Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the National Infrastructure Commission’s 2024 Cost Drivers report, published in October 2024, what steps she is taking to tackle the cost drivers for major UK infrastructure projects.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government will publish a Ten-year Infrastructure Strategy this summer, alongside the Spending Review, to outline the approach it is taking to improve the delivery of economic infrastructure, such as transport. The strategy aims to address the root causes of many of the cost drivers of major projects identified by the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) in 2024. The strategy also includes plans for housing and social infrastructure, such as hospitals.
My department also has a rolling programme of project delivery change activity to improve project delivery outcomes over time. This includes established learning and development pathways, with all Senior Responsible Officers of our Major Projects Portfolio required to complete the Major Projects Leadership Academy.
Significant progress has also been made improving the governance of our portfolio of projects with the introduction of “IPDC (the Department’s senior investment committee) in Portfolio Mode”, and new arrangements to manage portfolio-level risks with our delivery partners, including National Highways, Network Rail, and HS2 Ltd.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the need for improvements to the Strategic Road Network to be included within the scope of the forthcoming 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy will set out the Government’s approach to core economic and social infrastructure, including transport. The Department recognises the Strategic Road Network (SRN) as a critical component of the UK’s transport infrastructure, supporting economic growth, connectivity, and the movement of people and goods across the country.
In collaboration with National Highways, the Department undertakes regular assessments of the SRN to identify priorities for investment and improvement through the preparation of road investment strategies. The third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3), starting in April 2026, is currently in development.
Decisions on longer-term funding for the SRN will be made through the Spending Review 2025. However, the Government has already committed £4.842 billion for the SRN in 2025/26. The Interim Settlement, published in March 2025, details how this funding will be allocated, including priorities for maintenance, operations, and enhancements.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of which key Strategic Road Network road schemes need priority (a) investment and (b) improvement.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy will set out the Government’s approach to core economic and social infrastructure, including transport. The Department recognises the Strategic Road Network (SRN) as a critical component of the UK’s transport infrastructure, supporting economic growth, connectivity, and the movement of people and goods across the country.
In collaboration with National Highways, the Department undertakes regular assessments of the SRN to identify priorities for investment and improvement through the preparation of road investment strategies. The third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3), starting in April 2026, is currently in development.
Decisions on longer-term funding for the SRN will be made through the Spending Review 2025. However, the Government has already committed £4.842 billion for the SRN in 2025/26. The Interim Settlement, published in March 2025, details how this funding will be allocated, including priorities for maintenance, operations, and enhancements.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding her Department has allocated for highways investment.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Autumn 2024 Budget announced nearly £1.6 billion in capital funding for local highways maintenance in England for the financial year 2025 to 2026. This includes £500 million of additional funding when compared to funding levels for 2024 to 2025.
National Highways is responsible for the operation, maintenance, renewal and enhancement of the strategic road network of major A-roads and motorways in England. £4.842 billion of funding for this has been announced for the 2025 to 2026 financial year as part of an Interim Road Investment Strategy published on 24 March.
Funding allocations for highways investment beyond 2025/26 will be determined as part of the Spending Review.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing free bus passes for homeless (a) adults and (b) children.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department for Transport has made no such assessment. The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age, currently sixty-six, and was set up primarily to help older and disabled people. ENCTS costs around £1 billion annually and any changes to the minimum statutory scheme would need to be carefully considered for their impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.
Local authorities in England have the power to go beyond their statutory obligations and extend free bus travel to other groups that are eligible under ENCTS, which includes children under the age of 16 and 16-18 year olds in full time education. However, these discretionary concessions are not funded by central government but by local authorities from local resources, such as council tax. Since 2010/11, almost all of the travel concession authorities in England have offered some form of discretionary concession. Bus operators are also able to provide discretionary concessions on a commercial basis.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure responsible procurement by National Highways for the Lower Thames Crossing.
Answered by Richard Holden - Opposition Whip (Commons)
National Highways is procuring the Lower Thames Crossing, including the contract for the road tunnels and approaches, in accordance with UK procurement rules. This includes wider international obligations on government procurements.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to support the expansion of the Manchester Metrolink to (a) other areas of Salford, (b) Eccles and (c) Greater Manchester.
Answered by Richard Holden - Opposition Whip (Commons)
Mass transit is largely devolved in England. Mass transit expansion in Greater Manchester is the responsibility of the Mayor of Greater Manchester and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).
Through Greater Manchester’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) for 2022/23 to 2026/27, the Department for Transport has allocated £1.07 billion to the region for local transport schemes, which GMCA has brought forward.
GMCA can choose to develop mass transit proposals through CRSTS.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the average time taken for the DVLA to process paper licence applications; and if he will take steps to reduce the average time taken to process those applications.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The quickest and easiest way to apply for a driving licence is by using the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online service. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their licence within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. To help reduce waiting times for paper applications, the DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has secured extra office space in Swansea and Birmingham. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example if medical investigations are needed. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here.
The large majority of applicants renewing an existing licence will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing the driver can meet specific criteria. More information can be found online here.
The table below shows the average processing time for ordinary driving licence applications between 1 April 2021 and 28 February 2022 in working days, by new applications, renewal applications and replacement applications.
| (a) new applications | (b) renewal applications | (c) replacement applications |
Online application | 2.33 | 1.56 | 1.62 |
Paper application | 25.08 | 30.56 | 33.70 |
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the use of fake vaccination certificates by visitors to the UK; and what estimate she has made of the number of visitors into the UK that used fake covid-19 certificates in 2021.
Answered by Robert Courts
The government is working with operators and our international partners to ensure that vaccine certification is legitimate and meets our minimum requirements. Operators conduct upstream checks on all passengers to ensure consistency with the certification minimum dataset, and Border Force officials also check passengers on arrival. Regulators also conduct additional spot checks on arrival to provide an extra layer of assurance.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to monitor the implementation of his Department’s Safer Transport Guidance for Operators, particularly with regard to social distancing on public transport; how the public can report non-implementation of that guidance by public transport providers; and what the sanctions are for public transport providers that do not adequately implement that guidance.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The success of vaccine deployment has paved the way for the gradual lifting of restrictions and this marks a new phase in the pandemic response where people manage the risks to themselves and others as the country learns to live with the virus. The Safer Transport Guidance for Operators contains non-statutory guidance that does not supersede any legal obligations relating to health and safety, employment or equalities and it is important that operators continue to comply with existing obligations and conduct risk assessments to identify any specific actions they need to take.
At step 4, social distancing rules were lifted, and the public will no longer need to stay 2 metres apart from people they do not live with. Guidance also sets out that the Government expects and recommends that people wear face coverings in crowded areas such as public transport. It will be open for individual operators to consider developing their own face covering policies if they wish to do so. We will continue to work with operators to support passenger safety by ensuring service levels are high, asking passengers to plan ahead for their journeys, making hand sanitiser available and supporting ventilation where possible.