Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 105302 on Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Privatisation, what steps she is taking to mitigate for the loss of revenue to her Department from the privatisation of the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Under the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model, ownership and operation of the Dartford Crossing would transfer to a new regulated private sector entity. This entity would be responsible for operating and maintaining both the Dartford Crossing and the new Lower Thames Crossing, ensuring a consistent and reliable service across both.
The entity would be overseen by an independent regulator to ensure it performs effectively and protects the interests of users. Charges collected from both the Dartford Crossing and the new Lower Thames Crossing would be received by the entity and used to maintain the crossings and support more reliable journeys.
This approach is designed to bring in private capital to fund the majority of construction, delivering better value for taxpayers and reducing pressure on public budgets. The Department has incorporated the effects of this approach into its financial forecasts and funding settlements with HM Treasury.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) Notices to Improve and (b) written instructions her Department issued to train operating companies for which the Department is the operator in relation to (i) service performance and (ii) financial control in January 2026.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has not issued any Notices to Improve on any of the DfT Operator train operating companies in January 2026 because none have been in breach of their formal contractual terms.
The Department regularly engages with all operators on service performance and financial management, aligned with this Government's priorities on improving performance and reducing subsidy.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to rail fares in England, what the average percentage change was between July 2024 and the current fares period for a) Advance fares b) First Class fares c) Super Off-Peak fares, and what methodology was used to calculate these averages.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) publishes annual statistics measuring the change in prices charged by train operating companies to rail passengers in Great Britain. The annual statistical release is presented by sector, ticket type, class and regulated status. The rail fares index statistical release includes the methodology that the ORR uses.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Rail Delivery Groups' updated fare search limits on (a) passenger choice, (b) the cost of rail fares and (c) levels of passenger demand.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) plays an important role in managing functions and services upon which train operators, retailers and passengers rely. The configuration of these systems is a matter for the RDG.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the additional cost to the public purse of the Royal Air Force transitioning to 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel by 2040; and whether his Department has undertaken any assessment of the long-term fiscal implications of sustainable or synthetic aviation fuel prices for Defence aviation.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Air Force (RAF) procures its aviation fuel in the UK from commercial suppliers at market rates. As a result, this makes accurate long-term cost forecasting challenging. The price of aviation fuel, including Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), is subject to market fluctuations, and the level of RAF fuel consumption varies due to numerous factors.
The RAF has not committed to transitioning to 100% SAF by 2040. The RAF will follow the incremental transition to sustainable aviation fuel as set out in the UK Government's SAF mandate, which requires aviation fuel to contain 22% SAF by 2040. This date aligns with the RAF's aim to become a net-zero air force.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104868, what the service standard wait times at passport control are, and what assessment the Department has made of the economic impact of passenger delays at the border.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Border Force publish data on the percentage of sampled measurements cleared within service standards, with the target of 95%.
The service standard is 25 minutes for passengers using eGates or queues where the majority of passengers are GBR/ EEA/ B5JSSK nationalities / 45 minutes for passengers using queues dedicated to other nationalities.
The latest published data was Quarter 3 2025 (Jul-Sept) which showed 97.9% of sampled measurements were cleared within service standards.
The Department for Business and Trade will be best placed to provide information on the economic impact of passenger delays at the border.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 104865, whether her Department plans to improve the frequency and granularity of bus passenger journey data collection, including collection by calendar month.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport publishes bus passenger data at a range of frequencies and levels of detail.
Annual local bus passenger journey statistics are published on a financial year basis, with the latest release covering April 2024 to March 2025: https://www.gov.uk/government/statisticaldata-sets/bus-statistics-data-tables#local-bus-passenger-journeys-bus01.
In addition to the annual statistics, the Department publishes more frequent information on bus use through two separate statistical releases.
The Department publishes daily bus passenger data for Great Britain outside London and London as part of the daily domestic transport use by mode publication, which is updated monthly: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/transport-use-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic.
The Department also published daily local bus passenger and trip data by Local Transport Authority as Official Statistics in Development last year: https://www.gov.uk/government/statisticaldata-sets/bus-statistics-data-tables#local-bus-passenger-journeys-bus01. These are undergoing further development and testing with users, in line with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Current data limitations include no data held for London and incomplete coverage for England outside London.
For this latter release, the Department plans to continue developing the data source, publish an updated set in due course and move towards more regular updates in future. Decisions on the precise timing, frequency and level of detail, including the potential production of statistics monthly, will be informed by ongoing work to improve data quality, coverage and user value.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2026 to Question 108798 what the British Business Bank’s total programme expenditure, staffing costs, and consultancy and professional services costs were in 2024–25, broken down by programme or business line.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The British Business Bank’s total staffing costs in 2024-25 were £71.591 million. In the same year, the BBB incurred total expenditure of £26.456 million on professional fees. These comprise fees relating to investment scheme design and transactions and other operational professional services.
A breakdown by business line is provided below, taken from the British Business Bank’s annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025.
All figures in £ '000 | Staff costs | Professional services |
British Business Finance | 2,089 | 186 |
British Business Investments | 2,588 | 3,157 |
British Patient Capital | 4,616 | 643 |
Nations and Regions Investments | 1,283 | 16 |
Start Up Loans | 4,100 | 253 |
BBB Investment Services | 169 | 17 |
Company plc, Holdings and British Business Financial Services | 56,746 | 22,184 |
Total group | 71,591 | 26,456 |
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to publish the final National Policy Statement for Ports..
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The final text of the revised National Policy Statement for Ports will be laid in Parliament in due course.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 4.3.2 of the draft National Policy Statement for Ports, what guidance will be available to decision-makers to support their interpretation of the terms compensation for as a last resort; and what guidance will be provided on the scale and proportionality of any compensation required.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government provides guidance on Habitats Regulations Assessments, including compensatory measures, from time to time. We are considering the Transport Committee’s report and responses to the consultation and will shortly lay a final text of the NPSP alongside a response to the Committee.