Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to highlight the importance of safety at railway level crossings during the school summer holidays.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Educating users is critical to ensuring that level crossings are used safely and we look to Network Rail as the owner of these assets to do this. Network Rail produces a wide range of educational material on safety on and around the railway, including on level crossing safety, which it promotes through media campaigns and through school and community events. It recognises that the school holidays can pose particular challenges and focuses significant effort in attending local schools and community events in the vicinity of level crossings to promote railway safety.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she has taken to work with relevant authorities to improve the safety of bus drivers in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government have introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill which focuses on delivering safe, more reliable bus networks. The Bill sets requirements for mandatory training on how to recognise and respond appropriately to incidents of criminal and anti-social behaviour, on buses for staff, including drivers and those who deal directly with the travelling public or with issues related to the travelling public.
Provisions in the Bus Services (No.2) Bill would also give all local transport authorities (LTAs) the power to make bus byelaws, which can be enforced by local authority officers on vehicles and at bus stations and stops. This, combined with targeted enforcement should lead to safer networks. Transport Safety Officers or Transport Safety and Enforcement Officers are also already operating in some areas.
All LTAs in England are required to publish Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs) with information on how they intend to improve services in their area. LTAs have been informed that BSIPs should include plans on how LTAs and local bus operators will work together to ensure that bus services are safe and perceived to be safe by all. This may include measures such as appropriate passenger safety training for bus drivers to deal with emergency situations on or off the bus and encouraging bus operators to liaise with local police and other stakeholders to address safety concerns.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to extend Project Reach to Stockport railway station.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The tranche 1 fibre commitment for Project Reach of 1000km includes the rail route Manchester–Crewe–Stafford which runs via Stockport.
Stockport station is not currently included in the initial list of 12 NR managed stations identified for improvements to mobile coverage. However, there could be scope to include this as part of the flexible interventions once the priority stations and tunnels have been delivered.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she has taken with relevant authorities to improve the safety of train drivers in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Ensuring the continued safety of train drivers across the national rail network remains a priority for my department. Train operators are subject to strict legal duties, which are enforced by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), to ensure that the train drivers they employ can work in safety. My department works closely with the ORR, the Rail Safety and Standards Board and the wider rail industry to keep these measures under review and to identify areas for improvement. This has included supporting research to improve the industry’s understanding of issues such as fatigue management and access to welfare facilities and the development of improved standards and guidance to codify best practice.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to increase the number of electric vehicle charging stations in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of affordable and accessible charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle (EV). As of 1 June 2025, the Government and industry have supported the installation of 80,552 publicly available charging devices, up 29% on this time last year.
Lancashire County Council, which includes Preston, was allocated over £10.8 million capital and resource funding through the Government’s Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund to leverage additional private investment and increase the number of local public chargepoints across the area. More broadly, the North West Region has been allocated almost £56.6m capital and resource funding through the LEVI Fund. In total, the £381m LEVI Fund will support the installation of at least 100,000 local chargepoints across England.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it remains her Department's policy to (a) phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 and (b) ensure that all new car sales are for Zero Emission Vehicles by 2035.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 7 April the Government confirmed it is committed to phasing out the sale of new cars that rely solely on a petrol or diesel engine by 2030, and phasing out all new non-zero emission cars and vans by 2035.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding will be allocated to the third road investment strategy.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on 11 June, this Government will deliver improvements to people’s everyday travel by providing £24 billion of capital funding between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve national and local roads across the country. We will confirm funding for the third Road Investment Strategy in due course.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Zero Emissions Vehicle mandate on (a) car dealerships and (b) the automotive sector in (i) rural areas and (ii) Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The ZEV Mandate requirements only apply to vehicle manufacturers and not to car dealerships. However, we continue to consider views from dealership representatives on the transition.
I am aware that one of the UK’s micro volume manufacturers is based in Yeovil. The Government recognises that micro volume manufacturers face additional challenges in decarbonising at the pace of the ZEV Mandate trajectory, and exemptions are in place for these manufacturers until 2035.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of impact of the East Midlands Railways delaying the introduction of Class 810 Aurora trains and potentially returning some of Class 222 trains to leasing company on (1) passenger capacity on the Midland Main Line, and (2) the train times of (a) the operators to whom the Class 222 trains are expected to be leased, and (b) the Midland Main Line.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
In collaboration with industry partners, East Midlands Railway are considering all factors, including minimising the impacts on passengers, in relation to their fleet transition. There has been no assessment by the Department of the train times to whom the Class 222s are expected to be leased.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to allocate funding for specific projects as part of the third road investment strategy.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport will confirm the enhancement schemes and large-scale renewals to be delivered in the next road period when the third Road Investment Strategy is published in early 2026. National Highways will then publish further details in its Delivery Plan.