Written questions by Holden.

What support his Department is providing to UK companies in the (a) events and (b) logistics sectors affected by EU visa and travel restrictions under the Schengen 90/180-day rule.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) recognises the challenges UK businesses face in complying with the Schengen 90/180 day rule. I note many of these stem from the botched Brexit deal which he supported. Any changes to the rule are a matter for Member States and the EU. However, DBT publishes guidance for UK nationals travelling to the EU and EFTA countries for business purposes (Travelling to the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein for work - GOV.UK). DBT will continue to listen to concerns raised by businesses affected by these rules, to advocate for UK companies abroad, and to explore mutually beneficial improvements to short-term business mobility between the UK and EU.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2025 to Question 65386 on VAT Treatment of Private Hire Vehicles, if she will publish the Government’s response to the consultation referred to in that Answer.

The Government continues to take the issue of VAT treatment of private hire vehicle services seriously and recognises the importance of clarity to the sector. The Government will therefore publish a response to the consultation on the VAT treatment of private hire vehicles soon.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2025 to Question 77640 on Road Traffic Control: Oxford, how much income the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has received from Oxfordshire County Council for sharing vehicle registration data relating to (a) congestion charging and (b) traffic filter schemes in (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26.

The information requested is not available because the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency does not record data at this level of detail.

With reference to her Department’s press release entitled Rail passengers in the North to benefit from simpler fares and cheaper tickets thanks to public ownership, published on 24 July 2025, which (a) fares and (b) routes will be cheaper under Great British Railways.

GBR will be empowered to deliver industry-wide modernisation and reform of the complex and fragmented fares landscape inherited from privatisation. This will enable GBR to simplify the ticketing system and make it easy for passengers to find the right fare. We are already bringing some of the benefits to passengers as more train operators are brought into public ownership under DfTO. As announced on 24 July, LNER, TransPennine Express and Northern have expanded the availability of advance fares, making travel cheaper for passengers on journeys that cross between them.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78712 on Bus Services: Fares, what (a) modelling, (b) internal estimates, (c) tables and (d) equations her Department holds on the number of bus journeys for which passengers have paid a fare between £2 and £3 since 5 July 2024 to inform the (i) actual and (ii) projected cost of the (A) £2 and (B) £3 fare cap policy.

On 1 January, the Government introduced a £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London throughout 2025 to prevent a cliff-edge fare hike for passengers. This was initially funded by over £150 million allocated in the Autumn 2024 Budget, and the estimated cost of a £2 cap over the same period was £444 million. At the Spending Review, the Government confirmed additional funding per year to maintain and improve bus services, and extend the £3 fare cap until March 2027. The fare cap is a voluntary scheme for eligible bus operators, who are reimbursed the difference between the cap and the shadow commercial fare via fixed funding rather than on an individual journey basis. The Department gathers extensive data from bus operators, and the methodology to determine operator allocations uses historic data from 2022 and current data to predict each operator’s ticket sales for each period of the £3 fare cap. Participating operators receive details of their fixed funding allocations prior to the start of each phase of the scheme, minimising the financial risk to the Department. It is on this basis that the Department is able to determine the cost of delivering the fare cap. The Department published the final monitoring and evaluation report into the impact of the first 10 months of the £2 bus fare cap scheme on 12 February. The Department is currently undertaking an evaluation of the £3 single bus fare cap and its impacts, and this will be published once completed.

How many (a) road deaths, (b) serious injuries and (c) roadside drug-driving tests were recorded in each year since 2020.

The number of deaths and serious injuries in reported road collisions are published as part of the Department's annual road casualty statistics on gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/road-accidents-and-safety-statistics).Statistics on roadside drug-driving tests are not held by the Department for Transport.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK–US trade deal on bioethanol imports on the UK’s sustainable aviation fuel sector.

As part of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal, the UK created a preferential duty-free quota for imports of US ethanol of 1.4bn litres per year. The UK already imports a significant amount of ethanol from the US. DBT officials continue to work closely with other government departments to monitor and assess risks across the supply chain. The Government is actively supporting the Sustainable Aviation Fuel sector. We have allocated £63m in this financial year to support SAF producers through the Advanced Fuels Fund and committed further support throughout the Spending Review period.

How much her Department has spent on (a) consultancy, (b) pilot, (c) communications, (d) branding and (e) marketing activity linked to net zero transition programmes in the commercial vehicle sector; how many (i) officials and (ii) external consultants are employed to administer those programmes; what the total annual staff cost is; and what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of this expenditure.

Existing public communication activity for zero emission vehicles has not incurred any additional costs to the Department for Transport (DfT) and has been delivered by internal DfT staff as part of existing communications roles. Any other paid public communication activity has been delivered via the total Clean Energy Mission where the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is the lead Department and budget holder.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78696 on Electric Vehicles: Charging Points, whether her Department has set a timetable for the completion of the installation of those chargepoints.

Local authorities are at different stages with their Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) projects and chargepoint deployment more widely. The first LEVI projects have now signed contracts and some are starting to install chargepoints. Local authorities are responsible for determining appropriate timetables for their projects in line with their chargepoint strategies. They are required to update the Department quarterly on project progress, including completed chargepoint installations. Installation rates will increase as more projects enter delivery and continue over the next few years.

What steps she is taking to increase opportunities for UK-US research in transport innovation by (a) the NSF–UKRI Lead Agency Opportunity and (b) other research and development programmes.

The Department continues to maintain close relationships with the US on transport innovation. We welcome bids by UK academics to the NSF-UKRI Lead Agency Opportunity and are happy to offer letters of support to suitable proposals.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78703 on Shipping: Investment, what proportion of that £448 million will be spent in coastal (a) towns and (b) cities; and what steps she is taking to ensure that funding is directed to those areas.

The £448 million funding will primarily be allocated through open competitions rather than direct grants to select coastal towns or cities. The competitions are designed to support maritime businesses including those in the UK’s coastal communities. Detailed competition scopes and assessment criteria will be published alongside competition announcements during the funding period.

What estimate her Department has made of the total compliance cost to small and medium-sized (a) logistics and (b) coach businesses of meeting zero emission vehicle mandate requirements.

The Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate and its compliance requirements apply only to manufacturers of new cars and vans, not to logistics or coach businesses, but we recognise the importance of supporting businesses across the economy as they transition to zero emission. That is why the Government confirmed in August vital funding to support the uptake of electric vans and trucks, with the plug-in van and truck grant offering discounts of up to £25,000.

Whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology on establishing a cross-government mechanism to support UK participation in international research partnerships on transport decarbonisation and sustainable mobility.

My Department remains committed to supporting international research, for example, through encouraging UK participation in Horizon Europe, and as an active participant in the International Transport Forum, including supporting research projects on decarbonisation and sustainable mobility. To date, there has been no specific discussion with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology on setting up a cross-government mechanism to support the UK in participating in international research partnerships on these topics.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2025 to Question 77643 on London Underground: Strikes, on what date that meeting took place.

The meeting took place on 11 September 2025.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78714 on Railways: Tickets, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the number of participants in the Digital Pay As You Go trials in evaluating the success of that scheme.

We want to ensure the evaluation of the trials is as robust as possible, while remaining proportionate to the scale of the scheme. The 1,000 participants per trial will allow the Department to gain valuable insights into how passengers engage with this technology, their perception of it, how it is working, and what improvements could be considered in future. We are confident the limited trial approach will allow us to effectively evaluate this.

How much and what proportion of Government road maintenance funding has been allocated to (a) local and (b) non-strategic roads compared with the strategic road network since 2024; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the funding in meeting local maintenance needs.

In respect of local and non-strategic roads, the Department has allocated approximately £5.2 billion for local highways maintenance in England over the period 2023/24 to 2025/26. This comes from a wide range of sources including the Highways Maintenance Block, the Integrated Transport Block, Potholes Funding, Network North, the Local Transport Grant, and highways funding that has been consolidated into City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS).The figure does not include the baseline highways maintenance funding and Integrated Transport Block funding that has been consolidated into CRSTS funding for 2025/26. The Department has not split out how much of this funding is for highways maintenance as, by the nature of the funding, it is consolidated transport funding for local authorities to decide how best to use.The £226 million Local Transport Grant of 2025/26 is for local transport and maintenance more widely. Integrated Transport Block funding is for local transport maintenance and enhancements.The above figure includes the £500 million funding uplift for local highways maintenance in 2025/26 that the Government announced at the Autumn Budget 2024. This funding goes well beyond the government's manifesto pledge and is helping councils to fix the equivalent of 7 million extra potholes in 2025/26.In respect of the Strategic Road Network (SRN), the Government provides National Highways with an overall funding settlement, which does not split out maintenance from other spending on their operations. However, National Highways reports that over the period 2023/24 to 2025/26, approximately £756 million of their funding settlement has been spent directly on the maintenance of the SRN. This figure excludes spend on the maintenance of sections of their network that are operated by Public Finance Initiatives (PFIs). These PFIs are paid a lump sum to maintain, operate and renew some sections of the strategic road network and maintenance costs are not split out.

What estimate she has made of the (a) potential cost and (b) carbon savings achieved through using (i) recycled materials, (ii) graphene additives,(iii) Elastomac and (iv) other innovative road repair technologies; and whether she plans to issue updated guidance to local authorities on the wider adoption of such technologies.

The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is determined to support local highway authorities in adopting new and innovative technologies to maintain and improve their highway networks in a way that is cost effective and reduces carbon impacts.While no estimate has been made of the potential cost and carbon savings achieved through using recycled materials, graphene additives, Elastomac and other innovative road repair technologies, the Department for Transport is taking a range of action that will support these sorts of innovative solutions.This year, the Government made available an additional £500m for local highways maintenance. 25% of that uplift is subject to local highway authorities demonstrating how they are complying with best practice in highways maintenance, including in relation to adopting innovative technologies and reducing carbon impacts. The Department has also funded Live Labs 2, a three-year, £30 million programme designed to support the local highways sector to adopt innovation and reduce its carbon impacts. Projects funded under the programme include the trialling and demonstration of sustainable materials and processes, such as warm-mix asphalts and asphalt modifiers, and the creation of toolkits and databases so that all local highway authorities can access findings and lessons learned from the programme.The Department is also supporting a new Carbon Leadership Programme, which will support local highway authorities in benchmarking the carbon intensity of their operations and gain insights into actions they could take to reduce carbon emissions.Finally, the Department is currently updating the Code of Practice for Well Managed Highways Infrastructure. This update will ensure the Code reflects the latest best practice on innovative and low-carbon road repair technologies.

What assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) value for money of (i) Roadmender technology and (ii) other advanced pothole repair systems.

The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is determined to support local highway authorities in adopting new and innovative technologies to maintain and improve their highway networks.This year, the Government made available an additional £500m for local highways maintenance. 25% of that uplift is subject to local highway authorities demonstrating how they are complying with best practice in highways maintenance, including in relation to adopting innovative technologies to more effectively repair potholes and improve local road condition.Local highway authorities have a duty, under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, to maintain the highways network in their area. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as it is for each individual local highway authority to assess which parts of its network need repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances and best practice guidance. Whilst the government has no powers to override local decisions in these matters, it nonetheless encourages the adoption of best practice and innovative technologies.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the reforms to penalty notices for unauthorised school absences made in August 2024 on levels of unauthorised absence; and whether she plans to introduce further measures to help reduce term-time absences.

Tackling absence is central to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Thanks to the efforts of schools and local authorities, attendance is moving in the right direction. Children attended over 5.3 million additional days in the 2024/25 school year compared to the 2022/23 school year, with over 140,000 fewer pupils persistently absent.The ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance sets out a support-first approach, ensuring that penalty notices are used only when appropriate. The national framework for penalty notices, which was introduced in August 2024 following national consultation, is designed to improve consistency and fairness across the country. It states that penalty notices must be considered on an individual basis, preventing schools from having blanket rules. Schools or local councils may choose to issue a ‘notice to improve’ instead of a penalty notice. This is a further offer of support before a penalty notice is issued.The department is monitoring the impact of these reforms alongside wider attendance measures, including regional improvement for standards and excellence Attendance and Behaviour Hubs and Attendance Mentors, which are helping to drive improvements.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of nationalising the rail network on the Government's (a) balance sheet, (b) debt and (c) future liabilities in each of the next ten years.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) are responsible for classification decisions and measurement of public debt. Both publicly and privately owned DfT-contracted train operating companies are already included in the public sector, classified currently by the ONS as public non-financial corporations. Network Rail is also already classified to central government. HM Treasury and Department for Transport officials will assist the ONS in this work as required.