Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the number of passenger journeys on South Western Railways that were affected by services that were cancelled in every four week rail period since the start of 2024.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not hold data on the number of passenger journeys that were affected by cancelled services.
We recognise that South Western Railways (SWR) performance before and after public ownership has been below the standard passengers deserve. Public ownership is not a silver bullet, and SWR entered public ownership with rolling stock issues and driver shortages inherited from the previous owning group, which will take time to address.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the correspondence from the Hon. Member for Wokingham sent to the Department on 12th February 2026, reference number MC-00061684, will receive a response.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A response was sent on 26 October.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent engagement i) GBRX, ii) Network Rail and iii) the publicly owned Train Operating Companies have had with Palantir.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not hold a single consolidated record of engagement between Palantir and GBRX, Network Rail and each publicly owned train operator.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
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 2022 changes to the Highway Code on drivers.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Following the updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.
Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding.
We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.
However, as set out in the Road Safety Strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code.
We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer to of 16 October 2026 to Question 34459, if the review into aiport drop-off charges will include i.) the impact on business rate increases on airports ii.) the increase in national insurance tax costs and the decrease in the earnings threshold which they are paid from on airports iii.) the impact of government policy, such as surface access requirements on airports.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to undertake a review into the impact of airport drop off charges on users. While the detailed scope of the review will be developed in due course, it could include consideration of issues such as affordability, accessibility, travel behaviour and the experiences of different groups of passengers. The review could also examine wider industry costs and how airports use revenue generated from drop-off charges to support airport operations and investment.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of compensation arrangements available to season ticket holders unable to complete a rail journey due to service disruption.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Ensuring passengers can access appropriate compensation when they face delays is a key part of delivering a fair deal for passengers on the railway. Delay Repay applies to all ticket types, including season tickets. Where Delay Repay 15 applies, if delayed by 15 to 29 minutes, passengers can claim compensation equivalent to 25% of the cost of their daily journey.
We continue to improve the ease with which passengers can claim compensation, including through automated one-click Delay Repay.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to WPQ 34893, by when does the DfT expect work associated with the independent review into the technical anomaly that has led to the national outage of all smart motorway speed cameras to be concluded.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Terms of Reference for the independent review were set out in January this year, with work on the review formally commencing in March.
We have committed to publishing the review report in full once all work associated with it is concluded. The majority of this work is complete and therefore we expect to be able to provide an update in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the operating deficit for London buses has been i.) in each year since 2019/20 ii.) what it is expected to be in each year up to 2029/30 iii.) how much DfT has and is planning to support TfL in each year from 2019/20-2029/30.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not hold this information regarding London buses.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with Ministerial colleagues to address inequalities in access to public transport that limit young people from accessing employment, education or training opportunities in rural areas.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises that young people in rural areas face particular challenges in reaching employment, education and training, including limited public transport, long and costly journeys, and services that do not operate at the times or to the places they need.
We are working across local government and with local leaders to improve young people’s access to opportunity. The Government is providing over £3 billion between 2026/27 and 2028/29 to support local bus services and keep fares low, including around £700 million per year through the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG). Local Transport Authorities can use this funding to support rural bus services and targeted fare initiatives for younger passengers. In December 2025, the Government published multi-year LABG allocations using a fair and transparent formula that, for the first time, includes a rurality factor alongside population, deprivation and existing bus service provision.
The Government announced in July 2026 that the current £3 National Bus Fare Cap will be replaced by a £2 cap, on eligible single fares on participating bus services in England outside London, from 1 January 2027. This will help millions of people access affordable bus travel, supporting access to employment, education or training opportunities. The cap can make a particular difference on some longer-distance and rural routes, where uncapped single fares can be significantly higher.
Alongside this, the Government is improving the evidence available to national and local decision-makers, including through the Transport Poverty Tool, to identify where poor connectivity and deprivation are restricting young people’s access to jobs, education and training.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether GWR is meeting key performance indicators for its Delay Repay service.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Great Western Railway (GWR) is meeting its key performance indicators for its Delay Repay service. Office of Rail and Road statistics for Periods 1-4 (1 April – 24 July 2026), show that GWR has processed 99.8% of claims within 20 working days, against a processing target of 99%.