Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will issue guidance to local authorities on the proportionate use of taxi and private hire operator suspension powers under the English Devolution Act.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

New powers adopted in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act will enable local authorities to immediately suspend licenses in the interests of public safety, regardless of where a driver is licensed. To support licensing authorities in using this new power, the Government will provide guidance on its use to ensure it is exercised consistently and where justified by the circumstances of the case.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has had discussions with Ofcom on the number of complaints it has received from micro and small businesses relating to the mis-selling of telecommunications contracts in each of the last five years.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

Small businesses should feel confident they are treated fairly when buying telecoms services. Ofcom’s General Conditions provide important protections, including on clear contract information, contract summaries, termination rights, contract length and access to alternative dispute resolution.

In April 2026, the Government designated its Statement of Strategic Priorities that emphasised that Ofcom should continue to ensure that businesses across the country, including those in rural areas, are able to access the fast, reliable, and resilient broadband services they need to thrive. The regulator should work to ensure a healthy business connectivity market is treated as a priority.

Government has not made a separate assessment with Ofcom on mis-selling complaints and monitoring compliance, and enforcement are matters for Ofcom. However, Ofcom has provided data showing small business mis-selling complaints of 357 in 2024, 273 in 2025, and 123 in 2026 as of 14 September, representing a gradual decrease over a 3-year period.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Ofcom's enforcement of its General Conditions in relation to the sale of telecommunications services to micro and small enterprises.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

Small businesses should feel confident they are treated fairly when buying telecoms services. Ofcom’s General Conditions provide important protections, including on clear contract information, contract summaries, termination rights, contract length and access to alternative dispute resolution.

In April 2026, the Government designated its Statement of Strategic Priorities that emphasised that Ofcom should continue to ensure that businesses across the country, including those in rural areas, are able to access the fast, reliable, and resilient broadband services they need to thrive. The regulator should work to ensure a healthy business connectivity market is treated as a priority.

Government has not made a separate assessment with Ofcom on mis-selling complaints and monitoring compliance, and enforcement are matters for Ofcom. However, Ofcom has provided data showing small business mis-selling complaints of 357 in 2024, 273 in 2025, and 123 in 2026 as of 14 September, representing a gradual decrease over a 3-year period.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of protections for micro and small businesses entering into long-term telecommunications contracts.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

Small businesses should feel confident they are treated fairly when buying telecoms services. Ofcom’s General Conditions provide important protections, including on clear contract information, contract summaries, termination rights, contract length and access to alternative dispute resolution.

In April 2026, the Government designated its Statement of Strategic Priorities that emphasised that Ofcom should continue to ensure that businesses across the country, including those in rural areas, are able to access the fast, reliable, and resilient broadband services they need to thrive. The regulator should work to ensure a healthy business connectivity market is treated as a priority.

Government has not made a separate assessment with Ofcom on mis-selling complaints and monitoring compliance, and enforcement are matters for Ofcom. However, Ofcom has provided data showing small business mis-selling complaints of 357 in 2024, 273 in 2025, and 123 in 2026 as of 14 September, representing a gradual decrease over a 3-year period.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the prevalence of mis-selling of telecommunications contracts to micro and small businesses.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

Small businesses should feel confident they are treated fairly when buying telecoms services. Ofcom’s General Conditions provide important protections, including on clear contract information, contract summaries, termination rights, contract length and access to alternative dispute resolution.

In April 2026, the Government designated its Statement of Strategic Priorities that emphasised that Ofcom should continue to ensure that businesses across the country, including those in rural areas, are able to access the fast, reliable, and resilient broadband services they need to thrive. The regulator should work to ensure a healthy business connectivity market is treated as a priority.

Government has not made a separate assessment with Ofcom on mis-selling complaints and monitoring compliance, and enforcement are matters for Ofcom. However, Ofcom has provided data showing small business mis-selling complaints of 357 in 2024, 273 in 2025, and 123 in 2026 as of 14 September, representing a gradual decrease over a 3-year period.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of compliance within the telecommunications sector with Ofcom General Condition C1.11 relating to contract commitment periods for micro and small enterprises.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

Small businesses should feel confident they are treated fairly when buying telecoms services. Ofcom’s General Conditions provide important protections, including on clear contract information, contract summaries, termination rights, contract length and access to alternative dispute resolution.

In April 2026, the Government designated its Statement of Strategic Priorities that emphasised that Ofcom should continue to ensure that businesses across the country, including those in rural areas, are able to access the fast, reliable, and resilient broadband services they need to thrive. The regulator should work to ensure a healthy business connectivity market is treated as a priority.

Government has not made a separate assessment with Ofcom on mis-selling complaints and monitoring compliance, and enforcement are matters for Ofcom. However, Ofcom has provided data showing small business mis-selling complaints of 357 in 2024, 273 in 2025, and 123 in 2026 as of 14 September, representing a gradual decrease over a 3-year period.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of alternative dispute resolution arrangements for micro and small businesses in disputes with telecommunications providers.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

Small businesses should feel confident they are treated fairly when buying telecoms services. Ofcom’s General Conditions provide important protections, including on clear contract information, contract summaries, termination rights, contract length and access to alternative dispute resolution.

In April 2026, the Government designated its Statement of Strategic Priorities that emphasised that Ofcom should continue to ensure that businesses across the country, including those in rural areas, are able to access the fast, reliable, and resilient broadband services they need to thrive. The regulator should work to ensure a healthy business connectivity market is treated as a priority.

Government has not made a separate assessment with Ofcom on mis-selling complaints and monitoring compliance, and enforcement are matters for Ofcom. However, Ofcom has provided data showing small business mis-selling complaints of 357 in 2024, 273 in 2025, and 123 in 2026 as of 14 September, representing a gradual decrease over a 3-year period.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the outcomes of Ireland's Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme; and if she will (a) commission an assessment of a similar pilot in the UK and (b) consider the Isle of Wight as a potential pilot location.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is not currently considering basic income for artists. We believe that British creators are second-to-none and are committed to giving them security and a regulatory and fiscal environment where creativity can flourish. This is exemplified with our recent Employment Rights Act, our appointment of freelance champions Leila D’Aronville and Lizzie Crump and our 5% uplift to National Portfolio Organisations, giving certainty for staff and freelancers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to make changes to airport slot allocation rules to protect access for dedicated air freight and cargo services.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The government recognises the crucial role air freight plays in transporting goods to and from the UK, which benefits consumers and businesses and facilitates growth in large parts of the economy beyond aviation.

Airport Coordination Limited, the UK’s independent slot coordinator is responsible for allocating slots at the UK’s slot coordinated airports. The UK Government is not involved in slot allocation and has no power to intervene in this process.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is currently undertaking its review of the 1991 Traffic Distribution Rules after consulting stakeholders more widely. Once the review has concluded and the CAA has provided its advice, the government will give this careful consideration before determining next steps.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what modifications are required to the trains intended to operate passenger services between Oxford and Milton Keynes on East West Rail; what the estimated cost of those modifications is; and when she expects modification and testing of those trains to be completed.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Modifications are nearing completion and a full testing regime is underway that will support the safety validation process. We will provide further updates on modifications when modifications are complete. The costs for modifications are commercially sensitive and cannot be released currently.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many drivers and riders killed in road collisions had (a) toxicology results available, (b) toxicology results available for alcohol and (c) toxicology results available for drugs, in each of the last ten years; and what proportion of all deceased drivers and riders those figures represented in each year.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Statistics on drivers killed in road collisions with toxicology results is based on data reported to police using the STATS19 system and data that is received by the Department from coroners and procurators’ fiscal. The latest year for which coroner and procurators’ fiscal data is available is 2024.

The number of a) drivers or riders killed in road collisions, in Great Britain, where toxicology results were available for alcohol or drugs and;

the proportion of all deceased drivers or riders this represents, for each of the last 10 years is provided in the table below.

Note: Pedal cycle riders and horse riders have been filtered out of the data. This is because the current prescribed alcohol and drug limits apply only to drivers of motor vehicles. This only includes drivers or riders aged 16 or above.

Information on (b) the number of killed drivers and riders with toxicology available for alcohol and;

c) the number with toxicology available for drugs area available on GOV.uk in tables 1 and 2 of the report on “Drugs in reported road fatalities in Great Britain”: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/developing-drug-driving-statistics

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2026 to Question 15005 on Large Goods Vehicles: Electric Vehicles, when her Department last updated the assumptions in its Total Cost of Ownership modelling for HGVs relating to (a) battery-electric vehicle purchase prices, (b) diesel vehicle purchase prices, (c) electricity and fuel prices, (d) charging infrastructure costs and (e) residual values; and when it next plans to update that modelling.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The assumptions underpinning the total cost of ownership analysis for zero emission heavy goods vehicles are kept under continuous review as evidence emerges. Further details will be published alongside the next consultation on the HGV CO2 emissions regulatory framework.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Heathrow Airport expansion on passenger charges under the existing economic regulatory model.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government has been clear that affordability is a key consideration for Heathrow expansion. The draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement makes clear that the Government will consider the affordability of any proposed expansion scheme as part of the DCO decision-making process.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as Heathrow's independent economic regulator, is responsible for administering the framework through which Heathrow's airport charges are set. The CAA is currently developing its approach to the regulation of expansion. This includes consideration of issues such as cost recovery, risk allocation and incentives for efficient delivery, which will help determine how expansion costs are passed through to airport users.

Found: ; St Ives) Paulette Hamilton (Labour; Birmingham Erdington) Alex McIntyre (Labour; Gloucester) Joe Robertson

Found: Danny Beales Ben Coleman Josh Fenton-Glynn Andrew George Paulette Hamilton Alex McIntyre Joe Robertson