Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the total cost has been of leasing, maintaining, storing and modifying rolling stock intended for East West Rail passenger services between Oxford and Milton Keynes since the commencement of the relevant lease arrangements; and what estimate they have made of the monthly cost of retaining that rolling stock before passenger services commence.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Information on the costs of leasing, maintaining, storing and modifying the rolling stock is commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 19 October (HL3978), and in light of the requirement from 1 April 2023 for HSA4 abortion notification forms to record "whether any part of the consultation and treatment was provided face to face by a registered medical practitioner, nurse or midwife", whether the Department of Health and Social Care holds the information submitted in line with that requirement; if so, how many abortions in 2023 were recorded as (1) involving, and (2) not involving, face-to-face consultation or treatment; and if those figures are not available, why this is the case.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since April 2023, as the Noble Lord says, HSA4 abortion notification forms submitted to the Department have included the question “If any medicines were administered at the patient’s usual place of residence, whether any part of the patient’s consultation and treatment for the termination of pregnancy was provided face to face”.
However, the data held by the Department does not cover the full year of 2023, the latest year for which official abortion statistics have been published, and that is why we have explained that data is not available for the number of medical abortions in 2023 that were recorded as involving, or not involving, face-to-face consultation.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce additional taxes or levies on aviation fuel that does not meet specified sustainable aviation fuel requirements.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Due to the international nature of air travel, the UK Government, alongside over 100 other countries, has entered into wide-ranging bilateral agreements to enable more seamless air connectivity between countries. These are longstanding agreements that include limits on taxing jet fuel on international flights. Air Passenger Duty is therefore the principal tax on the aviation sector, charged on a per passenger basis, to ensure that airlines continue to make a fair contribution to the public finances.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to maintain the existing exemption from excise duty for aviation turbine fuel used in domestic commercial aviation.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Due to the international nature of air travel, the UK Government, alongside over 100 other countries, has entered into wide-ranging bilateral agreements to enable more seamless air connectivity between countries. These are longstanding agreements that include limits on taxing jet fuel on international flights. Air Passenger Duty is therefore the principal tax on the aviation sector, charged on a per passenger basis, to ensure that airlines continue to make a fair contribution to the public finances.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce additional air passenger duty bands for long-distance flights.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Air Passenger Duty (APD) is a tax on airlines charged on a per-passenger basis for flights departing UK airports. The amount due depends on the passenger’s class of travel and the distance band. Since April 2023 there have been four destination bands: Domestic; Band A (0–2,000 miles); Band B (2,001–5,500 miles); and Band C (over 5,500 miles). This ensures that those who fly furthest, and have the greatest impact on emissions, incur the greatest duty.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to increase the business rates on airport operators at the next Budget.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to impose VAT on domestic passenger air travel.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Domestic scheduled passenger flights are zero-rated for VAT purposes, meaning that VAT is not charged on passenger fares.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the overall public finances.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total remuneration paid to the Chair of Shadow Great British Railways during their tenure from October 2024 to March 2026; and what activities and responsibilities they undertook during that period.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
From October 2024 to March 2026, the total cost, including travel and subsistence, was £102,600. This provided good value, including insights and challenge that led to more integrated regional leadership and action to improve the railway and passenger experience, providing a sound basis for Great British Railways.
The new Chair of Great British Railways will be paid £250,000 per annum. This salary reflects the size and complexity of GBR, bringing together workstreams currently split across more than 17 different organisations, including Network Rail, DFT Operator and the Train Operating Companies. This role will additionally replace the current NR and DFTO Chair roles in due course, saving hundreds of thousands of pounds in salaries for the taxpayer by combining two posts.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of corrosion-related defects on the availability of Class 150 and Class 156 rolling stock operated by Northern Trains; and how many units remain unavailable for passenger service as a result of those defects.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Northern has introduced a rolling programme of maintenance to manage corrosion-related defects affecting parts of its Class 15X fleets.
As this is a rolling programme, the numbers of trains undergoing continued service operation works changes, but as of 30 October 2026 this was: four Class 150; one Class 155; four Class 156; and one Class 158.
Northern is talking to other operators and rolling stock owning companies to identify any suitable rolling stock that could be cascaded to provide additional capacity or replace trains that have reached the end of their lives.
Asked by: Lord Moylan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport on 21 October (HC34372), what plans they have to support the expansion of open-access passenger rail services where sufficient network capacity exists; and what assessment they have made of the impact of the Railways Bill on the ability of new open-access operators to enter the market.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government supports Open Access where there is available capacity and it provides benefits for passengers and taxpayers. The Railways Bill will ensure that Great British Railways will be responsible for making best use of the railway, ensuring that capacity is fully utilised for the benefit of passengers and rail users. This will include assessment of new Open Access applications. Where such proposals represent best use they can expect to be granted capacity on the railway.