-october-2024/file.html. Further detail on the setup of Great British Railway's (GBR's) retailer and the future governance of the rail retail market, when GBR has taken on RDG functions, will be set out in due course.

Whether his Department has had discussions with Exxon Mobil Corp on the potential impact of rising carbon costs on the viability of UK refineries since its evidence to Parliament in October 2025.

Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an estimate of the cost to port operators of surveying mudflats required under (a) environmental assessment and (b) marine licensing processes; and whether she has made an assessment of the (i) consistency and (ii) proportionality of those requirements across England.

Costs for surveying mudflats vary. If surveying is a condition of a marine licence, the Marine Management Organisation charges a fee, to review evidence provided as part of a condition on a marine licence.

Whether, following the Government’s decision to abolish the Valuation Office Agency and transfer its functions into HM Revenue and Customs, she plans to maintain the current Valuation Office Agency methodology for assessing business-rates valuations.

At Budget 2025, the government published a Call for Evidence on Business Rates and Investment which will explore concerns raised by a small number of ratepayers whose properties are valued on the ‘Receipts & Expenditure’ methodology and options to improve predictability and stability.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the Air Passenger Duty in the Autumn Budget 2025 on the competitiveness of the UK aviation sector compared to other European countries.

The government is committed to the long-term future of the aviation sector in the UK and recognises the benefits of the connectivity it creates between the UK and the rest of the world. The government remains committed to maintaining a competitive and dynamic aviation sector that supports jobs, skills, and innovation across the UK. Following previous increases to Air Passenger Duty (APD) rates to account for below inflation rates, the government will uprate APD rates in line with RPI from 1 April 2027 and rounded to the nearest penny. This constitutes a real terms freeze. This will continue to ensure that airlines make a fair contribution to the public finances, particularly given that tickets are VAT free, and aviation fuel incurs no duty.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the proposed advisory role of the Office of Rail and Road under the Railways Bill in providing independent scrutiny of Great British Railways’ annual and five-year business plans; and whether she will introduce statutory requirements for the ORR to publish (a) efficiency assessments, (b) value-for-money analysis, and (c) compliance with the Long-Term Rail Strategy.

The Government considers the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR) proposed advisory role under the Railways Bill provides effective independent scrutiny of Great British Railway’s (GBR) business plans. We would expect the ORR to assess efficiency, value for money, and compliance with strategic objectives and the ORR could publish this as part of its independent advisory function. There is no intention to put statutory constraints on the form or content of ORR advice.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2025 to Question 86957 on Bus Services: Concessions, whether the Government has made an assessment of the financial sustainability of expanding the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme to include eligibility for passes for the companions of disabled people.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the cost of expanding the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) to include companion passes. However, since my response to Question 86957 on Bus Services: Concessions, newly released figures show that the ENCTS cost around £795 million in the year ending March 2025, an increase of 8% on the previous year. The Government has confirmed over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services for millions of passengers over the remainder of the spending review period. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities totalling nearly £700 million per year. Essex County Council will be allocated £59.3 million from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in addition to the £17.8 million they are already receiving this year. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services for passengers can be used in whichever way they wish, including funding companion passes locally. In the year ending March 2025, 66% of local authorities offered companion passes to disabled people as a discretionary concession.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 71238 on Buses and Large Goods Vehicles: Licensing, whether her Department has now concluded its consideration of next steps following the consultation entitled Amendments to licensing restrictions: bus, coach and heavy goods vehicles; and whether she has plans to publish a timetable for the Government’s response.

The Government is reviewing responses to the consultation conducted under the previous government. We are considering next steps and will provide an update once this work has concluded.

With reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Giving every child the best start in life, updated on 12 September 2025, whether the review of early years funding will include an assessment of food costs within the funding formula.

To make sure that the early years (EY) funding system properly supports those children and parts of the country that have higher levels of additional need, the department will review EY funding, including the EY national funding formulae, consulting on a set of changes and publishing full details by Summer 2026. Within EY, free school meals (FSM) applies to school-based nurseries (SBNs) for children who attend both before and after lunch. As part of the expansion of FSM, the department has announced that children in SBNs whose household is in receipt of Universal Credit, will be eligible for FSM from September 2026. Beyond the provision of FSM, the statutory guidance makes clear that funding for the entitlements does not cover consumables like meals, so providers can ask parents to pay, provided they are not mandatory or a condition of accessing an entitlements place. As such, the cost of consumables will not fall within the scope of the planned review of EY funding.

Pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2025 to WPQ 69365, if he will publish a list of the changes made between the previous published version of the framework and the new version published on 16 June 2025.

We do not routinely publish the list of changes made to the document, as the most up to date version is the one we are measuring the performance of the function against.

How many full-time equivalent driving examiners recruited by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency were (a) in post and (b) delivering practical car driving tests in November 2025.

As of 30 November 2025, there were 1,608 full-time equivalent (FTE) driving examiners (DE) in post. Of those, 1,539 FTE were delivering practical car driving tests. A DE is a paid Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency employee from the point at which they start their training and therefore considered to be in post.

What estimate she has made of the number of bus service miles operated in England outside London in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.

The Department does not hold this information centrally.

Pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2025 to WPQ 92058, whether he has had discussions with manufacturers who also sell products in China on reluctance to engage with the Trade Remedies Authority because of the possibility of retaliatory action by that country.

No, neither the Secretary of State nor I have had any such discussions. However, the Government and the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) regularly engage with UK manufacturers to understand their concerns, and they may always submit applications anonymously to the TRA. Trade remedy investigations should be undertaken on the basis of evidence, pursuant to the WTO agreements, and available to all WTO members. My Department will always challenge actions taken outside this framework. The UK and China are deepening its dialogue on trade remedy matters through the UK-China Joint Economic and Trade Commission.

How much central government funding was provided to Transport for London in each financial year from 2007–08 to 2024–25; and what it is expected to be in 2025-6.

All the information requested is available on TfL's website: Funding letters - Transport for London.

How many (a) Notices to Improve and (b) written instructions her Department issued to train operating companies for which the Department is the operator in relation to (i) service performance and (ii) financial control in (A) November 2025 and (B) each month since July 2024.

The Department has not issued any Notices to Improve on any of the DfT Operator train operating companies because none have been in breach of their formal contractual terms. DfT regularly engages with all operators on service performance and financial management, aligned with this Government's priorities on improving performance and reducing subsidy.

What the national average waiting time in weeks was for a practical car driving test in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.

The national average waiting time in November for car practical driving tests will not be available until later in December. The national average for any given month is usually not available until the middle of the following month. The respective answers to Question 78713 on 20 October 2025, and Question 93246 on 28 November 2025, provided data covering the period July 2024 to October 2025.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to WPQ 93853, whether she has made any representations on behalf of Carlos Correa and others arbitrarily detained in Venezuela, since the Statement at the Human Rights Council on 27 June.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the response provided on 13 October to Question 77020.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2025 to Question 93956 on Driving Tests, what the marginal cost charged to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency by the Ministry of Defence is for the deployment of defence driving examiners.

I refer the right hon. Gentleman to my answer to Question 95727 which answered this same question.https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-12-01/95727

Pursuant to WPQ 93776, if she will provide a hyperlink to that information, as set out as correct practice in paragraph 234 of the Government's Guide To Parliamentary Work.

Apologies. The draft 2026 Rating List valuations, and current 2023 List valuations, which can be filtered using the advanced search by special category code, can be viewed at: www.gov.uk/find-business-rates

Whether she plans to extend the child Air Passenger Duty exemption to Premium Economy cabins.

Air Passenger Duty (APD) applies to airlines, not individual passengers, and is the principal tax on the aviation sector. It is expected to raise £4.7 billion in 2025-26 and it aims to ensure that airlines make a fair contribution to the public finances, particularly given that tickets are VAT free and aviation fuel incurs no duty. The distance-based band structure ensures that those who travel furthest, and in the greatest comfort, incur a greater tax liability. Children under 16 years old on the date of the flight, and in the lowest class of travel, are exempt from APD. This means that no APD will be paid on that passenger by the airline to the UK government. If children under 16 years old are travelling in any other class (such as premium economy) or in business jets, they are not exempt. Children under 2 years old without a seat are exempt from Air Passenger Duty for all classes of travel.