Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2026 to Question 119471 on Vehicle Certification Agency, what estimate she has made of the additional annual revenue generated from proposed fee increases; what proportion of the deficit that revenue will cover; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of those fee increases on businesses using the Agency’s services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) reported a net deficit of £8.8m in its accounts for the 2024/25 financial year. Potential fee increases, if implemented would support the managing down of the deficit, with any remaining deficits are expected to be covered by efficiencies and additional income in other areas.
A consultation on the proposed fee increases has recently been completed, and the outputs are currently being evaluated.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate has been made of the annual cost to ferry operators serving the Isle of Wight arising from inclusion in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The expansion of the UK ETS to domestic maritime is designed to cut emissions and accelerate investment in cleaner vessels and technologies.
The Impact Assessment that accompanies the UK ETS Authority’s final response to the “UK Emissions Trading Scheme Scope Expansion: maritime sector” consultation, presents analysis on the overall cost of the UK ETS to shipping operators. The cost to each individual operator will depend on their level of emissions, whether they choose to invest in measures to reduce these emissions, and the carbon price trajectory over time. Costs for individual operators, including Isle of Wight services, will reflect their emissions profile, how quickly they adopt fuel saving or low carbon measures, and the trajectory of the carbon price over time.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on the Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor since January 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Oxford–Cambridge Corridor is a national priority for the Government. We believe that growth here will boost the whole UK economy, creating jobs, enhancing connectivity and opportunities across the UK.
On East West Rail (EWR), major construction work has completed for Connection Stage 1 and in June 2025 the line opened to freight trains. In March 2025 the Department announced Chiltern as the line operator and is working with partners to confirm a start date for the first EWR services between Oxford and Milton Keynes.
On future stages of the project, East West Rail Company completed its third non-statutory consultation in January 2025 and set out an update on proposals for the railway in November 2025. Work is currently progressing on a Spring consultation on East West Rail to take place shortly.
The new Cambridge South station is expected to open in June 2026, providing vital connectivity to the Cambridge biomedical campus and the wider region and enhancing travel options for both local residents and visitors. The station is expected to serve up to 1.8 million passengers each year, improving access to economic opportunities and housing development in the region. The station will also have built in-capacity to support future East West rail services.
In October 2025, the Government announced a £120 million funding contribution to reopen the Cowley Branch Line to passenger services. This will see regular services from Oxford starting in 2029/2030 and serving new stations at Littlemore and Cowley to support growth, housing and innovation in the city and across the region.
Turning to strategic roads, construction of the A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvement has continued and we expect it to open in 2027. When complete, the scheme will provide quicker, safer and more reliable journeys for thousands of road users every day and help give more access to jobs in Milton Keynes, Cambridge and everywhere in between.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2026 to Question 116554, whether she plans to assess the effectiveness of the analysis conducted by Thatcham Research.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has no current plans to undertake assessment of the effectiveness of the analysis conducted by Thatcham Research.
Where assessment and research are necessary to support policy development and decisions the Government draws on a broad range of evidence. This includes using existing independent evidence, where it is sourced from robust and reliable research, alongside commissioning specific Government-funded studies when necessary to fill evidence gaps or complement and corroborate existing findings.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 120369, in which month he expects to publish the statutory Private Parking Code of Practice.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government intends to lay the Private Parking Code of Practice in autumn 2026.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of passenger demand and peak-time capacity on the effectiveness of Northern services operating on the Clitheroe–Manchester line.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Rail North Partnership (which is a collaboration between Transport for the North and the Department for Transport to manage the Northern and TransPennine Express rail contracts) has regular discussions with Northern about the levels of service and passenger demand and its capacity to meet these across its network.
Every effort is taken to ensure the planned formation of trains is provided. However unfortunately there may be occasions when this is not possible due to more trains than usual requiring repair.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when Ministers in his Department first assessed the relevance of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism to the inclusion of maritime emissions within the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Neither the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) nor its EU equivalent applies to maritime emissions, and this instrument does not introduce any CBAM obligations for maritime operators.
The Common Understanding, published in May 2025 sets out the parameters for a linking agreement between the UK and EU emissions trading schemes, including that the link should apply in respect of domestic and international maritime.
Linking will facilitate an exemption from the EU CBAM, removing a major barrier to trade and lowering costs for UK businesses.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the first East West Rail services are expected to operate from Bicester to Winslow.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of current and projected gigafactory battery production capacity in Europe; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of that capacity for UK automotive demand.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK collaborates with Government, automotive industry, and academia to produce quarterly forecasts. The latest insights show, based on nameplate capacity, European cell production is projected to surpass demand in 2027.
While EU trade remains vital to the sector, it is critical for UK economic resilience and competitiveness that we build domestic battery production capacity and diverse supply chains.
This Government is supporting our domestic battery ecosystem through Industrial Strategy commitments, where we announced the UK's largest single commitment to battery R&D in the Battery Innovation Programme, and significant capital support through DRIVE35 funding.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2026 to Question 119491 on Transport: Nitrogen Dioxide, how the £478 million whole-life cost of the NO2 Programme referenced by the National Audit Office relates to the total programme budget of approximately £880 million; and what proportion of the total programme cost this represents.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department for Transport provides all capital funding and a small amount of resource funding.