Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 120007, how much of the average annual real-terms reduction in HS2 capital spending between 2025-26 and 2029-30 will be achieved through (a) efficiency savings, (b) reprofiling of expenditure, (c) changes to project scope and (d) changes to the delivery timetable.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The HS2 Spending Review settlement reflects the scope of work that the HS2 programme plans to deliver over the period 2026/27 to 2029/30. The average annual real-terms growth rate of -7.9% detailed in the Spending Review report reflects changes in annual spend over this period, based on the expenditure profiles HS2 Ltd agreed with the Department for Transport to deliver Phase 1 scope. It reflects the stages of the programme and supports the reset of the programme Mark Wild is conducting.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Government Fleet Commitment in increasing the proportion of zero emission vehicles in departmental vehicle hire fleets, in the context of the proportion of electric vehicles rented by departments.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Data on vehicles used by Government departments, including vehicles hired for 6 days or more, can be found online at Greening Government Commitments April 2021 to March 2024 report - GOV.UK. However, the data does not break down owned fleet and hired vehicles.
The Government Fleet Commitment was included in the Greening Government Commitments (GGCs) framework for the period between April 2021 to March 2025. The GGCs are currently under review to ensure that they remain aligned with Government priorities. Departments are expected to continue to take action to reduce their impact on the environment, including for example working with lease operators and hire companies to minimise the carbon intensity of their fleets and rental vehicles.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether she has made an assessment of the comparative costs of greenhouse gas emissions reporting across the Government estate relative to the emissions reductions achieved as a result of those activities.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
This information is not available. GPA do not manage the greenhouse gas emissions data and reporting across all of the government estate.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in which month she expects East West Rail services to commence from Oxford Parkway to Bicester.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department continues to work closely with Chiltern Railways and other partners to confirm a start date for the first EWR services between Oxford and Milton Keynes. For passenger services to commence, trains will need to have been modified and fully tested, and driver training will need to have been completed. Winslow station also needs to be fully handed over, and future staffing arrangements also remain to be agreed. Appointment of Chiltern Railways as operator was delayed by the General Election in July 2024, and consequently they were not appointed until March 2025.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the professional overview board of the National Inclusion Standards will include (a) speech and language therapists and (b) other experts on speech, language and communication.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East to the answer of 23 March 2026 to Question 121270.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2026 to Question 116584 on Aviation: Colour Vision Deficiency, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the published evidence and legal findings relating to operational colour vision assessments in other jurisdictions.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
While some national aviation authorities have begun to explore operational colour vision assessments, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is not aware of any peer‑reviewed evidence demonstrating their validation or safety equivalence to established testing methods.
The UK CAA does liaise with other regulators that have implemented operational colour vision assessments. This includes discussions on their experience with these assessments, which will be taken into consideration to inform future UK CAA policy.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether SEND practitioners will be provided with training on how to support children with speech, language and communication.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East to the answer of 23 March 2026 to Question 121271.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking in 2025-26 to reduce the fee deficit of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The MCA undertakes services, such as vessel surveys, seafarer certification and the registration of seamen and shipping for which it charges fees. These activities are pivotal to maritime safety, helping to prevent loss of life and pollution incidents at sea. For the year (2024/25), the Agency incurred costs of £14.1m and received income of £11.0m based on the charges for these services as set in the Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2018, resulting in a deficit of £3.1m.
A public consultation on the replacement for the Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2018 will be held in 2026. Following the public consultation, the Agency will aim to implement these regulations in a timely manner to ensure it can recover costs incurred in delivering its statutory services.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of current Initial Teacher Training provision in preparing teachers to support children with speech and language needs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including pupils with speech and language needs.
Courses must incorporate the minimum entitlement set out in the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework. It remains for individual providers to design courses that are appropriate to the needs of trainees and for the subject, phase and age range that the trainees will be teaching.
We have recently updated the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework, adding significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and improving inclusivity for pupils with SEND.
We have also committed to a full review of early career teacher training in 2027, which will include a focus on SEND.
In addition, we have announced a training package of over £200 million that will upskill staff in every school, college and nursery to better support pupils with SEND. Finally, we know the importance of ensuring children can speak and listen well from the earliest years, so we will develop a new oracy framework to sit alongside the revised national curriculum.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate his Department has made of current battery costs per kWh; and what assumptions underpin projections for future cost reductions.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Department does not publish an official estimate and for benchmarking we reference internationally trusted, independent sources.
Battery technology is becoming increasingly important for our national resilience. Global demand for batteries is surging, the battery value chain from raw material extraction to cell production is very concentrated.
We work closely with international partners to improve security of supply, and the Industrial Strategy published last year clearly shows the importance of building a competitive domestic battery supply in delivering economic resilience and growth for the UK.