Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the National security risk posed by (a) ownership and (b) investment by Chinese companies in Heathrow Airport.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government takes its responsibility for national security extremely seriously and balances this with its continued commitment to welcome inward investment in a way that provides investors with the certainty and transparency they need to do business in the UK.
We work across government to conduct due diligence and other assessments and ensure that any potential national security risk to the UK is handled appropriately. For any new qualifying investments in sensitive sectors, which include transport, we will use the powers in the National Security and Investment Act 2021 to scrutinise transactions and intervene if necessary to protect national security.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the impact of (a) ownership and (b) investment in Heathrow Airport by Chinese companies.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government takes its responsibility for national security extremely seriously and balances this with its continued commitment to welcome inward investment in a way that provides investors with the certainty and transparency they need to do business in the UK.
We work across government to conduct due diligence and other assessments and ensure that any potential national security risk to the UK is handled appropriately. For any new qualifying investments in sensitive sectors, which include transport, we will use the powers in the National Security and Investment Act 2021 to scrutinise transactions and intervene if necessary to protect national security.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of the Chinese market share of the electric vehicle market on risks to national security.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is closely monitoring China's role in the automotive industry and UK electric vehicle (EV) market, including potential risks to national security.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has she made in re-baselining East-West Rail Connection State 2 and 3.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In the Spending Review in June, the Government announced £2.5bn of funding to progress the delivery of East West Rail (EWR). The Government has committed to accelerating work to deliver EWR benefits early where possible and is reviewing what can be done to bring higher frequency services to Bedford ahead of route completion. In assessing the best way to sequence the programme as a whole, East West Railway Company is looking at alternative ways to deliver more passenger services and new stations earlier to unlock benefits for local people and businesses. Work is continuing over the coming months, and more information will be provided in a more detailed plan next year.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions are held between UK Search and Rescue Aviation and Magpas Air Ambulance in Cambridgeshire on precedence of responses.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There have been no direct discussions with Magpas Air Ambulance and HM Coastguard search and rescue aviation. On request from an authorised authority for search and rescue air assistance the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Aeronautical Rescue will assess the request to ensure that it is appropriate, achievable and compliant and will deconflict every incident. Search and rescue aircraft are prioritised on the risk to life.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 79742 on Railways: Mobile Broadband, by what date mainline trains will be fitted with Low Earth Orbit satellite technology.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Funding for LEO satellite technology becomes available in the new financial year 2026, at which point my officials will begin the implementation of this on trains.
The objective will be to complete all installations within 5 years from 2026/2027, and this is based on our experience of fitting all GB trains with on-train wifi between 2016 and 2020.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 October 2025 to Question 79364 on Defence Safety Authority, what recent progress the Maritime and Coastguard Authority has made on the development of its own maritime autonomy programme.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency have developed multiple workstreams to support the UK’s maritime autonomy industry. This includes marine guidance notices and the third edition of the UK’s Workboat Code, which provide a regulatory framework within which autonomous vessels can operate. In addition, the recently developed Remote Operator Training and Certification Pilot Framework provides a voluntary scheme for training and certification of Remote Operators, which will lead to an experienced and qualified workforce.
The existing provisions under the Merchant Shipping Act have been maximised to support various sizes and types of vessels, and as parliamentary time allows, we will go further to enable emerging use cases.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she expects Project Reach to be completed.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail’s Reach partners are developing a detailed delivery plan and hope to have made significant improvements to coverage this control period (end of 2029).
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of a new station at Alconbury Weald as part of the East Coast Mainline Programme.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Following the conclusion of the Spending Review, I can confirm that there are no current plans to construct a new East Coast Main Line (ECML) station at Alconbury Weald. The Department recognises the importance of the ECML and is working with Network Rail and industry stakeholders in developing a sustainable long-term strategy of investment for the route.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the European Train Control System on the East Coast Mainline on the feasibility of a new station at Alconbury Weald.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
1) There are no current plans to construct a new East Coast Main Line (ECML) station at Alconbury Weald. The Department recognises the importance of the ECML and is starting work with Network Rail and industry stakeholders on development of a long-term strategy of investment for the route.
2) The following progress has been made on the East Coast Digital Programme. In May 2025, the first phase of the scheme was complete with the removal of conventional lineside signals, and all services using digital signalling on the Northern City Line (NCL) between Finsbury Park and Moorgate. This is the first no signals commuter railway in the country, and first of any kind since the early Cambrian Line pilot in 2011. 100,000 services have now operated on NCL using digital signalling.
The infrastructure between Welwyn and Hitchin has been upgraded for the first European Train Control System (ETCS) section on the ECML. In line with the approach taken on NCL, the Welwyn to Hitchin section will initially operate as an overlay (i.e. able to operate with both conventional and digital signalling) to facilitate driver conversion training. The work is being led by Network Rail who, subject to the necessary assurances and regulatory processes, anticipate being able to begin driver train using digital signalling through that section from summer 2026.
3) Work to implement the ETCS on the East Coast Mainline between Huntingdon and Kings Cross is scheduled to be completed in the early 2030s.