Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, how much of the capital funding to (a) maintain and (b) improve roads between 2026-27 and 2029-30 will be spent in Huntingdon constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Further details on the breakdown of the £24 billion of capital funding will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, how much of the Freight Innovation Fund accelerator is allocated to be spent in Huntingdon constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In 2023, the Freight Innovation Fund accelerator awarded £133,000 to RoboK Limited, a Cambridgeshire based start-up. This award was part of the more than £3.9 million funding that the accelerator has allocated to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK in the last three years.
This accelerator programme is open to UK-based SMEs who meet additional eligibility criteria and fund recipients are subject to a rigorous selection process to ensure awards are directly supporting innovation in the freight sector and specific challenges set each year. The Department will shortly announce the successful SMEs for year four of the accelerator.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many days were lost to sickness absence by civil servants in their Department (a) in total and (b) on average per employee between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Data is published on the average working days lost for the central Department on an annual basis for each financial year. Information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence with figures back to 1999.
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 building a bypass on the A1 at Buckden roundabout, in the context of potential levels of traffic caused by (a) Universal Studios, (b) proposed development at Brampton Cross and (c) the proposed logistics parks at Hinchingbrooke and Wavesey.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are currently no plans to bypass the Buckden Roundabout on the A1 in Cambridgeshire. However, the Department and National Highways recognise the significant emerging development in the region and will consider how to maintain the performance of the strategic road network and how it can support emerging development there. This will be considered as part of ongoing engagement with local authorities and other partners.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, how much of the funding for the Local Transport Grant to improve transport connectivity in (a) smaller cities, (b) towns and (c) rural areas will be spent in Huntingdon constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) has been allocated just under £40 million of the Local Transport Grant from 2026-27 to 2029-30. It is for CPCA to determine how this funding is used across the combined authority and constituent authorities, in line with local priorities. The Local Transport Grant is additional to bus, active travel and highways maintenance funding.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, how much of the funding to (a) maintain and (b) improve bus services will be spent in Huntingdon constituency in each year between 2025-26 and 2029-30.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The £900 million RDEL per year to maintain and improve bus services referenced in the UK's Modern Industrial Strategy refers to funding announced at the Spending Review on 11 June. This funding applies from 2026/27 through to 2028/29. The Department for Transport is working with key stakeholders to develop and implement a new bus grant allocation system for future years of bus funding, and individual allocations for Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) will be announced following this process.
The Department has already announced individual allocations for funding to support and improve bus services in 25/26 through the LA Bus Grant. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority have been allocated £10.6 million. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers, which could include improvements in Huntingdon constituency.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, by what date she plans to publish the new plan for freight and logistics.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government intends to publish a new plan for freight and logistics before the end of the year. The development of this plan is underway in partnership with industry and sector stakeholders. This includes workshops in early summer and discussions with the Freight Council to ensure the plan addresses sector needs and supports the ambitions of the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy.
The forthcoming plan will build on actions already taken to raise the status of freight within government and provide tangible support the sector in areas including innovation and planning. The plan will reaffirm our commitment to collaborating with the freight and logistics sector to drive transformation and recognise freight as a strategic enabler in delivering economic growth and the transition to Net Zero. Further commitments and actions will be detailed when the plan is published.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to prevent the exploitation of trade insurance policies by motorists to allow otherwise uninsured drivers to drive any vehicle on that policy.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All drivers must be insured to drive the vehicle they are using and for the purpose it is used for.
The Government takes uninsured driving seriously. Police forces work closely with the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) to tackle this. This is achieved through Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE), a scheme where MIB and DVLA collaborate to identify uninsured drivers and police enforcement on the road. There is also a national policing initiative known as Operation Tutelage to reduce the level of uninsured driving on our roads.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress she has made in implementing recommendations set out in the Stewart Review of HS2, published on 18 June 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The James Stewart review made 89 recommendations across a number of themes. Four of these are complete and have been successfully implemented, all relating to the governance of the programme. The majority of the remaining recommendations are being implemented as part of the HS2 reset. HS2 Ltd will continue to work with and advise the Department on what is needed to complete the reset programme to deliver HS2 safely and at the lowest reasonable cost. Future updates on the reset and progress on implementation of the recommendations related to HS2 will be shared in the 6 monthly parliamentary report.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what upgrades will take place as part of the East Coat Mainline Programme in Huntingdon constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has invested £1.2bn in a package of route-wide infrastructure upgrades as part of the East Coast Main Line Enhancements Programme, the benefits of which are due to be realised through introduction of a recast timetable in this December, which will provide more frequent and faster services across the route. Following the conclusion of the Spending Review, the Department is also working closely with Network Rail and industry stakeholders to develop options for a long-term pipeline of investment on the East Coast Mainline. This work will consider Network Rail’s assessment of the congested infrastructure on the route – including those identified between Huntingdon North Junction and New England North Junction – and explore opportunities to mitigate these constraints.