Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) assessment and (b) estimate she has made of the differential in her Department’s Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit budget in the (i) Spending Review and (ii) Autumn Budget 2025 in each year between 2024-25 and 2029-30.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Spending Review 2025 established allocations of Resource Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) up to financial year 2028-29, with further spending announcements made during Autumn Budget 2025. A profile of these spending limits is enclosed in the table below.
RDEL £m | 2025/26 | 2026/27 | 2027/28 | 2028/29 |
Control Total | 8,291.0 | 8,118.7 | 7,671.5 | 7,509.5 |
Changes at AB25 | ||||
Net changes at AB25 | - | 131.5 | 138.6 | 109.5 |
New Control Total | 8,291.0 | 8,250.200 | 7,810.100 | 7,618.953 |
Spending limits for 2029-30, as well as how Resource Spending Limits are allocated are subject to business planning processes. Furthermore, the department will provide more detail on future spending plans at the appropriate Supply Estimate.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has assessed the potential impact of eCall on (a) response times and (b) the (i) number and (ii) severity of road traffic (A) casualties and (B) fatalities in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
A pre-legislation appraisal of eCall was conducted in 2013. The report is available on gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ecall-uk-cost-benefit-analysis
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many business units will Great British Railways comprise of.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Business Units will be the powerhouse of Great British Railways (GBR), bringing together today’s infrastructure management functions provided by Network Rail, and passenger operations currently led by train operating companies, into a single local team with an accountable leader.
The detailed design process is underway, including determining the geographic make-up of GBR’s Business Units, and hence their number.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support car-sharing and car-club provision in the context of Zipcar announcing that it will cease its UK operations by the end of the year.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Minister for Local Transport met with the shared mobility industry in November to discuss how Government can continue to best support the sector and ensure the right measures are in place to support car clubs across the UK.
The Department is considering the evidence and experiences shared to inform our next steps. Our forthcoming integrated national transport strategy will focus on creating a transport network that works well for people across England and ensuring they have a choice of good transport options.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the levels of Network Rail’s energy costs.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail is required to consider value for taxpayers’ money in the way that it runs the railway. This includes in relation to energy costs. External factors, including the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine, have driven fluctuations in energy prices and have increased Network Rail’s energy costs. To mitigate any further fluctuations and increase its use of renewables, Network Rail has signed a corporate power purchase agreement (CoPPA) starting from 2026, that will see 49.9 megawatts (MW) of clean renewable energy generated, enough to power around 15% of Network Rail’s annual non-traction energy consumption.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Network Rail’s debt will be transferred to Great British Railways.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The detailed design of GBR is underway and the Network Rail debt is being considered as part of this work.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the air quality on the rail network; and whether her Department plans to issue updated guidance on air quality on the rail network.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is funding monitoring and research to assess air quality in stations and onboard trains through the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB). This includes the £5.5 million Air Quality Monitoring Network, which is collecting data at up to 72 stations across Great Britain. Where issues are identified, Network Rail and train operators are required to implement Air Quality Improvement Plans.
RSSB has also undertaken two studies to assess air quality onboard trains, with further testing planned in 2026 on different rolling stock types, including newer bi-mode, tri-mode and electric trains.
The Department keeps its air quality policy and the guidance it provides to industry under review as further evidence becomes available and continues to consider whether any updates are needed.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve cross-government understanding of developments in drone technology, and what plans the has to improve inter-departmental collaboration on the regulation and deployment of drones.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This government is delivering the Future of Flight Programme which is a joint programme between the whole of government, the Civil Aviation Authority and industry. A key strategic objective of the Programme is to achieve routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flights by 2027.
This year we spent over £21m to fund necessary regulatory changes and to support industry to commercialise the innovation that was made possible through the Future Flight Challenge. The Regulatory Innovation Office has identified drones as one of its first set of five priorities and, jointly with the previous Minister for Aviation, set the Civil Aviation Authority six key priorities to unlock growth in the sector.
As the Minister for Aviation, I chair the Future of Flight Industry Group which brings together key stakeholders across central and local government, the regulator and the industry to agree the strategic directions and ensure that the UK's ambition reflects the sector's needs.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what transparency, reporting and accounting requirements will be placed on the Office of Rail and Road to undertake effective monitoring and competition oversight of GBR’s retail activities.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
GBR’s licence will require it to comply with a code of practice, which will be owned and managed by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). The code will govern GBR’s retail industry management functions and other relevant activity. It will incorporate clear requirements for how GBR interacts with all market participants and impose separation of decision-making where relevant.
Under this approach, third parties will be able to challenge any GBR decisions or actions they consider to be non-compliant, by raising them directly with the ORR. The ORR will be required to investigate and, if it considers that GBR has not complied, it will be able to demand corrective action by issuing binding orders.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish a list of the total amount allocated to highways maintenance funding by the department, including one off grants, for the years (a) 2021/22; (b) 2022/23; (c) 2023/24; (d) 2024/25 to Central Bedfordshire Council.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The total highways maintenance funding, including one off grants, allocated to Central Bedfordshire Council for the financial years (a) 2021/22; (b) 2022/23; (c) 2023/24; and (d) 2024/25 is set out below.
Local Authority | 2021 to 2022 | 2022 to 2023 | 2023 to 2024 | 2024 to 2025 |
Central Bedfordshire | 6,941,000 | 6,941,000 | 8,632,200 | 7,643,000 |
To note, the above figures include funding from the Integrated Transport Block (ITB), which provides support for a range of local transport maintenance and enhancements. This funding stream is not limited to highways maintenance.
All highways maintenance allocations are published online at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/highways-maintenance-funding-allocations