Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support regional airports.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Regional airports connect all regions of the UK to national and international opportunities. They serve our local communities by supporting thousands of jobs while maintaining social and family ties and strengthening the bonds between the four nations.
The UK aviation market operates predominantly in the private sector. Airports invest in their infrastructure to attract passengers and airlines, while airlines are well placed to deliver services to their customers by responding to demand for different routes.
Ministers and officials at the Department meet regularly with regional airports to discuss issues such as regional air connectivity.
Government supports connectivity through our joint funding of three Public Service Obligation (PSO) routes into London from Newquay, Dundee and Derry/Londonderry.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve public transport provision in rural areas.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government knows how important affordable and reliable public transport services are in keeping communities connected.
We introduced the Bus Services Act 2025 to put power over local bus services back into the hands of local leaders, including in rural areas. In addition, the Government has confirmed over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators to improve bus services over the spending review period. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year. East Midlands Combined Authority will be allocated £65.5 million under the LABG from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in addition to the £21.7 million they are already receiving this year.
On 1 January 2025, the Government introduced a new £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London, and in the Spending Review announced that this would be extended until March 2027. The £3 cap replaced the £2 cap, and without action, the cap would have ended and fares would have returned to their previous levels. Local authorities can also use their LABG funding to introduce local fares initiatives to further reduce travel costs
Rail services in East Midlands Combined Authority are supported by requirements on train operators to plan services and design timetables to meet both current and future passenger demand, while also ensuring value for money for the taxpayer. The government commitment to public ownership through Great British Railways will also help to deliver a unified system that focuses on reliable, affordable, high-quality and efficient transport services, whilst also ensuring safety and accessibility. Under public ownership, passenger services can be operated in the interests of passengers, not shareholders.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help make public transport more affordable.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government knows how important affordable and reliable public transport services are in keeping communities connected.
We introduced the Bus Services Act 2025 to put power over local bus services back into the hands of local leaders, including in rural areas. In addition, the Government has confirmed over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators to improve bus services over the spending review period. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year. East Midlands Combined Authority will be allocated £65.5 million under the LABG from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in addition to the £21.7 million they are already receiving this year.
On 1 January 2025, the Government introduced a new £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London, and in the Spending Review announced that this would be extended until March 2027. The £3 cap replaced the £2 cap, and without action, the cap would have ended and fares would have returned to their previous levels. Local authorities can also use their LABG funding to introduce local fares initiatives to further reduce travel costs
Rail services in East Midlands Combined Authority are supported by requirements on train operators to plan services and design timetables to meet both current and future passenger demand, while also ensuring value for money for the taxpayer. The government commitment to public ownership through Great British Railways will also help to deliver a unified system that focuses on reliable, affordable, high-quality and efficient transport services, whilst also ensuring safety and accessibility. Under public ownership, passenger services can be operated in the interests of passengers, not shareholders.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how well prepared the UK transport sector is to combat espionage activity.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government takes its commitment to national security extremely seriously, including for the transport sector. The National Security Act 2023 overhauled previous espionage laws and created a suite of measures designed to enable our law enforcement and intelligence agencies to deter, detect and disrupt the full range of modern-day state threats.
The Department will continue to work with partners across government and industry to ensure the transport sector is an even harder target for those states who seek to conduct hostile acts against the UK, making full use of the levers available to combat espionage and other state threat activity.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made about the potential risk of (a) domestic and (b) international espionage activity impacting transport infrastructure.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport takes national security extremely seriously. We work with partners across government, internationally, and with industry to understand, mitigate and respond to the full range of threats to the transport sector, including espionage. We will not hesitate to take action if necessary, with policy options continuously kept under review.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contingency measures the Government has in place for instances of major power outages impacting people’s ability to travel by (a) personal private car transport and (b) public transport.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport considers the risks and potential impacts from power outages through ongoing robust resilience assessment and planning processes. The challenges presented by a range of different vehicle types and modes of transport, including electric vehicles, are considered as part of this. Our assessments are kept under continual review.
The Department works with the transport sector, local authorities, and other government departments to put in place measures to plan and prepare for acute power outage risks. Many transport providers work in conjunction with Local Resilience Fora as set out in the Civil Contingencies Act of 2004. This includes contingency planning to deal with local and regional emergencies, including power outages.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made about the potential impact of power outages on the ability of people the travel, in the context of the transition to electric cars.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport considers the risks and potential impacts from power outages through ongoing robust resilience assessment and planning processes. The challenges presented by a range of different vehicle types and modes of transport, including electric vehicles, are considered as part of this. Our assessments are kept under continual review.
The Department works with the transport sector, local authorities, and other government departments to put in place measures to plan and prepare for acute power outage risks. Many transport providers work in conjunction with Local Resilience Fora as set out in the Civil Contingencies Act of 2004. This includes contingency planning to deal with local and regional emergencies, including power outages.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment they have made about the potential impact of power outages on public transport networks using electric vehicles.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport considers the risks and potential impacts from power outages through ongoing robust resilience assessment and planning processes. The challenges presented by a range of different vehicle types and modes of transport, including electric vehicles, are considered as part of this. Our assessments are kept under continual review.
The Department works with the transport sector, local authorities, and other government departments to put in place measures to plan and prepare for acute power outage risks. Many transport providers work in conjunction with Local Resilience Fora as set out in the Civil Contingencies Act of 2004. This includes contingency planning to deal with local and regional emergencies, including power outages.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help improve reliability on the railways.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Improving performance is one of this Government’s strategic priorities for transport, we are determined to enhance services for passengers and deliver better value for money for the taxpayer. In response to our challenge to improve performance, the rail industry has set out a Performance Restoration Framework, with five clear areas of focus to recover performance to acceptable levels, including timetable resilience, staffing and how to keep trains moving during disruptive events.
The Department has been clear with operators and Network Rail about its expectations on performance, and how operators and Network Rail will deliver for passengers and meet their needs - this includes cancellations. The Department expects train operators to mitigate disruption and provide reliable services for passengers wherever possible.
To improve reliability and reduce traincrew related cancellations, we have developed a seven-point plan for traincrew, which we have built into business plan requirements. Operators have provided a concise, data-driven and evidence-based plan for how they will deliver the seven-point plan as part of their Business Plan responses, which were submitted in early December. These plans cover staffing levels, recruitment, training, overtime and planning efficiency to improve reliability.
The Rail Minister is continuing to meet with the Managing Directors of all train operators and their Network Rail counterparts, to address poor performance and demand immediate action to raise standards.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data her Department holds on the reliability of bus services in England.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport publishes data on bus reliability and punctuality in England. This can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/bus-statistics-data-tables#bus-reliability-and-punctuality-bus09.