Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress her Department has made with the Office of Rail and Road and Network Rail on (a) identifying unused track access rights and (b) making underused rail capacity available to open access operators.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Identification and address of unused track access rights is through the robust industry process for maintenance of rights in accordance with the Network Code, applied by the Operators and Network Rail as overseen by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). Open access operators may apply to utilise available capacity alongside operators contracted by Government. It will then be a matter for Network Rail and the ORR to decide through the established systems and processes how capacity should ultimately be allocated.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the amount of (a) land and (b) property estate owned by Network Rail that is (i) unused, (ii) under-developed and (iii) available for commercial use.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail owns c.52,000 hectares of land. All of Network Rail’s land is deemed to be operational and required for the specific functioning of the railway network. Land can only be deemed surplus once it has gone through a regulatory process governed by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
Network Rail regularly reviews whether land can be released from operational use and has a pipeline of potential sites that are at different stages of the business release and regulatory process. This is not a static list and information is released to potential purchasers and delivery partners at the appropriate time.
Significant sites that are in the pipeline for development, include:
Newcastle Forth Yards: a 100-acre regeneration opportunity which could deliver 5,000 new homes
Manchester Mayfield: opportunity for 1,500 new homes
Cambridge: a mixed-use development with 425 homes
Nottingham: 200 new homes following 348 successfully delivered homes at The Barnum, Nottingham
Network Rail also owns, and manages, other commercial uses on its estate principally within in its managed stations (retail and advertising for example) and within the retained arch portfolio.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the amount of land owned by Train Operating Companies that is (a) unused, (b) undeveloped and (c) available for commercial use.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not hold information on land owned by train operating companies as they do not typically own land; rather they lease stations and pay track and depot access charges to the relevant infrastructure owner.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes in the level of the employer National Insurance contributions on the economy in Wales.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
The government recognises the need to protect the smallest employers which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of businesses with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change. SMEs account for 99.3% of total enterprises in Wales.
The previous Conservative Government left us a £22bn black hole in public finances and the highest debt burden in 70 years – we are fixing the mess the party left to kickstart economic growth and put more money in people’s pockets.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish the Terms of Reference for the appointment of Baroness Batters to lead a Farm Profitability Review.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Terms of Reference for Baroness Minette Batters’ review of farm profitability were published on 7 April 2025 - Farming Profitability Review: terms of reference - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the name is of the division of the Cabinet Office formerly known as the clearing house.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Matters relating to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 sit with the Freedom of Information Policy Team in the Cabinet Office.
Further information about the role Cabinet Office plays in ensuring compliance with the Freedom of Information Act across government is published here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-and-freedom-of-information
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many standalone equality, diversity and inclusion roles are employed by (a) his Department and (b) the Office for Equality and Opportunity.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
There are 6 full-time equivalents working in standalone EDI roles. These sit in HR teams across the different Cabinet Office functions and the central HR team in line with the EDI Expenditure guidance published in May 2024, delivering statutory obligations and government priorities. In May 2024, the Cabinet Office had 7 full time equivalent working in standalone EDI roles.
The Office for Equality and Opportunity is responsible for external government policy on equality. It does not have any internal roles focused on equality, diversity, and inclusion.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 25452 on Cabinet Office: Staff, how many staff were attached to the Skills Match Hub on 1 February 2025.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Secret Intelligence Service is a paid member of Stonewall.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) is a paid member of Stonewall.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many photographers are employed by Government Departments.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Departments may employ photographers in order to support government’s priorities, enable effective operation of public services and improve people’s lives.
The Cabinet Office Communications team employs two Digital Media Officers who support government work in Departments and undertake photography as a small part of their duties.
There are also 2 full time, dedicated photographers in the No10 team. Although they are funded by the Cabinet Office, their work is managed by No10.