Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to publish data on the potential correlation between road surface conditions and road safety outcomes for vulnerable road users.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
There are currently no plans to publish data beyond the statistics on factors contributing to collisions that are already available (published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/reported-road-accidents-vehicles-and-casualties-tables-for-great-britain#factors-contributing-to-collisions-and-casualties-ras07).
The Government recognises that defective road surfaces, including potholes, can present significant safety risks to vulnerable road users such as cyclists and motorcyclists. Local highway authorities have a statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain their road networks and must consider the needs of vulnerable groups when planning and delivering maintenance programmes.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help ensure that local authorities adopt preventative road maintenance approaches in line with the commissioned guidance.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has made available an additional £500 million for highways maintenance for 2025/26, bringing the total available funding this year to £1.6 billion. To qualify for their full share of this funding uplift, local highway authorities had to publish reports setting out how they comply with best practice, including in relation to the extent to which they prioritise preventative maintenance.
In November, the Government has confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment into local highways maintenance for the period of 2026/27 to 2029/30. By providing long term funding certainty, the Department enables local highway authorities to better plan ahead and move away from expensive, short-term pothole repairs and to instead invest in preventative road surface treatments so that roads can be fixed properly and fewer potholes form in the first place.
Earlier in January, the Department published a new rating system for every highway authority in England. Each local highway authority received a red, amber or green rating based on the condition of their roads, how much they are spending to maintain it, and whether they do so using best practice, including by adopting more preventative maintenance. The ratings, which will be updated periodically, provide an incentive for councils to adopt more preventative maintenance, and enable the Department to provide targeted support to authorities to help them adopt best practice.
To gain access to all the Department’s increased highways maintenance funding in the future, local highway authorities will have to continue to demonstrate that they comply with best practice, for example by adopting more preventative maintenance.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the cost to the logistics sector of transitioning to zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We have launched an open consultation on potential options for a future regulatory framework to decarbonise HGVs in the UK and support delivery of phase out dates for new non-zero emission HGVs. This consultation closes on 17 March 2026. We will publish a cost benefit analysis alongside any proposals for future legislation, which will assess the costs and benefits of transitioning to zero emission HGVs.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 removal of advance ticket discounts on affordability on the c2c rail line.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
c2c serves a mostly short distance turn up and go market, with around 95 per cent of all daily ticket sales made within a week of the date of travel. Affordability is therefore primarily determined by walk-up fares.
c2c reduced its single fares in December 2023 to always be half the equivalent of a return fare, a change made in readiness for the roll out of contactless Pay As You Go (PAYG) ticketing.
c2c is the first TOC in Britain to offer contactless PAYG ticketing on its whole network and advises that it has the lowest walk-up fares per mile of any train company in the southeast.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that road user charges for the Lower Thames Crossing are proportionate for local residents.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The charging regime for the Lower Thames Crossing has not yet been set. Many crossings in England, including the Dartford Crossing, already have a charge, and this will also apply to the Lower Thames Crossing. Charges are necessary to cover the costs of providing the infrastructure, whether funded publicly or privately. Under the Government's preferred financing option, the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model, it is envisaged that there would continue to be a discount for local residents once the transfer to the regulated private entity has completed.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to fund infrastructure to support the logistics industry.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government is taking signification action on infrastructure used by logistics.
National support for the road haulage industry includes joint investment with industry in lorry parking and driver welfare facilities of up to £35.7 million. This is in addition to up to £30 million joint investment by National Highways and industry to improve lorry parking on the strategic road network (SRN). The Government is also investing £25 billion in the SRN over the next 5 years.
At Autumn Budget 2025, the Government committed a further £891 million to complete the publicly funded works for the Lower Thames Crossing, to enable the private sector to take forward construction and long-term operation. The most significant road building scheme in a generation, this will relieve congestion at the Dartford Crossing, improve connectivity across the UK and to major ports, improving resilience and reliability for freight.
To support decarbonisation, the Government has invested up to £120 million in the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator, alongside up to £30 million in the Depot Charging Scheme. The Plug‑in Truck Grant also helps reduce the upfront cost of zero‑emission HGVs.
The recent Spending Review saw average annual funding increase for the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline over the next four years which will support rail freight growth.
My department is updating planning and regulatory processes for ports, including the National Policy Statement for Ports. The Government is working with the National Wealth Fund, which has committed at least £5.8 billion of its capital to five sectors, including ports.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the energy efficiency of electric heavy goods vehicles.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Zero Emission HGV Infrastructure Demonstrator programme will report on the impacts of weather, terrain, driver behaviour, and payload on efficiency and range of electric HGVs. Over 150 vehicles are now operational in UK fleets with a further 150 due to enter service by March 2026. A trial of 20 electric HGVs in public sector fleets ran between April 2022 and September 2023 and information including total miles travelled, energy consumption, and vehicle range were published and are available online at http://bett.cenex.co.uk.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the potential cost to users of a Regulated Asset Base model for the Lower Thames Crossing.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The road user charging regime for the Lower Thames Crossing has not yet been set. The exact level of charges that are appropriate and how this interacts with the level of private investment will be the subject of future analysis and has not yet been finalised.
Charges are necessary to cover the costs of providing the infrastructure, whether funded publicly or privately. Regulatory oversight will ensure transparency, fair pricing, and performance standards throughout the life of the asset to promote financial sustainability and user interests.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what milestones remain before the full funding package for the Lower Thames Crossing is confirmed.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Chancellor committed a further £891m to complete the publicly funded works for the Lower Thames Crossing, the final tranche of Government support to enable the private sector to take forward construction and long-term operation.
There are a number of key activities to complete before the project is taken forward by investors, each with its own milestones. These activities include, for example, providing the project with the necessary legislative powers, enabling the appropriate regulation and devising and running a competitive process to attract investors whilst driving value for money for users. These will take place alongside the activities on the essential early works and utilities.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the risk of construction cost overruns for the Lower Thames Crossing would be borne by (a) taxpayers and (b) private investors under the Regulated Asset Base model.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model, which is the preferred financing option for the Lower Thames Crossing, is designed to reduce taxpayer exposure to funding risks. Regulatory oversight ensures transparency, fair pricing, and performance standards throughout the life of the asset to promote financial sustainability and user interests. The precise risk allocation for construction cost overruns between users, private investors and contractors has not yet been finalised and is subject to further development but will be primarily based on precedents from other projects undertaken through RAB models.