Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support her Department provides to local authorities to maintain bus routes with low commercial viability.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to delivering better buses throughout the country and wants to see an end to the decline in bus services we have seen in recent years. The Government introduced the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill on 17 December as part of its ambitious plan for bus reform. The Bill will put passenger needs, reliable services and local accountability at the heart of the industry by putting the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England.
We know these plans need to be backed with funding and we have confirmed funding of £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country of which the Tees Valley Combined Authority was allocated £7.2 million. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers. This could include subsidising services which are not commercially viable.
The Government reaffirmed its commitment to investing in bus services long-term in this Spending Review. On 11 June, the Government confirmed additional £900m resource funding per year from 26/27 to maintain and improve bus services. Local transport authorities will find out their individual allocations from this funding in due course.
In addition, the Government continues to make available around £244 million each year (in 2025-26, rising to £249 million in 2026-27) to fund the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) and BSOG Plus. The BSOG is paid to operators of eligible commercial bus services and community transport organisations to help keep fares down and run services that might otherwise be unsustainable. BSOG Plus was introduced in July 2023 to provide further support in maintaining services to eligible commercial operators.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the level of effectiveness of e-scooter trials in reducing urban congestion.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
E-scooters can offer an alternative means of transport to those who would usually drive a car, which could have a positive impact on reducing congestion.
Many of the benefits of e-scooters depend on mode shift. The first national evaluation of the e-scooter trials assessed various impacts, including mode shift, however this concluded in 2021.
That is why we have commissioned a second national evaluation of the e-scooter trials, due to conclude in May 2026. This evaluation will explore what journeys e-scooters are replacing; how they integrate with public transport; their safety for users and for others; and the accessibility impacts of e-scooters.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure major infrastructure projects in the North East are delivered on time and on budget.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This government is investing significantly in the North East to improve transport connectivity and grow the economy.
Following the recent Spending Review, we announced funding for Nexus to develop an upgrade to the signalling system on the Tyne and Wear Metro and confirmed our continued support for the Tyne Bridge and Central Motorway scheme. These major schemes will be for local delivery, with the North East Mayor and local authorities responsible for ensuring they are delivered on time and to budget. My Department maintains close contact with local partners responsible for delivering these schemes. In addition, the North East and Tees Valley mayoral combined authorities receive funding to deliver local transport projects through various funds, including the City Region Sustainable Transport and Transport for City Regions settlements (CRSTS and TCR). The respective Mayors for these areas are responsible for ensuring delivery of these projects and report regularly into the Department on progress.
Furthermore, the North East will benefit from the A66 Northern Trans-Pennine scheme, which we recently confirmed we will be progressing. We will develop the delivery timetable as part of the process of setting the next Road Investment Strategy.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support hydrogen-powered transport solutions in the Tees Valley.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport (DfT) considers that hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives could play an important role in decarbonising the transport sector, particularly in heavier transport such as aviation and maritime.
We are supporting research, development and deployment of hydrogen-powered transport including through the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate, the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrators (ZEHID), the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE), the Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF) and the Civil Aviation Authority’s Hydrogen in Aviation Regulatory Challenge. The Tees Valley Hydrogen Hub Demonstration also provided dedicated funding to support the development of hydrogen refuelling stations and a range of hydrogen powered vehicles.
The Government will continue to assess support for hydrogen-powered transport as evidence continues to emerge and will publish a new UK Hydrogen Strategy later this year, outlining government's vision for hydrogen. The Strategy will be grounded in evidence and set out clear priorities for collaboration with industry.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support her Department provides to local authorities preparing bids for rail reopening projects.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is open to requests for support and engages directly with local authorities as they develop business cases. It should be noted that rail enhancements projects are rarely proposed as 'bids' but rather considered on the basis of Business Cases and can be considered at any stage of development for entry into the portfolio in line with the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline policy and Market Led Proposals guidance.
The previous Government established a programme of potential railway reinstatement projects under the banner of ‘Restoring Your Railways’. Most of the projects in the programme were unfunded, which is why the programme was closed in July 2024.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress she has made on electrification of rail lines serving Teesside.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This government is investing significantly in the North East to improve transport connectivity and grow the economy. Following the recent Spending Review, the Tees Valley mayoral combined authority will receive funding to deliver local transport projects, such as a new platform at Middlesbrough railway station, through various funds, including the City Region Sustainable Transport and Transport for City Regions settlements (CRSTS and TCR). The Mayor is responsible for ensuring delivery of these projects and report regularly into the Department on progress.
The Government currently has no plans to electrify rail lines serving Teeside.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps she has taken to improve road safety outside schools in high-traffic areas.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Local authorities also have a range of traffic management measures available to them to help improve safety outside schools including reducing speed limits, traffic calming, and introduction of a School Street where appropriate. On 19 November 2024 Active Travel England and the Department for Transport published joint School Streets Guidance. The guidance is available at School Streets: how to set up and manage a scheme - GOV.UK
The Government treats road safety with the utmost seriousness and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The Department for Transport is developing our road safety strategy, the first in over a decade and we will set out more details in due course.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of rail connectivity between Teesside and other major economic centres.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I recognise the important part that reliable rail connections play for a growing economy like Teesside. As well as allocating significant investment to reopen Hartlepool platform 3 in June 2024, which will allow more trains to pass through the station, we are working with train operators to make the best use of the available infrastructure and to improve reliability to deliver the services passengers need.
My department has regular discussions with Mayor Houchen and other Northern leaders on their aspirations for a more connected and reliable rail service across Teesside and the whole North East.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to upgrade road infrastructure serving (a) freeport and (b) industrial development sites.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are investing £4.8 billion during 2025/26 to operate, maintain, renew and enhance the Strategic Road Network, supporting journeys right across the country, enabling connectivity and economic growth.
We have committed to delivering several major road schemes which will service Industrial Strategy Zones including the A63 Castle Street supporting Humber Freeport, A52 Nottingham Junctions supporting East Midlands Freeport and Investment Zone, and Lower Thames Crossing supporting the Thames Freeport. We will set out our future plans for investment in the SRN through the publication of RIS3, no later than March 2026.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will estimate the number of potholes repaired in the North East since 2020.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government’s road condition statistics consider a broader definition of road condition than numbers of potholes, and so official data on this aspect of road condition is not available for the years requested. However, as announced in March, local highway authorities must publish transparency reports about their maintenance activities to unlock their full share of the Government’s £500m uplift for local highways maintenance this year. This includes publishing an estimate of the number of potholes they have filled in each of the last five years. Reports are available on local highway authorities’ websites and officials are in the process of reviewing these.