Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consultation her Department has undertaken with UK-based bus manufacturers on the potential impact of Section 37 of the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords] on future sales of (a) hydrogen-fuel cell and (b) hydrogen combustion engine buses.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Clause 37 of the Bus Services (No.2) Bill will ultimately end the use of new non-zero emission buses on English bus services. The final date will be set out in later secondary regulations, however, will be no earlier than 1 January 2030.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell electric (HFC) buses, which are used in various parts of the country, are what is commonly meant by 'hydrogen buses'. These are available from UK manufacturers and do not emit any nitrogen oxides. They are zero emission at the tailpipe, so would continue to be usable under these regulations, along with battery electric buses. Hydrogen combustion engine buses are not present in the UK. They would emit nitrogen oxides, which are harmful to human health. They would therefore not be considered to be zero emission buses and would not be usable under these regulations.
My Department has engaged extensively with bus manufacturers as we have developed and then progressed this measure through Parliament.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the dates on which the leases for West Midlands Trains' rolling stock expire; and which entity owns those trains.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
West Midlands Trains’ rolling stock leases for the Class 172/0, 172/1, 350/1, 350/3 and 350/4, which are owned by Angel Trains, are set to run until 31 March 2026. The Class 196/0, 196/1, 730/0, 730/1, and 730/2 leases also run until 31st March 2026 and are owned by Corelink. Finally, Porterbrook own the Class 139, 172/2 and 172/3, which expire on 31 March 2026, as well as the Class 350/2 fleet which expire on 30 September 2025.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what date the powers to make compulsory purchases of land for HS2 Phase 2a purposes expire.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Compulsory Purchase powers under the Phase 2a Act will expire on 11th February 2026.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average processing time is for (a) self-employed and (b) freelancer applications to Access to Work.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We do not hold separate average processing time data for (a) self-employed and (b) freelancer applications to Access to Work. These types of applications are included within the overall Access to Work processing time.
The current average processing time for access to work is 92.0 days from April 2025 to June 2025
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.