Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress she has made on the Euston Masterplan since 17 April 2026; and when she plans to publish details of the number of (a) homes and (b) social and affordable homes to be delivered as part of the redevelopment of land at and around Euston associated with the HS2 programme.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We are working at pace with our Master Development Partner, Lendlease, on a Masterplan for Euston, with an emphasis on growth and delivering much needed housing. The number of homes and affordable homes is subject to the development of the Masterplan.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to require motorists to pay (a) tolls and (b) road user charges on new roads constructed as part of the Roads Investment Strategy 3 programme.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Motorists will not be required to pay a) tolls or b) road user charges on sections of the network that are subject to enhancement as part of Road Investment Strategy 3, with the exception of the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC).

LTC will be financed using the Regulated Asset Base model as this is the best way of reducing the cost burden of the project to taxpayers. To do this, the model harnesses private investment, with a link through to charges on users, who are ultimately major beneficiaries of the scheme.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 8 June 2026, to Question 4343, on Parking Offences: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, if she will publish the (a) public sector equality duty and (b) environmental principles assessments undertaken for that decision to authorise higher parking charges.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The equality and environmental impacts of the proposal were considered through the policy process. This included identifying no adverse impacts on protected characteristics arising from increased compliance with traffic laws through enforcement by LAs, the potential for illegal parking displacement outside the trial area to affect protected groups and that any negative impacts on equality were not disproportionate. Consequent air quality benefits were also considered, as reducing parking overstays can improve the availability and turnover of parking spaces, thereby reducing the need for vehicles to circulate while searching for parking.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2026, to Question 4260, on Department for Transport: Lanyards, what was the business case for purchasing the branded lanyards.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The branded lanyards were purchased to support National Apprenticeship Week, a significant event in the apprenticeships and skills calendar. They were used to promote the crucial role apprenticeships and apprentices play in the Department’s capability and skills plan. The lanyards were used at apprenticeship engagement events to recognise apprentices’ achievements and encourage awareness and uptake of apprenticeship opportunities across the Department.

The purchase was approved in line with the Department’s existing arrangements for branded merchandise. As the Department’s apprenticeship branding does not change annually, the lanyards can be reused at future apprenticeship events, providing ongoing value for money.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 April 2026 to Question 124216 on East West Rail, what her Department’s latest estimate is of the date by which the trains to be used on East West Rail services will be (a) fully modified and (b) fully tested.

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

The department is working closely with Chiltern Railways and partners to confirm that all the elements to announce a start date for the first EWR services are in place. Chiltern has been preparing for the start of services, including driver recruitment and training.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2026 to Question 11452 on Network Rail: Biodiversity, what the total cost to Network Rail was of producing habitat management plans in each of the last five financial years.

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

Network Rail does not have a centrally recorded figure regarding the total expenditure to produce habitat management plans in the last five financial years.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Oxfordshire County Council press release, "Council secures injunction to protect communities", of 23 June 2026, whether her Department has had discussions or correspondence with Oxfordshire County Council on the removal of flags from lampposts.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department has not had any discussion or correspondence with Oxfordshire County Council regarding the removal of flags from lampposts.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2026 to Question 13228, what metrics her Department will use to assess whether train operators in public ownership are delivering for passengers; and whether she plans to publish performance against those metrics.

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

This Government is focused on ensuring that current and future operators in public ownership deliver real improvements for passengers. Working with the rail industry, we have simplified performance measurement so that track and train are aligned behind the outcomes that matter most to passengers: reliable services, fewer cancellations, and better punctuality. The principal operational metrics are therefore cancellations and Time to 3 punctuality (the proportion of trains arriving within three minutes of schedule). Performance against these metrics is published by the Office of Rail and Road for all operators, and operators in public ownership also publish performance information on their websites (https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/ ).

Operators are also assessed on the quality of service they provide. This includes customer satisfaction measures and performance under the Service Quality Regime, which assesses how well operators meet the standards passengers expect, like cleanliness and accurate and timely information.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate has been made of the potential cost impact of the UK ETS and domestic carbon pricing mechanisms on the cost of UK domestic flights between 2026 and 2050.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Due to uncertainty surrounding both future emissions and carbon prices, the Government has not produced an estimate of the potential impact of the UK ETS on the cost of domestic flights between 2026 and 2050. The costs faced by aircraft operators will depend on the level of emissions covered by the UK ETS and the future price of UK ETS allowances. DESNZ publishes traded carbon values for modelling purposes, which provide scenario-based projections of future carbon prices rather than forecasts. As uncertainty increases over longer time horizons, any estimates of future UK ETS costs should be treated with caution.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether HM Government has received representations from the Mayor of London on the GLA taking control of suburban rail services (a) inside and (b) outside Greater London.

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

The Department has received representations from the Mayor of London and Transport for London regarding the potential devolution of Great Northern Inner rail services. These services operate both within Greater London and to destinations beyond the Greater London boundary. The Government continues to engage with the Mayor of London and Transport for London on these proposals.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for each of the following operators: (a) LNER, (b) Southeastern, (c) TransPennine Express, (d) South Western Railway, (e) c2c, (f) Greater Anglia, (g) West Midlands Trains and (h) Greater Thameslink Railway, how many scheduled passenger services were short-formed in the 18-month period ending on 4 June 2026; and what proportion of all scheduled passenger services operated by each operator this represented.

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

Below is the available data for the number of short - formed services and the percentage based on the regime data for each operator. Please note that the percentages are not comparable and do not represent the total number of services for each operator.

LNER monitored services measured against All Weekday, Saturday and Sunday services.

SET monitored services measured as Peak services arriving in the morning Peak or departure in the evening peak at London Bridge, London Victoria, London St. Pancras International or London Blackfriars.

TPT monitored services measured against Weekday, Saturday and Sunday services at Manchester Stations, and Leeds.

SWR monitored services measured against All Weekday, Saturday and Sunday services.

c2c monitored services measured against Monday – Friday Peak Services.

Numbers for Period 2610 – Period 2702 is not currently available due to a technical issue; I will write to the Hon. Member as soon as possible with updated information and place a copy of the letter in the Libraries of the House.

GA monitored services measured against Morning Peak Services and Evening Peak Services.

WMT monitored services measured as LNRBU Passenger Services and WMRBU

Passenger Services that are a Weekday, Saturday

and Sunday service.

GTR monitored services measured against services arriving in the Morning Peak or departing in the Evening Peak from Kensington (Olympia), London Blackfriars, London Bridge, London Kings Cross, London St Pancras international, London Victoria and Moorgate, as well as Brighton in the London Road and Hove directions.

N.B. Passenger services are only counted once for the purposes of Short Formations.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations has the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety made to Ministers since July 2024 on 20 mph zones.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Since July 2024, the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) has not made any formal representations to Ministers on 20 mph zones/limits.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will set out (a) where the electric arc furnace being installed at Port Talbot was manufactured, (b) whether any UK-based companies were invited to bid to manufacture the furnace and (c) what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the procurement on the UK steel supply chain.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Tata Steel UK has contracted Tenova to supply the electric arc furnace (EAF) and associated equipment for Port Talbot.

Procurement decisions are a commercial matter for Tata Steel, and the Department does not hold information on bidding processes. Government support for the project is intended to secure the long-term future of UK steelmaking. The EAF is expected to use significant volumes of UK-sourced scrap steel, supporting domestic supply chains and the wider Steel Strategy.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2026 to Question 4274 on Clean Air Zones, whether the new air quality targets in the Environmental Improvement Plan are legal limit values for the purposes of the Clean Air Zone policy.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Environmental Improvement Plan sets out our commitment to deliver air pollution levels set out in the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010 (AQSR) in local areas. Where Clean Air Zones have been introduced they have been to bring nitrogen dioxide levels to within legal limit values, as set out in the ASQR, in the shortest possible time.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to assess the fairness of calculating company car benefit-in-kind tax on used electric vehicles using the vehicle's original P11D list price rather than its current market value, in the context of significant depreciation in used electric vehicle values.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

The Government considers P11D list prices the fairest and most practical way to calculate benefit-in-kind liabilities for company cars and has no plans to move away from this approach. However, the Government will keep the second-hand EV market under review and continue to monitor developments closely.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2026 to Question 11744, how many flights have been paid for by her Department since 4 July 2024 for external training providers approved by the Department; from which companies those training providers were sourced; and, for each such flight, what (a) the cost and (b) the purpose was.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport works with international partners to support the strengthening of aviation security standards at last points of departure to the United Kingdom. This activity includes technical cooperation, engagement with international organisations and, where necessary, in-country visits to provide assurance, share best practice and support the effective delivery of aviation security measures.

The Department maintains a framework agreement for the provision of specialist aviation security training and expertise. Suppliers are appointed to the framework following an open and fair competitive procurement process, after which framework providers may compete for individual requirements in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

The Department does not routinely comment on national security matters. Disclosure of information relating to the number of flights undertaken, the organisations providing specialist services, associated costs and the purpose of individual visits could reveal details of operational activity undertaken in support of aviation security objectives. Furthermore, disclosing information on the countries visited and the frequency of such visits could undermine the effectiveness of the Department's aviation security activities. It would therefore not be in the interests of our overall national security to provide further details in this area.

In addition, it would be of disproportionate cost to the Department to provide fully verified and robust data on the number of flights undertaken, their cost and the specific purpose of individual visits since July 2024.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2026 to Question 13039 on Aviation: Antisocial Behaviour, how many people have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for offences relating to disruptive and unruly behaviour on board aircraft in each of the last five years.

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

The Department for Transport does not collect or hold data on how many people have been prosecuted and convicted for offences relating to disruptive and unruly behaviour onboard aircraft. Data on prosecutions is collated and held by the Ministry of Justice.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 2 June 2026 to Question 3821 on Parking Offences: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, what was the policy and evidential reason for approving the trial of higher level penalty charges.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The reason for approving Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council’s August 2025 trial of higher-level Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) was in response to concerns raised by the Council about the impact on the local community of inappropriate parking.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average processing time was for medical driving licence renewal applications for G1 and G2 licences in June 2026.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The table below shows the average number of working days taken to process Group 1 and Group 2 medical driving licence applications in June 2026.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 24 April to Question 127689, what her Department's planned timetable is for concluding its review into the findings of the trial; and whether it intends to publish that review.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We have considered the findings of the trial and there are no plans to publish the department's review.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency's capacity to respond to public correspondence and enquiries; and what steps she is taking to reduce response times.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has internal targets to respond to 90% of simple enquiry emails within five working days, and to respond to 90% of more complex emails (such as complaints about driving tests, that need investigating before it can respond) within 10 working days.

DVSA’s 2025/26 annual performance outturn for both types of correspondence is 90% and 93% respectively.

The agency keeps its performance under review.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of (a) the total hours of delay to road users, (b) the number of road users affected and (c) the economic cost of traffic disruption resulting from incidents on the strategic road network in each of the last five years.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

National Highways routinely publishes data on delays on strategic road network links https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/travel-time-reporting-tool/.

National Highways have previously published estimates of the causes of delay on the SRN, which includes incidents. See: https://nationalhighways.co.uk/media/nixpb1ed/managing-delay-on-the-strategic-road-network.pdf.

The Department also makes an assessment of congestion on the strategic road network using the metric of average delay based on seconds of delay per vehicle per mile (see table CGN0405 Average speed, delay and reliability of travel times (CGN) - GOV.UK).

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2026 to Question 12226 on the Euston Delivery Company, what the target date is for the Euston Delivery Company to be established as a public body.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

I refer the Rt Hon Member to Question 16519 answered on 16 July 2026.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consideration her Department has given to incorporating the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence qualification into the (a) driving licence and (b) driver tachograph card for bus, coach and lorry drivers.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department has no plans to incorporate the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence qualification into either the driving licence or the driver tachograph card.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2026, to Question 4282, on Government Departments: Aviation, on how many occasions have aircraft been commissioned for (a) domestic and (b) foreign travel, since July 2024.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds

The department has commissioned an aircraft on 32 occasions, all of which were for foreign travel.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to HMRC's policy paper entitled Salary sacrifice reform for pension contributions, published on 4 December 2025, if she will publish the calculation underpinning the estimate that the mean average additional employee National Insurance contributions liability will be £84 in the first year.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

Further detail on the methodology and assumptions used to produce the fiscal impact of the measure can be found in the OBR’s “Supplementary forecast information on salary-sacrifice pension contributions” publication, which includes breakdowns of the costing pre- and post-behaviour and by employer/employee National Insurance.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on what the twenty most common offences dealt with by (a) community resolutions and (b) out of court conditional cautions were in the most recent year for which data is available; and how many cases there were for each offence.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of notifiable offences and their outcomes including community resolutions and cautions recorded by the police in England and Wales.

This information is published as official statistics each quarter. The latest information by force and offence type to the year ending December 2025, can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/police-recorded-crime-and-outcomes-open-data-tables

Statistics to the year ending March 2026 will be published on July 23.

Information on out of court conditional cautions is not separately identifiable from Adult/Youth Cautions.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many offences recorded by police in England and Wales were dealt with by (a) a community resolution and (b) an out of court conditional caution in each of the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of notifiable offences and their outcomes including community resolutions and cautions recorded by the police in England and Wales.

This information is published as official statistics each quarter. The latest information by force and offence type to the year ending December 2025, can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/police-recorded-crime-and-outcomes-open-data-tables

Statistics to the year ending March 2026 will be published on July 23.

Information on out of court conditional cautions is not separately identifiable from Adult/Youth Cautions.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on how many (a) community resolutions and (b) out of court conditional cautions were issued by each police force in England and Wales in the most recent 5 years for which data is available.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of notifiable offences and their outcomes including community resolutions and cautions recorded by the police in England and Wales.

This information is published as official statistics each quarter. The latest information by force and offence type to the year ending December 2025, can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/police-recorded-crime-and-outcomes-open-data-tables

Statistics to the year ending March 2026 will be published on July 23.

Information on out of court conditional cautions is not separately identifiable from Adult/Youth Cautions.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 20 May 2026 to Question 1718 of National Highways: Expenditure, whether the National Highways public affairs contract was approved by the Cabinet Office.

Answered by Chris Ward

The value of this expenditure does not meet the threshold for Cabinet Office Commercial Assurance Review or Approval.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 30 June 2026, to Question 13259, on National Highways: Expenditure, which company or supplier provided the public affairs contract; if she will publish the contract and work specification; and for what reason an external public affairs contract was required in addition to the in-house staff.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Lexington were awarded the technical professional services’ public affairs contract in April 2023.

Details of all contracts awarded by the Department and its arm’s length bodies above the relevant thresholds are published on the Government’s Contracts Finder service. This includes information on the value and purpose of each contract.

The contract provides additional strategic support to inform the external affairs engagement activity, which is delivered by National Highways' own in-house team at local, regional and national level.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's policy is on recognising for social security purposes marriages between an uncle and niece legally contracted overseas where the couple are resident in England and Wales.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

A marriage between an uncle and niece falls within the prohibited degrees of relationship set out in Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Marriage Act 1949 and, by virtue of section 1(1) of that Act, is void for all purposes in England and Wales. There is similar legislation in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending permitted development rights for development of roads within road corridors akin to those already in existence in rail corridors.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

There are already permitted development rights – set out in Part 9 of Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order (England) 2015, as amended – which grant planning permission for development relating to roads.

We continue to keep permitted development rights under review.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he made of requiring the structural steel used in the Net Zero Teesside carbon capture, utilisation and storage project to be (a) produced and (b) fabricated in the UK.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government knows it is important to communities across the country that we use UK-made steel. We are ambitious about increasing the use of UK made steel in UK energy and infrastructure projects where possible.

Net Zero Teesside is not a public procurement (so public procurement guidelines do not apply) but we have spoken to the project developer to understand more about the use of UK and non-UK steel, as well as the wider use of UK local content, in the project. They confirmed their voluntary commitment to achieve more than 50% UK content across the value chain, with around £1.5 billion UK-based sub-contracts already awarded.

We want to champion UK steelmaking and our steel communities now and for generations to come and my colleagues at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero are looking at how greater UK content will be used in future projects.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether (a) Transport for London, (b) the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and (c) the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames have, individually or jointly, submitted (i) an expression of interest and (ii) an application to the Structures Fund in relation to Hammersmith Bridge; and whether officials in her Department have held discussions with any of those bodies on a potential Structures Fund application for Hammersmith Bridge in advance of any formal submission.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As the asset owner and project lead, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham is responsible for submitting any application to the Structures Fund. Local highway authorities have until 3 August 2026 to put forward proposals for investment.

My Department engages regularly with London local highway authorities on matters related to their local highways networks, including the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The technical advisory body to the Structures Fund is also having conversations on behalf of my Department about projects that local highway authorities may put forward to the fund; including Hammersmith Bridge.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on how much revenue each local authority in England received from traffic enforcement in each of the last three financial years.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This information is not held by central government.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 30 June 2026, to Question 13237, on Department for Transport: Public Relations, and with reference to the answer of 30 January 2025, to Question 25857, on Written Questions: Government Responses, if she will provide relevant hyperlinks to each of the live contracts in this area of spending.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Details of all live contracts in this area of spending for the Department and its arm’s length bodies (that are above the relevant thresholds) are published on the Government’s Contracts Finder service and/or Find a Tender Service.

Links to these sites are below.

Contract Finder - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking with the Government of New Zealand to ensure the UK Armed Forces play a present and active role in the Indo-Pacific region over the next 20 years.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The UK and New Zealand maintain a strong defence partnership and are committed to working together to enhance security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Through the Joint Statement on Enhanced Defence Cooperation, signed in September 2025 between UK-New Zealand Defence Ministers, the UK and New Zealand have committed to cooperate on regional security challenges, enhance interoperability, and strengthen defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and Pacific.

The UK and New Zealand continue to exercise and train together through multinational activity, including the Five Power Defence Arrangements, exercises, and through bilateral engagement with the New Zealand Defence Force. Between April and June 2026, the UK Armed Forces also recently conducted joint training activities in New Zealand alongside New Zealand Defence Force counterparts.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what dates vessels of the a) British Army b) Royal Navy c) Royal Air Force visited New Zealand since 1 January 2020.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

Vessels from the Royal Navy visited New Zealand on the below dates.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2026 to Question 11755, what circumstances have previously been regarded as constituting a justifiable business requirement for making reference to a candidate's protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 in employer input on suitability for military appointments or promotions; and, for each such circumstance, what protected characteristic was considered.

Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)

Military appointments and promotions are based on merit, and protected characteristics are not used as selection criteria. Consequently, there is no centrally held record linking appointment or promotion decisions to candidates' protected characteristics.

All appointment and promotion decisions are made in accordance with relevant legislation and departmental policy.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of Heathrow Airport's current economic regulatory framework to provide incentives for investment in infrastructure resilience.

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

The Civil Aviation Authority is the independent economic regulator of Heathrow Airport and is responsible for establishing the regulatory framework within which Heathrow operates. The framework is intended to provide incentives for efficient investment, including investment that supports the resilience of airport infrastructure, while protecting the interests of consumers. The Government continues to engage with the CAA on aviation resilience whilst respecting its operational and regulatory independence.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2026 to Question 12229 on Railways: Infrastructure, what the total number is of rail infrastructure projects in England with an anticipated capital cost of less than £50 million that are currently delivering on site; and what proportion of those projects are forecasting completion after their original baseline completion date.

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

Of the rail infrastructure projects in England currently delivering on site with an anticipated capital cost of less than £50 million, 144 projects are forecasting completion after their original baseline completion date, out of a total of approximately 500 projects.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2026 to Question 4161 on Government departments: marketing, how much has been spent on branded goods and merchandise by the Department since the Government Chief Commercial Officer letter was sent; on what items, and at what cost.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Spend data for this category of cost is not held and the requested data could only be collated and verified at disproportionate cost. Senior managers are aware of the revised guidance and their responsibilities relating to branded goods and merchandise. The Department has implemented processes to ensure compliance and continues to review and adapt these as needed.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 6 July 2026 to Question 16056 on Government Communication Service: Staff, how many headcount staff in her Department are (a) members of the Government Communication Service and (b) are embedded communicators but are not counted as members of the Government Communication Service.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

For the 2026 Government Communication Service annual data collection return, the central Department for Transport reported 80.83 full-time equivalent staff headcount who are members of the Government Communication Service.

All embedded communicators are members of the Government Communication Service.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many scheduled passenger services operated by each train operating company were formed of fewer carriages than planned in each month since June 2024.

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

The department monitors short formations based on the passenger capacity of the trains rather than the number of carriages. Attached is data for the number of short - formed services and the percentage based on what is monitored for each operator. Please note that the percentages are not comparable and do not represent the total number of services for each operator.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2026 to Question 16176 on Railways: CCTV, whether the funding allocated to the rail CCTV connectivity project represents (a) the total estimated cost of delivering the programme or (b) funding allocated to date.

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

Nearly £17 million has been allocated to this project up until 2029/30. The project is currently in its early stages, with Network Rail developing a Full Business Case for the entire programme which, once complete, may indicate that further funding is required in future years.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2026 to Question 12582 on Railways, how many recommendations from train operating companies to reduce services in the planned timetable have been (a) approved and (b) declined by her Department since 5 July 2024, broken down by train operating company.

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

The Department does not hold this information centrally. The Department expects all operators to plan and deliver services that respond to evolving passenger demand in a way that provides value for money for taxpayers. This may involve reduced services, or station calls where demand is expected to be lower but equally enhanced services at times and places that demand is higher.

The Department expects operators to publish such changes in the planned timetable. Such changes may be part of a package of wider changes to improve the overall service provided, for example London Northeastern Railway’s December 2025 timetable changes, or in response to expected seasonal demand reductions for example the temporary reductions to some Avanti West Coast services during the summer holidays when fewer people are expected to be travelling on those trains. Changes to train services may also be driven through the Network Rail-managed industry timetable development process, where Network Rail may need to amend train operator plans to best meet the service aspirations of all operators. This process is independent of Government.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2026, to Question 3822, on Department for Transport: Public Relations, if she will name the public affairs firms or contractors who have been used since July 2024 by Office for Rail and Road, and the associated cost to the public purse.

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

Since July 2024, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) have spent £15,940 on external public affairs firms or for supporting its public affairs work with external expertise. The details are:

£1,660 to Field Consulting

£14,280 to Savanta

The ORR Board keeps the use of external support under review to ensure it provides appropriate value for money, follows civil service procurement rules, and aligns with ORR’s priorities.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average daily percentage of rolling stock available for passenger service was for each train operating company in each month since June 2024.

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

The Department expects train operators to provide appropriate capacity to meet anticipated passenger demand, including through the effective deployment and maintenance of rolling stock. However, the Department is keen to ensure that the causes of short-formed services are understood and that plans are in place at all train operating companies to address these and improve performance, and the Department regularly engages DfT Operator to monitor the effectiveness of measures being implemented.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much her Department and its arm's-length bodies have spent on (a) advertising, (b) public relations, (c) advertising on their announcement regarding changes to rail fares in England for the 2025-26 year.

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

The Department for Transport has not identified any external expenditure on advertising, marketing, external public relations or other communications activity specifically in relation to the announcement of regulated rail fares for 2025-26. Any routine communications activity associated with this announcement has been delivered using existing departmental and arm’s length body resources and budgets, and costs are not held separately.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2026 to Question 12032, excluding flights relating to national security or those provided via the Integrated Security Fund, what the total expenditure by her Department has been on flights for people who are not staff members and are not UK nationals since 4 July 2024.

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

DfT funds travel where there is a clear business need, with controls to ensure all spend delivers value for money. The Department does not routinely record or retain information on the nationality of individuals within the records used to manage and account for travel expenditure. As a result, it is not possible to identify the number of flights taken by non-UK nationals through a simple search of existing records since 4 July 2024.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2026 to Question 15465 on Department for Transport: Carbon Emissions, when the Greening Government Commitments (2025–2030) will be finalised.

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

The finalisation and publication of the Greening Government Commitments (2025-2030) is a matter for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) and not for the Department for Transport.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many knife-enabled crimes were recorded by the British Transport Police as having occurred at railway stations in each of the last 30 years.

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

British Transport Police (BTP) holds readily extractable, comparable data for knife-enabled crimes at railway stations over the past five years. Providing comparable figures for each of the last 30 years would require a manual review of historic records which was not possible within the required timescales.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many category D1 (minibus) practical driving tests have been conducted by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency in each of the last 30 years.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The table below shows the number of category D1 minibus tests conducted by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and by delegated examiners for each year for which data is available.

Please note testing for D1 during the years of 2020 and 2021 was reduced due to the covid pandemic.

Found: Letter dated 18/08/2026 from Luke Pollard MP to Richard Holden MP in response to a Written Parliamentary