Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2026 to Question 98657 on Railways: Nationalisation, if he will list the performance benchmarks that operators have (a) failed and (b) passed since April 2025 by (i) private and (ii) public operator.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Performance across the rail network is improving, with cancellations now at 3.6%, down from a peak of 4.1% last January. We set stretching but achievable contractual targets for operators to drive continuous improvement in performance. Since April 2025, all publicly owned operators have fallen below the expected level for at least one of the following measures in a four-weekly period: Time to 3 (T3) punctuality and All stations cancellations. Over the same period, all privately operated train companies have also fallen below the expected level for at least one of their contractual benchmarks, including TOC-on-self cancellations, Delay Minutes, Short Formations, Time to 3, Time to 15 and All cancellations.
Overall, operators currently in public ownership remain more reliable on average than those in private ownership.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department has taken to improve the reliability of rail services that have been returned to state ownership.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Public ownership is a vital step towards rebuilding trust and pride in our railways. On average, publicly owned DfT train operators perform better on punctuality and cancellations than those yet to come under DfT ownership. The department expects all operators, public and private, to deliver good performance for passengers.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the written Answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 108043 on Roads: Wildlife, if she will amend Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to reclassify cats to ensure drivers are required to stop and report a collision.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I understand the distress of owners who lose beloved pets and it is a great source of worry and uncertainty when they are lost.
There are no plans to amend section 170 of the Road Traffic Act to make it mandatory for drivers to report road collisions involving cats.
Having a law making it a requirement to report road collisions involving cats would be very difficult to enforce and we have reservations about the difference it would make to the behaviour of drivers, who are aware that they have run over a cat and do not report it.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing holders of a UK Category B driving licence to drive motorhomes with a maximum mass of 4,250kg.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has not yet made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing holders of a Category B driving licence to drive motorhomes with a maximum mass of up to 4,250kg. I acknowledge that this change is within the EU 4th Driving Licence Directive and the Department is considering whether to apply similar measures within Great Britain.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve public awareness of what drivers should do if they hit or find a deceased animal on the road, including domestic pets.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I understand the distress of owners who lose beloved pets and it is a great source of worry and uncertainty when they are lost.
All drivers are encouraged to periodically to refresh their road safety knowledge. All road users are required to comply with road traffic law in the interests of their own safety and that of other road users.
Under section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, a driver is required to stop and report a collision involving specified animals including horses, cattle, asses, mules, sheep, pigs, goats or dogs, but not cats or wild animals. This requirement arises from their status as working animals rather than as domestic pets.
Although there is no obligation to report all animal deaths on roads, drivers should, if possible, make enquiries to ascertain the owner of domestic animals, such as cats, and advise them of the situation.
In terms of the national road network, National Highways has clear guidelines for contractors to follow when they find a deceased cat or dog. This process is designed with owners in mind, giving them the best chance of being informed of the incident to allow closure; the process is set out in the Network Management Manual.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Northern Powerhouse Rail on rail connectivity, journey times, frequency and rolling stock between Blackpool and Manchester.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Northern Powerhouse Rail will deliver turn up and go railway services between Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and York, with onward services to Newcastle, Hull and Chester for North Wales.
The scheme is expected to provide connectivity and growth benefits across the wider region. Government will work with local leaders to develop the details before decisions are made on future journey times and frequencies.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with Lancashire County Council and district councils in Fylde and Wyre on the design and delivery of Northern Powerhouse Rail.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) will deliver turn up and go railway services between Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and York. The economic rationale for NPR is to enable these areas to function as a single high productivity growth corridor. The Government has worked closely with local leaders in these areas and will continue to do so in taking the design and delivery of NPR forward.
The Government will still consider future rail improvement schemes more widely for areas such as Lancashire, for example through the future rail network enhancement programme, and it will engage with local leaders and Members on their priorities in the normal way.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how Members representing Lancashire constituencies will be consulted as Northern Powerhouse Rail proposals are developed.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) will deliver turn up and go railway services between Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and York. The economic rationale for NPR is to enable these areas to function as a single high productivity growth corridor. The Government has worked closely with local leaders in these areas and will continue to do so in taking the design and delivery of NPR forward.
The Government will still consider future rail improvement schemes more widely for areas such as Lancashire, for example through the future rail network enhancement programme, and it will engage with local leaders and Members on their priorities in the normal way.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much and what proportion of funding for Northern Powerhouse Rail is expected to be spent in Lancashire.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Northern Powerhouse Rail will provide up to £45 billion of funding to deliver turn up and go railway services between Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and York. The economic rationale is enabling these areas to function as single high productivity growth corridor.
The Government has not excluded funding potential future rail improvement schemes more widely for areas such as Lancashire. This is not within the Northern Powerhouse Rail programme funding and would be considered through other sources in the normal way, such as future rail network enhancement programme funding.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any train operator has failed to meet its performance benchmarks since entering public ownership.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Since April 2025, all operators funded by the Department - both public and private - have failed at least one performance benchmark. Performance is measured on a four-weekly basis against ambitious and realistic targets. We expect train operators to work consistently towards meeting these targets and delivering good performance for passengers.
Recent data published by the Office for Road and Rail shows that reliability is higher for operators currently in public ownership under DfT Operator Ltd (DFTO) compared to private sector operators contracted by DfT.