Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her estimate is of the a) initial set-up and b) ongoing costs associated with Great British Railways’ future retail capability via website and app.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government has set out plans for GBR to retail online, bringing together the 14 rail operator websites and apps. This will reduce fragmentation, deliver savings through removing duplication, and provide a more coherent passenger offer.
The costs and savings associated with GBR's website and app will be continually assessed as this work progresses, with a view to delivering for passengers and taxpayers alike.
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 of 21 November 2025 to Question 90824 on Great British Railways: Disclosure of Information, whether the data published by the Office of Rail and Road will include annual figures on passenger complaints and the number of those complaints resolved.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Office of Rail and Road currently publishes the number of complaints closed by train operators on a bi-annual basis. There is no distinction between the number of complaints received and the number resolved.
Train operators are obliged to provide certain information to the ORR as part of their current licence agreements. In the future, the Passenger Watchdog will set the consumer standards in the licences, including standards on complaint handling and reporting. While the detail of what data operators must share after GBR is established is to be decided, we do not expect any reduction in the level of transparency of complaints data.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contingency plans her Department has for mitigating the impact on the planned 2030 phase-out of new petrol and diesel cars and vans if the delivery of 300,000 operational public electric vehicle charge points by that date is not achieved.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The National Audit Office’s report last year outlined that the number of public chargepoints being installed is on track to meet 300,000 chargepoints by 2030. The majority of these will be delivered by industry, which has already committed £6 billion of private sector investment in UK charging infrastructure before 2030.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how her Department will measure the impact of the Railways Bill on private sector innovation in the rail industry; and what baseline data has been established to assess the impact of that Bill on levels of innovation.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Establishing GBR through the Railways Bill will provide an integrated approach and greater longer-term certainty for rail, giving the private sector the confidence it needs to invest and support innovation throughout the sector. The Railways Bill Impact Assessment provides an assessment of the potential impacts of the rail reform policies within the Railways Bill, including the impacts on Business Environment.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what analysis she has undertaken of the impact of the Railways Bill on private sector investment and innovation within the rail industry; and if she will publish that analysis.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Establishing GBR through the Railways Bill will provide an integrated approach and greater longer-term certainty for rail, giving the private sector the confidence it needs to invest and support innovation throughout the sector. The Railways Bill Impact Assessment provides an assessment of the potential impacts of the rail reform policies within the Railways Bill, including the impacts on Business Environment.
Asked by: Stephen Flynn (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2025 to Question 83372 on Electric Vehicles: Charging Points, if she will publish the evidential basis behind the conclusion that the electric vehicle pavement channels grant is not a subsidy.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We have assessed the grant under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 and determined that it is not a subsidy.
A subsidy is financial assistance that conforms with the four tests set out in paragraphs (a) to (d) of section 2(1) of the Subsidy Control Act 2022. In this case, funding will be issued to local authorities who will pay for the installation of cross-pavement solutions at the appropriate market rate for this service. Payments for such installations will not ‘confer an economic advantage on one or more enterprises’ as set out in section 2(1)(b) of the Act, because installers will be paid at the market rate for such services. To the extent that residents who receive pavement channels are the indirect beneficiaries of the fund, they are not ‘Enterprises’ according to the Act.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2025 to question 85843, whether she is considering requiring drivers to register with their home local authority validated by checking council tax, electoral roll and credit reference data.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill seeks to introduce powers to set national minimum standards for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing. If passed, national minimum standards would enable government to set robust standards for licensing across England, to keep all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel. It would also help reduce the variability of licensing standards across the country, which is a significant factor in inducing drivers to licence with an authority other than that in which they intend to work.
The Department continues to consider further options for reform, including out-of-area working and enforcement. We need to ensure that taxis and PHVs are able to work in a way that facilitates the journeys passengers want and need to make, in a consistently safe way, whilst achieving the best overall outcomes for passenger safety.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the consultation outcome entitled Lowering the minimum age requirement for train drivers from 20 to 18 – outcome, updated on 7 May 2025, when she plans to respond to the coordinated implementation plan submitted by the industry.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department intends to make an announcement shortly.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help prepare the maritime sector for the expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are working closely with the sector as part of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Authority to ensure that maritime operators will be sufficiently prepared to join UK ETS from July next year.
Regulators are running a voluntary onboarding period from next month which will help the sector engage with the ETS ahead of July and give them extra time to become familiar with how it works.
Additionally, the Authority will allow for ‘double-surrender’ for maritime operators for the first two scheme years, giving maritime operators extra time to familiarise themselves with UK ETS, and the digital systems.
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 of 6 March 2025 to Question 34154, if she will launch that review.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The government is considering plans to review the existing requirements for motorcycle training, testing, and licensing in a manner that takes account of both long-standing plans in the Department for Transport and the Driver Vehicle and Standards Agency, and proposals received from the motorcycle sector. More details will be set out in due course.