Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend that the national specialty lead for rare cancers, to be appointed under the Rare Cancers Act 2026, is to be a full-time, appropriately remunerated post; and at what Civil Service grade or equivalent the postholder will be appointed.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will implement the Rare Cancers Act 2026 by ensuring that a National Specialty Lead for Rare Cancers is appointed by summer 2026.
The National Specialty Lead will be based in the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Delivery Network (RDN) and will support research delivery for rare cancers research.
National specialty leads are part time roles that are appointed through a competitive process as a secondment to the University of Leeds who provide the NIHR RDN Coordinating Centre, working with and on behalf of the Department. The National Specialty Lead for Rare Cancers will be appropriately renumerated with a salary grade that is consistent with their substantive post.
Implementing the Rare Cancers Act 2026 will make it easier for clinical trials on rare cancers to be delivered in England.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have a national standardised definition of a pothole.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Local highway authorities are responsible for maintaining their roads under section 41 of the Highways Act 1980. Individual authorities set their own criteria, including the minimum size and depth at which a defect, or pothole, is recorded or repaired, and apply risk‑based assessments that account for local conditions, traffic volumes and safety considerations when making decisions on maintenance programmes. These thresholds therefore vary between areas and are not prescribed by the Department for Transport.
This approach is based on the Well‑managed Highway Infrastructure Code of Practice, which advises that local highway authorities should use a risk‑based approach when assessing and repairing defects, and recommends that each authority determine its own intervention criteria based on local circumstances rather than a single national threshold.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many approved driving instructors were on the official register in each month since July 2024.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) publishes driving instructor and motorcycle instructor register data online.
The below table shows the number of approved driving instructors (ADI) on the official register in each month since July 2024. Please note, DVSA can currently only publish data up to September 2025.
Date | Number of ADIs on register |
July 2024 | 41,207 |
August 2024 | 41,366 |
September 2024 | 41,453 |
October 2024 | 41,615 |
November 2024 | 41,832 |
December 2024 | 41,900 |
January 2025 | 42,146 |
February 2025 | 42,330 |
March 2025 | 42,401 |
April 2025 | 42,513 |
May 2025 | 42,825 |
June 2025 | 42,881 |
July 2025 | 43,020 |
August 2025 | 43,559 |
September 2025 | 43,334 |
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the first East West Rail services between Oxford and Milton Keynes Central via Winslow have been included in the base train timetable.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Chiltern worked with Network Rail, DfT and other operators on the December 2026 timetable and services have been timetabled between Oxford, Winslow, Bletchley and Milton Keynes. The Department continues to work closely with Chiltern Railways and other partners to confirm a start date for the first East-West Rail services between Oxford and Milton Keynes Central via Winslow.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the review of HS2 by Mark Wild will be published.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
On 19 May, the Secretary of State for Transport updated Parliament on the progress of the HS2 reset, alongside the publication of her latest parliamentary report.
In addition, the government published the initial findings of HS2 Ltd CEO Mark Wild’s review into the simplification of the railway’s operational specification, and his advice on the estimated cost of cancelling and remediating the programme.
As Mark Wild said before the TSC on 20 May, the HS2 reset will continue to progress and is planned to complete in Spring 2027 when the full delivery baseline is expected to be completed, a new commercial strategy to be implemented, and HS2 Ltd to be reshaped into a leaner, more skilled organisation.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Sudan and international partners about ensuring that Coptic Christian communities are able to worship and rebuild places of worship, following reports that a local authority halted reconstruction and worship at a Coptic church in Northern State.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 27 May in response to Question 2 in the House of Commons - which for ease of reference is reproduced below:
The UK continues to use our position as penholder at the UN Security Council and leader of the core group on Sudan at the Human Rights Council to keep a spotlight on, and take actions in response to, the human rights situation in Sudan. In November 2025, our Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), David Smith MP, made a statement at the event held in Czechia to mark the fifth anniversary of the Article 18 Alliance, laying out the UK's ambitious FoRB strategy and reinforcing our belief that FoRB is central to global stability, including in Sudan.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many working days were lost to sickness per train operating company in Government ownership, in each month since January 2024.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Each train operating company currently records this information in a different way – some by days lost and some by percentage absence rate. The figures below have been collated by DFT Operator. Figures cover periods in public ownership only.
Table 1:
Absences by days lost, presented by Rail Period
(Northern, TransPennine Trains, South Western Railway)
| NORTHERN | TPT | SWR |
P11 2023 (broadly Jan 24) | 7496 | 1881 |
|
P12 2023 (Feb 24) | 7759 | 1785 |
|
P13 2023 (Mar 24) | 7532 | 1548 |
|
P1 2024 (Apr 24) | 7291 | 1597 |
|
P2 2024 (Apr / May 24) | 7569 | 1724 |
|
P3 2024 (May / Jun 24) | 7954 | 1602 |
|
P4 2024 (Jun / Jul 24) | 8506 | 1769 |
|
P5 2024 (Jul / Aug 24) | 8243 | 1673 |
|
P6 2024 (Aug / Sep 24) | 7778 | 1669 |
|
P7 2024 (Sep / Oct 24) | 8196 | 1646 |
|
P8 2024 (Oct / Nov 24) | 8394 | 1571 |
|
P9 2024 (Nov / Dec 24) | 8472 | 1524 |
|
P10 2024 (Dec 24 / Jan 25) | 8827 | 1756 |
|
P11 2024 (Jan 25) | 8152 | 1611 |
|
P12 2024 (Feb 25) | 7797 | 1410 |
|
P13 2024 (Mar 25) | 7345 | 1451 |
|
P1 2025 (Apr 25) | 7030 | 1541 |
|
P2 2025 (Apr / May 25) | 7443 | 1546 |
|
P3 2025 (May / Jun 25) | 7420 | 1576 | 1055 |
P4 2025 (Jun / Jul 25) | 7578 | 1557 | 5175 |
P5 2025 (Jul / Aug 25) | 7976 | 1937 | 5727 |
P6 2025 (Aug / Sep 25) | 8097 | 1937 | 5916 |
P7 2025 (Sep / Oct 25) | 8033 | 2045 | 5130 |
P8 2025 (Oct / Nov 25) | 8113 | 2226 | 5453 |
P9 2025 (Nov 25 / Dec 25) | 8663 | 2122 | 4997 |
P10 2025 (Dec 25 / Jan 26) | 8986 | 2034 | 5471 |
P11 2025 (Jan 26) | 8578 | 1944 | 5416 |
P12 2025 (Feb 26) | 8281 | 1767 | 4741 |
P13 2025 (Mar 26) | 7824 | 1665 | 5091 |
P1 2026 (Apr 26) | 8056 | 1744 | 4533 |
Table 2:
Absences by days lost, presented by calendar month
(Southeastern)
| SOUTHEASTERN |
Feb-24 | 5692 |
Mar-24 | 5369 |
Apr-24 | 5205 |
May-24 | 5330 |
Jun-24 | 4700 |
Jul-24 | 5783 |
Aug-24 | 5418 |
Sep-24 | 5482 |
Oct-24 | 6279 |
Nov-24 | 5510 |
Dec-24 | 6302 |
Jan-25 | 6678 |
Feb-25 | 5594 |
Mar-25 | 5309 |
Apr-25 | 5368 |
May-25 | 5144 |
Jun-25 | 5064 |
Jul-25 | 5714 |
Aug-25 | 5029 |
Sep-25 | 5717 |
Oct-25 | 5903 |
Nov-25 | 5341 |
Dec-25 | 6531 |
Jan-26 | 5879 |
Feb-26 | 4756 |
Mar-26 | 5533 |
Apr-26 | 5374 |
Table 3:
Absences by percentage, presented by Rail Period
(LNER, c2c, Greater Anglia, West Midlands Trains)
| LNER | c2c | GA | WMT |
P11 2023 (broadly Jan 24) | 6.46% |
|
|
|
P12 2023 (Feb 24) | 5.91% |
|
|
|
P13 2023 (Mar 24) | 5.25% |
|
|
|
P1 2024 (Apr 24) | 5.35% |
|
|
|
P2 2024 (Apr / May 24) | 5.56% |
|
|
|
P3 2024 (May / Jun 24) | 5.34% |
|
|
|
P4 2024 (Jun / Jul 24) | 5.25% |
|
|
|
P5 2024 (Jul / Aug 24) | 6.06% |
|
|
|
P6 2024 (Aug / Sep 24) | 5.96% |
|
|
|
P7 2024 (Sep / Oct 24) | 5.66% |
|
|
|
P8 2024 (Oct / Nov 24) | 6.33% |
|
|
|
P9 2024 (Nov / Dec 24) | 6.48% |
|
|
|
P10 2024 (Dec 24 / Jan 25) | 7.34% |
|
|
|
P11 2024 (Jan 25) | 7.05% |
|
|
|
P12 2024 (Feb 25) | 5.86% |
|
|
|
P13 2024 (Mar 25) | 5.43% |
|
|
|
P1 2025 (Apr 25) | 5.15% |
|
|
|
P2 2025 (Apr / May 25) | 5.15% |
|
|
|
P3 2025 (May / Jun 25) | 5.08% |
|
|
|
P4 2025 (Jun / Jul 25) | 5.31% |
|
|
|
P5 2025 (Jul / Aug 25) | 5.75% | 5.49% |
|
|
P6 2025 (Aug / Sep 25) | 5.84% | 6.45% |
|
|
P7 2025 (Sep / Oct 25) | 5.97% | 5.56% | 4.68% |
|
P8 2025 (Oct / Nov 25) | 5.88% | 4.74% | 4.39% |
|
P9 2025 (Nov 25 / Dec 25) | 6.24% | 3.73% | 5.06% |
|
P10 2025 (Dec 25 / Jan 26) | 7.08% | 4.34% | 5.09% |
|
P11 2025 (Jan 26) | 7.36% | 3.93% | 5.04% |
|
P12 2025 (Feb 26) | 7.36% | 3.18% | 4.71% | 6.72% |
P13 2025 (Mar 26) | 6.94% | 3.24% | 4.82% | 7.09% |
P1 2026 (Apr 26) | 6.35% | 4.68% | 4.78% | 5.09% |
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many rail trespass incidents have occurred in each month since January 2024; and whether they have assessed the financial impact of those incidents for (1) 2024, (2) 2025, and (3) 2026.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The number of rail trespass incidents is presented in the following table:
Rail Period | Start Date | End Date | Incidents |
2023/24_P10 | 10 December 2023 | 06 January 2024 | 668 |
2023/24_P11 | 07 January 2024 | 03 February 2024 | 771 |
2023/24_P12 | 04 February 2024 | 02 March 2024 | 902 |
2023/24_P13 | 03 March 2024 | 31 March 2024 | 1030 |
2024/25_P01 | 01 April 2024 | 27 April 2024 | 1040 |
2024/25_P02 | 28 April 2024 | 25 May 2024 | 1212 |
2024/25_P03 | 26 May 2024 | 22 June 2024 | 1247 |
2024/25_P04 | 23 June 2024 | 20 July 2024 | 1285 |
2024/25_P05 | 21 July 2024 | 17 August 2024 | 1272 |
2024/25_P06 | 18 August 2024 | 14 September 2024 | 1163 |
2024/25_P07 | 15 September 2024 | 12 October 2024 | 1022 |
2024/25_P08 | 13 October 2024 | 09 November 2024 | 984 |
2024/25_P09 | 10 November 2024 | 07 December 2024 | 780 |
2024/25_P10 | 08 December 2024 | 04 January 2025 | 701 |
2024/25_P11 | 05 January 2025 | 01 February 2025 | 784 |
2024/25_P12 | 02 February 2025 | 01 March 2025 | 905 |
2024/25_P13 | 02 March 2025 | 31 March 2025 | 1216 |
2025/26_P01 | 01 April 2025 | 26 April 2025 | 1240 |
2025/26_P02 | 27 April 2025 | 24 May 2025 | 1243 |
2025/26_P03 | 25 May 2025 | 21 June 2025 | 1279 |
2025/26_P04 | 22 June 2025 | 19 July 2025 | 1318 |
2025/26_P05 | 20 July 2025 | 16 August 2025 | 1221 |
2025/26_P06 | 17 August 2025 | 13 September 2025 | 1125 |
2025/26_P07 | 14 September 2025 | 11 October 2025 | 1067 |
2025/26_P08 | 12 October 2025 | 08 November 2025 | 969 |
2025/26_P09 | 09 November 2025 | 06 December 2025 | 740 |
2025/26_P10 | 07 December 2025 | 03 January 2026 | 735 |
2025/26_P11 | 04 January 2026 | 31 January 2026 | 743 |
2025/26_P12 | 01 February 2026 | 28 February 2026 | 925 |
2025/26_P13 | 01 March 2026 | 31 March 2026 | 1316 |
The above information has been provided by Network Rail. Information is collated by rail periods (as shown) rather than on a monthly basis.
Network Rail estimates the long-term revenue loss due to those incidents. Network Rail does not hold direct cost information (in terms of Delay Repay costs, damage repair, etc) relating to an incident.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to publish the Great British Railways access and use policy.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
To ensure a smooth transition from today’s access and charging regime to the new access and charging framework under Great British Railways (GBR), Network Rail System Operator (NRSO) were commissioned to develop a draft Access and Use Policy for consultation on behalf of GBR. NRSO has led a highly collaborative and transparent process in the development of this important work. This includes publishing a Discussion Document last December that set out emerging thinking for further engagement and policy development on key areas such as capacity allocation, timetabling, setting of access charges and managing performance alongside frequent engagement with the industry.
A full draft of the Access and Use Policy is expected to be published by NRSO later this year which will give industry an opportunity to formally provide comments and responses before Great British Railways is fully established.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 15 April (HL Deb col 59GC), whether the staff transferred from the Department for Transport (DfT) to DfT operator are, or will be, physically located in Network Rail premises in Waterloo; and whether they plan to maintain managerial and operational distance between DfT operator and Network Rail in the context of the formation of Great British Rail.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Staff transferred from the Department for Transport (DfT) to DfT Operator are based in a range of office locations, including Network Rail premises in Waterloo and other locations across the country. NR and DFTO are separate companies with different legal duties. On the journey to GBR they are co-locating and working closely together - for example co-designing GBR with DfT - to ensure that benefits for customers and taxpayers can be delivered as soon as possible.