Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average grant-supported cost per bus was under each bus procurement scheme in each of the last five years; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of social value weightings on tendered prices.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My Department is not responsible for the procurement of buses and so does not hold this information.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2026 to Question 108796, where the portrait of William Shakespeare formerly displayed in the Pillared Room at 10 Downing Street is located.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government Art Collection (GAC) is a working collection, used across government buildings in the UK and the global estate, which means that artworks may change their display location from time to time. The GAC removed this portrait from the Pillared Drawing Room at No.10 to install a refreshed display of artworks celebrating 125 years of the Government Art Collection, planned prior to the General Election in July 2024. Locations of artworks in the collection can be found on the GAC’s website.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether trains carrying Greater Manchester Bee Network branding or livery will remain rail assets of Great British Railways or the Secretary of State, rather than assets of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Livery reflects who is responsible for the service, not who owns the trains. Aside from some devolved services, where there are instances of ownership by the devolved authority, rolling stock is leased from rolling stock companies and managed day-to-day by the train operator. There is currently one Northern unit in temporary promotional Bee Network livery operating on Manchester‑area services, highlighting the forthcoming tap‑and‑go contactless integration on local rail; this is a branding exercise only and does not change ownership or leasing arrangements. As there are currently no rail services devolved to Greater Manchester, any trains operating on the GBR network would carry GBR livery rather than Bee Network branding. Through partnerships with GBR, there could be opportunities for external co-branding of rolling stock where Mayoral Strategic Authorities take a financial stake in service provision.
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 1 December 2025 to Question 93460 on Roads: Safety Barriers if she will publish the (a) location and route section, (b) date granted, c) reason of each departure from standard; what plans she has for upgrades to rigid concrete barrier.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The locations, routes and dates of approval for the departures from standard allowing steel crash barrier to be replaced with new steel barrier, rather than concrete, are as follows:
M4 Junctions 13-14: 20/08/2025
M6 Junction 37-38: 12/05/25
M5 Junctions 23-24: 24/04/24
A1(M) Junctions 37-38: 02/12/24
The reason for permitting departures from standard allowing the replacement of life-expired steel barrier with new steel barrier and not concrete barrier is due to the affordability of concrete barrier schemes – this can be either due to the cost of the concrete barrier in isolation or the additional works which would be required in order to change the barrier provision from steel barrier to concrete barrier.
Plans for upgrades to rigid concrete barrier:
Given the availability of new higher-containment modular precast concrete barriers, and higher-containment steel barriers, a tiered approach has now been adopted for the renewal of existing central reserve barriers. The highest tier is the provision of rigid, higher-containment concrete barrier. This can be relaxed to the provision of a non-rigid, higher-containment concrete barrier or a higher-containment steel barrier. However, this is only permitted if supported by a documented justification and risk assessment.
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 4 December 2025 to Question 95968, for what reason there is a difference between the estimates of the fiscal cost of freezing rail fares (a) as set out in that Answer and (b) the figures published in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook, November 2025.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The difference is due to a difference in rounding. The estimates provided in the Department’s previous response were sourced from the published Budget document, where numbers are rounded to the nearest £5m. The OBR choose to round figures to the nearest £1m in their own publications, including their Economic and Fiscal Outlook published in November 2025.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how paragraph 3.9.2 of the draft National Policy Statement for Ports will be applied by decision-makers when considering development consent for port infrastructure.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are currently considering the views received from consultation on, and Parliamentary scrutiny of, the draft revised National Policy Statement for Ports, and will lay a final text in Parliament in due course.
In line with the recommendation of the Transport Select Committee, we are considering further guidance on how developers assess carbon emissions as part of Environmental Impact Assessments.
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 4 February 2026 to Question 107165, in which month the final text of the National Policy Statement for Ports is expected to be published.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I expect the final text to be laid in March 2026.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has she made of requiring (a) regulatory and (b) policy frameworks to be in place before the Heathrow third runway project can proceed to its next phase.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as the independent economic regulator, is currently considering options for the future regulatory framework for Heathrow, including how costs are controlled and risks are allocated, with a decision on a preferred regulatory model for expansion expected in the summer. The government is aware of the need for a clear direction of travel to enable investment.
In parallel, the Government launched a review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) on 22 October which is the policy framework that any future development consent order for expansion at Heathrow will be examined against. The Government expects to consult on any proposed amendments to the ANPS by the summer, alongside Parliamentary scrutiny in line with statutory processes.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is tacking to help tackle anti-social behaviour on the bus network.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is working across government and with partners, industry and local transport authorities, to ensure that everyone feels and is safe when travelling by bus. Through the Bus Services Act 2025 we have introduced measures to combat anti-social behaviour (ASB) on the bus network. This includes mandating training for staff working in the bus industry, introducing a power to enable the Secretary of State to publish statutory guidance on the inclusivity of bus stations and stops and giving local transport authorities the power to create byelaws and deploy officers who can deal with ASB and fare evasion on the bus network.
In addition, the Department previously provided £2.5 million to pilot five Transport Safety Officer (TSO) teams on the network. The pilots ended in March 2025, and a full evaluation of the programme will be published in due course. We have also recently published TSO practitioner guidance for local authorities wanting to implement a scheme in their area.
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 Answers of 1 December 2025 to Questions 93461 and 93459, if she will publish the locations, route sections and lengths for a) the 52.6 km of rigid concrete barrier installed in each of the periods 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25, b) the 14 km of forecast steel to concrete barrier replacement projects proposed for the Interim Settlement period 2025-26, and c) the projected total length of steel to concrete barrier replacement during RIS3 (2026 to 2030), including any year by year profile held.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The data requested in parts (a) and (b) is currently undergoing verification and will be supplied to the Rt. Hon Member shortly. With respect to part (c), the projected total length of steel to concrete barrier replacement has not yet been finalised for Road Period 3.