Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what expenditure has the Northern Lighthouse Board undertaken on public affairs companies, and for what purposes, since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Northern Lighthouse Board has spent £31,221.99 (gross) on communications support services since 4 July 2024.

This relates to the provision of specialist support by Charlotte Street Partners Ltd to assist the organisation’s Communications Officer, including deputising in their absence to respond to media enquiries. The services also include maintaining availability to support business continuity exercises in the event of a serious incident and delivering media training to support effective communication with the public in the event of an incident.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps Northern Trains Limited has taken to reduce service cancellations and improve reliability since 17 December 2025; and what percentage change in cancellations on that network has been from 17 December 2025 to the latest available data point.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Northern’s performance continues to stabilise, and passenger confidence is strengthening as a result. In FY 2025-26 Northern carried 99.6 million passenger journeys, an increase of 8.5% year on year, underpinned by a more resilient and reliable service. Cancellations have remained better than target, and punctuality continues to improve, giving passengers greater confidence.

The completion of the Class 195 engine and wheelset programme this summer will improve fleet availability, meaning passengers should see fewer short-formed trains.

The Office of Rail and Road regularly publishes cancellation information at: Table 3124 - Trains planned and cancellations by operator (periodic) | ORR Data Portal

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to questions 176 to 178 of the oral evidence given to the Transport Committee on 29 April 2026, HC 1593, on Supercharging the EV transition, how many petrol pumps there are in the UK; and how many and what proportion of public EV charging points are capable of delivering an 80 per cent charge in less than 20 minutes to a vehicle capable of receiving the maximum charge.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport has produced an estimate of 60,802 for the number of fuel pumps using available industry data. The methodology is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/comparing-fuel-pumps-to-electric-vehicle-public-chargers/comparing-fuel-pumps-to-electric-vehicle-public-chargers

Currently, there are 121,262 public EV chargers in the UK.

As of 1 April, there were 12,921 public “ultra‑rapid” EV chargers in the UK, representing 11% of all public chargers. Industry calculations from Zapmap estimate that ultra-rapid chargers are capable of charging a typical EV battery from 20% to 80% in 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the battery size and efficiency.

The transition to EVs will involve a shift in the way people fuel their vehicles. Rather than having to visit a fuelling station away from their homes, the majority of people will charge up on their own driveways or on their local streets overnight, meaning slower chargers are most likely to be suitable in most circumstances. They are also cheaper to use.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how his Department has accounted for the availability of decarbonisation alternatives on Northern Ireland ferry routes when assessing the proportionality of ETS implementation.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The UK ETS is technology-neutral, incentivising cost-effective decarbonisation.

Through UK ETS and policies in the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy, the Government is providing strategic certainty for investment. For example, backed by NatPower Marine's £10m of private investment, Heysham is expected to have its first shore power plug this year. The UK SHORE research programme received £448m in September 2025 to accelerate clean maritime technologies. The use of eligible sustainable maritime fuels are incentivised under the UK ETS through zero-rating.

The Government continues to engage with industry, including Northern Ireland ferry operators, to support infrastructure delivery and uptake of clean maritime technologies.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the projected £4.555 billion investment referred to in the Third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy represents funding which local authorities were due to receive before publication of that strategy.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

All of the projected funding referred to in the Third Cycling and Walking Strategy has been announced since July 2024, with the exception of City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) funding which was announced by a previous Government.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to respond to Question 919 from the hon. Member for South West Devon.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Question 919 was answered on 17 June.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to respond to Question 3597 from the hon. Member for South West Devon.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Question 3597 was answered on 15 June 2026.

Found: Steff Aquarone; Dr Scott Arthur; Mrs Elsie Blundell; Jacob Collier; Olly Glover; Alex Mayer; Rebecca Smith

Submit Evidence (by 23 Jul 2026)

The Government has published a draft of the National Policy Statement (NPS) that would be used as the basis for making a decision on whether to grant planning consent for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.