Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps are being taken to improve regional transport.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Department is delivering improved regional transport through the £92 billion Spending Review settlement it received, driving the biggest boost to transport infrastructure in a generation and unlocking schemes that deliver for the taxpayer and support growth. In addition, where transport is devolved, the governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have received the largest ever block grants in real terms, giving them record funding to invest in their own priorities.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) assessment and (b) estimate she has made of the differential in her Department’s Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit budget in the (i) Spending Review and (ii) Autumn Budget 2025 in each year between 2024-25 and 2029-30.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Spending Review 2025 established allocations of Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) up to financial year 2029-30, with further spending announcements made during Autumn Budget 2025. A profile of these spending limits is enclosed in the table below.
CDEL £m | 2025/26 | 2026/27 | 2027/28 | 2028/29 | 2029/30 |
SR25 Control Total | 21,565 | 22,904 | 23,176 | 22,741 | 23,940 |
AB25 | |||||
Net Changes at AB25 | 50 | 100 | 1646 | -10 | 420 |
New Control Total | 21,615 | 23,004 | 24,822 | 22,731 | 24,360 |
*CDEL is adjusted for TfL Business Rates Retention (£1.2bn p.a. from 2026-27).
Capital spending limits in future years and how they are allocated are subject to departmental business planning processes. Furthermore, the department will provide more detail on future spending plans at the appropriate Supply Estimate.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for upgrading rail infrastructure on the Uckfield line.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A Strategic Outline Business Case was developed by Network Rail in 2021 which considered the potential benefits of upgrading rail infrastructure on the Uckfield line. This assessment concluded that the scheme would have positive impacts on train service performance and reliability, together with wider economic benefits. The scheme was paused by the previous government following Spending Review 2021; no development work has taken place since that point.
The Hon Member also may wish to contact Network Rail for information on their plans to maintain and renew rail infrastructure on the Uckfield line.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has she made of the potential vulnerability to being disabled of Chinese-origin buses that are reliant upon sim connection for software upgrades.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government takes national security seriously and recognises the systematic challenges of increased connectivity and the cyber security implications for almost every area of government policy, including vehicles. The Department works closely with the transport sector and other government departments to understand and respond to cyber vulnerabilities for all transport modes.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of safe evening transport for women in (a) rural areas and (b) Langley Vale.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department for Transport is committed to making the transport network safer for everyone, including women and girls, whenever and wherever they are travelling. As part of the Government’s aims to reduce Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) by half over the next decade, the Department has an ambitious, evidence-based programme of work to help tackle VAWG on transport. This includes measures in the Bus Services Act 2025 such as training on how to recognise and respond to incidents of criminal and antisocial behaviour (ASB).
We know that women and girls are more likely than men to avoid travelling alone when it’s dark. The Department’s ‘Protected characteristics and public transport perceptions and safety’ research, published in 2023, also found that women were more concerned than men about the risk of violence regardless of the time of day. People living in rural areas were more likely to say they felt safe, albeit by a relatively small margin.
We are continuing to build our evidence base to better understand the prevalence of VAWG and ASB across the transport network so we can better target interventions. In the meantime, the Department will continue to work across government and with partners, including the British Transport Police (BTP), the transport industry and local authorities to ensure that everyone feels and is safe when travelling.
In relation to taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs), the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill is seeking a power to set in regulations national minimum standards for taxi and PHV licensing. The power was approved by the House of Commons at Report Stage, and the Bill is now being considered by the House of Lords. If passed, this would enable government to set robust standards for licensing right across England, to keep women and girls and, indeed, all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with Basildon Borough Council on the (a) proposed 27,000 home increase in the Borough and (b) potential impact of that increase on demand for C2C and Greater Anglia services.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We expect operators to work with local stakeholders, including local councils such as Basildon Borough Council, in relation to housing developments and their potential increase on demand for rail services. Estimates of future demand are being used to inform strategic planning across the Essex Thameside area, with collaboration across operators, Network Rail and local stakeholders such as councils.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people are owed money by HS2 Ltd.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Individual land and property claimants can have multiple active claims at any given time so data in the form requested is not available. HS2 Ltd is strongly committed to paying compensation as quickly as possible, although some compensation claims can be complex and take time to settle in full. Where a property has been acquired under compulsory purchase, a claimant can request an advance payment, and HS2 Ltd is required to pay all valid advance payment claims within three months.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department is providing funding towards new fare arrangements in Greater Manchester.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The simplified fares system that the Department worked with Transport for Greater Manchester to deliver in December is revenue neutral, reducing passenger fares at no cost to the public purse.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to engage with road safety public awareness campaigns that educate children in schools in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Through THINK!, the government’s flagship road safety campaign, we provide a wide range of free educational resources to help improve children's road safety. These are made available to schools and local road safety officers via the THINK! website, social channels and partnerships with organisations such as the Department for Education. https://www.think.gov.uk/education.
In 2024, THINK! launched a ‘Safe Adventures’ campaign to help parents across the country prepare their children for independent travel ahead of moving to secondary school: https://www.think.gov.uk/campaign/safe-adventures/. This activity focuses on the risky behaviours assigned to child pedestrian casualties, which includes failing to look and distractions, finding a safe place to cross and being in a hurry.
THINK! routinely engages with local authorities to assist them with using and promoting our campaigns, and we work closely with Road Safety GB who help disseminate and coordinate our outreach to their network of road safety officers and professionals.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the number of children injured on roads in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
On 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. The Strategy sets an ambitious target to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on British roads by 65% by 2035 and a 70% reduction in the number of children (under 16) killed or seriously injured on roads in Great Britain by 2035, using a 2022-2024 baseline.
As part of the Road Safety Strategy, we are gathering feedback on introducing penalty points for failure to wear a seat belt, and additional penalty points for drivers who do not ensure child passengers wear seat belts.
We will also support and work in partnership with local authorities, who have the legal responsibility for setting local speed limits, and detailed knowledge of their own local areas. This is important for the safety of vulnerable road users, including children. We will update our guidance to local authorities on ‘Setting Local Speed Limits’. We will also update our guidance to local authorities on ‘The use of speed and red-light cameras for traffic enforcement: guidance on deployment, visibility and signing’.