Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the level of net Government support to the rail sector per passenger journey in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department’s support for the 14 contracted operators and Network Rail was £8.47 per passenger journey in 2024/25. It is currently estimated that this will steadily decrease to circa £7.40 in 2028/29, primarily driven by a declining rail passenger services subsidy as passenger ridership and revenue continue to recover post COVID-19 and efficiencies and as savings are made through public ownership.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the impact of the Revenue Certainty Mechanism on the cost of Sustainable Aviation Fuel compared with conventional jet fuel.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Revenue Certainty Mechanism (RCM) aims to support the development of first-of-a-kind SAF plants and pave the way for lower cost UK SAF plants.
The Government published a Cost Benefit Analysis for the SAF RCM in May 2025.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she will take to ensure Great British Railways Retail is treated as a market participant operating under the same terms and conditions as independent rail operators; and what discussions she has had with the Office of Rail and Road on this matter.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The retail industry code of practice announced in the Government's response to the Railways Bill consultation will incorporate clear requirements for how Great British Railways (GBR) should interact with all market participants. The code of practice will be owned and managed by the Office of Rail and Road, and GBR’s licence will require it to comply.
The government has confirmed that there will be full consultation on the production of the code of practice, thereby ensuring important input from industry, regulatory and other stakeholders. The government recognises that there will be a range of interested parties in both its original development and any ongoing updates to ensure it remains effective.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what volume of rail freight in tonne-kilometres was moved in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The data for November 2025 has not yet been published. The most recent available data is for Rail Period 7 (14 September 2025 to 11 October 2025) where a total of 1,258 million net tonne-kilometres of freight were moved by rail.
The net tonne-kilometres of rail freight moved each rail period is published by the Office of Rail and Road in Table 1314 which is available at:
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what responsibilities his Department has in providing alternative safe, legal and compliant space for the Crowborough Cadets at Crowborough Training Camp, in the context of its proposed use for asylum seeker accommodation.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government takes the safety and wellbeing of all Cadets extremely seriously. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to work with the Home Office to assess the potential impact that housing asylum seekers on military bases could have on our Cadet Forces and future activities, and to develop any necessary mitigating actions. Our priority is ensuring these developments have limited impact on our Cadets, and we will always apply the appropriate safeguarding measures so that we can continue delivering Cadet programmes. We will also ensure that staff, Cadets and their families are kept abreast of any updates.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what responsibilities he has for the Crowborough cadets at Crowborough training camp.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government takes the safety and wellbeing of all Cadets extremely seriously. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to work with the Home Office to assess the potential impact that housing asylum seekers on military bases could have on our Cadet Forces and future activities, and to develop any necessary mitigating actions. Our priority is ensuring these developments have limited impact on our Cadets, and we will always apply the appropriate safeguarding measures so that we can continue delivering Cadet programmes. We will also ensure that staff, Cadets and their families are kept abreast of any updates.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what role and responsibilities his Department has for cadet security and protection on Army training camps.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence takes the safety and wellbeing of all cadets extremely seriously. Cadets receive the same level of security as other users of the
Defence Estate, aligned to the UK Threat Level and Response.
Cadet facilities on the Defence Estate fall under the Head of Establishment; those in other locations not on the Defence Estate are overseen by the local Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Association.
Defence operates a robust safeguarding system open to referrals from cadets, volunteers and parents, with all concerns investigated. Physical security is reviewed regularly, and risk assessments are aligned to security regulations. Industry partners that work on site are subject to the minimum vetting of Baseline Personnel Security Standards.
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 21 July 2025 to Question 67397 on Aviation: Alternative Fuels, what the total budgeted cost is for the continuation of the Advanced Fuels Fund through to 2029–30.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Spending Review 2025 will continue support for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the UK to 2029/30 by building on the Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF). DfT will provide details on the parameters of this support in due course.
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 28 October 2025 to Question 83387 on Large Goods Vehicles: Electric Vehicles, what estimate her Department has made of the annual cost of the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator programme for each of the next five years from 1 January 2026.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are unable to confirm the spend for 2025-26 as the financial year is still in progress with projects placing orders for final ZE HGVs and infrastructure sites.
All project spend is due to end at the end of the current financial year (31 March 2026). Programme spend for the remainder of the Spending Review period (2026/27-2029/30) is £1 million and will cover programme management costs, and benefits monitoring and evaluation activities.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what functions of Great British Railways will be located at the new Derby headquarters.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Derby will be the heart of our new rail network as the home of GBR, and work to establish the GBR Headquarters in Derby, including which functions will be located there, is continuing. The national headquarters will bring high-skilled jobs to a city already brimming with rail industry talent.