Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the cancellation of trains in response to an AI-generated image appearing to show damage to a bridge in Lancaster, what steps they are taking to respond to and prevent the suspension of rail services as a result of AI-generated images.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Lancaster incident shows how Network Rail put safety first while using every tool to verify quickly. An AI-generated image suggested bridge damage. Network Rail treated it like any unsolicited and unconfirmed report, such as a call from a member of the public, but acted fast.
Response teams apply established protocols: caution trains, suspend movements, and deploy staff for inspection. At the same time, Network Rail verify and triangulate the facts from such reports using all available tools including driver reports, CCTV, structural monitoring systems, and digital analytics. This parallel approach speeds up assurance without compromising safety.
AI and public reports can be useful inputs, but they do not replace evidence. Network Rail’s commitment is clear: act swiftly, verify carefully, and keep passengers and staff safe.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what regulatory oversight they are developing for autonomous vehicle AI, in the light of Waymo’s plan to launch driverless taxis in London next year.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 is delivering one of the most comprehensive legal frameworks of its kind anywhere in the world for self-driving vehicles, with safety at its core. This government announced in June 2025 that we are accelerating delivery of the Automated Passenger Services (APS) statutory instrument to Spring 2026.
The APS permitting scheme will regulate deployments of automated taxi-, private-hire -and bus-like vehicles. Where required, stringent safety assessments with be conducted by the Vehicle Certification Agency, and permits will be subject to consent by the relevant Local Authority.
Our consultation on the permitting scheme and draft statutory instrument closed on 28 September and responses are now being analysed. We aim to publish the government response in early 2026. We aim to implement the remainder of the AV Act in the second half of 2027.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to strengthen cybersecurity across the railway sector.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport (DfT) works across Government to introduce relevant standards, guidance, and policy to ensure the cyber security and resilience of our essential services.
DfT uses both policy and regulatory levers to support the rail sector to effectively manage cyber risk and assist the sector to secure its networks and systems. We work closely with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the rail industry, and others to continuously assess and mitigate emerging cyber threats to the sector.
As Competent Authority under the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations 2018, DfT regulates rail Operators of Essential Servies (OES) to ensure that rail services which are most critical to the British public are compliant with relevant cyber standards. We will use the forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill (CSRB) to strengthen our regulatory powers, improve incident reporting, and expand the type of entities in scope.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of the aviation sector to emissions in the UK, and of the impact on the UK's ability to meet climate targets.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
According to the latest final UK greenhouse gas emissions statistics published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, greenhouse gas emissions from domestic and international civil aviation in 2023 totalled 34.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e). This was 8 percent of total UK greenhouse gas emissions.
The government is making great strides in transitioning to greener aviation, including by introducing the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate and introducing the SAF Bill to implement the revenue certainty mechanism.
The government makes regular assessments concerning the impact of aviation emissions on climate targets. A Carbon Budget Delivery Plan will be published later this year, detailing policies to decarbonise all sectors, including aviation, covering the carbon budget 4 - 6 period (2023 – 2037).
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to enable the use of fully autonomous vehicles and what are their plans for their regulation.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
His Majesty’s Government is committed to strengthening the UK’s reputation as a global leader in self-driving vehicle technology.
The Automated Vehicles (AV) Act 2024 delivers one of the most comprehensive legal frameworks of its kind anywhere in the world, with safety at its core. It sets out clear legal responsibilities, so businesses know where they stand, establishes a safety framework and creates the necessary regulatory powers. The Automated Vehicles Act Implementation programme aims to deliver the regulatory framework in the second half of 2027.
The introduction of automated passenger services regulations has been accelerated, subject to the outcome of a consultation later this summer. It will help facilitate commercial pilots of services with paying passengers and no safety driver to be deployed from spring 2026. These pilots will drive innovation, attract investment, and help shape the final regime.
In June, we launched a consultation and accompanying draft statutory instrument on protecting marketing terms for automated vehicles. This consultation aims to identify the words, expressions, symbols or marks that should only be used to describe authorised AVs to avoid consumer confusion.
June also saw the publication of a call for evidence on the Statement of Safety Principles, which will consider the safety outcomes that should be sought through the introduction of self-driving vehicles.
Further consultations will be taking place on the AV Act’s regulatory framework between now and 2027. This phased approach balances strong safeguards with the opportunity to realise the significant economic and societal benefits of this emerging technology.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve infrastructure for autonomous vehicles to operate effectively.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Self-driving vehicles will need to be able to safely operate using existing infrastructure as is and therefore we do not anticipate any immediate changes in current road maintenance practices.
Road authorities may choose to develop their networks to maximise the benefits of new technologies (e.g. sending a warning of a hazard on a road).
National Highways are exploring the impacts of automated vehicles on road layout, lane markings and roadwork design, and digitisation across the Strategic Road Network (SRN).
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the quantity of new motorway constructed in the past ten years, and what plans they have to develop further motorways.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
No government for 30 years has proposed building significant stretches of new motorway.
The Department for Transport sets out forward investment plans for England’s strategic road network of motorways and major A-roads within 5-year road investment strategies. During the first RIS, covering 2015-2020, National Highways delivered 36 major enhancements schemes, adding 343 lane miles of capacity. In RIS2, covering 2020-2025, National Highways delivered a further 30 major enhancements, adding a further 363 lane miles of capacity. The Department is in the process of developing RIS3, starting in 2026. The scope of investment will be determined by the ongoing Spending Review.
The Department publishes total lengths of England’s road network including trunk A-roads and Motorways on the GOV UK website.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of artificial intelligence powered self-driving cars; and what plans they have to introduce safety measures for self-driving cars.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Following Royal Assent of the Automated Vehicles (AV) Act, we are pressing ahead with our world-leading work on the safe implementation of automated vehicles. The AV implementation programme is designed to prioritise the development of a regulatory framework that maximises innovation, public safety and strengthens public confidence. We are aware that different approaches are taken to self-driving technology. Our regulations will take an outcome-based approach.
As part of this, we plan to run a suite of consultations to enable implementation of the regulatory framework, including our processes for assuring the safety of these vehicles throughout their lifetime. We are also playing a leading role in work to harmonise international rules on self-driving, which will enable our companies to export globally.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that firms are not managing to reach the 22-per-cent electric vehicle sales target; and what assessment they have made of whether the UK has the appropriate (1) legislation, and (2) infrastructure, in place to support the sales of electric vehicles.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Due to the CO2 conversion flexibility included in the ZEV Mandate legislation, which allows a manufacturer to sell fewer ZEVs in exchange for reducing their CO2 emissions of their non-ZEVs, the Government believes that the car market as a whole has complied with the 22% target. In December the Government launched the consultation Phasing out sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 and supporting the ZEV transition which seeks views from the public and industry on how to support vehicle manufacturers to meet the targets going forward.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the estimated costs of HS2 remain manageable and within the planned budget.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
With delivery now well underway, this government’s current focus is the safe delivery of HS2 between Birmingham and London Euston at the lowest reasonable cost. On 20 October we set out the urgent action that we are taking to bring HS2 back under control, get a grip on costs, and ensure taxpayers’ money is put to good use.
We have reinstated ministerial oversight of the project to ensure greater accountability and have commissioned an independent review of the oversight of major transport infrastructure projects, which will investigate the effectiveness of forecasting and reporting of cost, schedule and benefits, as well as actions to deliver cost efficiencies. The recommendations from this review will inform our decisions on what further action may need to be taken.
The government is also tasking the new CEO of HS2 Ltd, Mark Wild, with producing an action plan to reset the programme and deliver the remaining work as cost effectively as possible.