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 24 November 2025 to Question 92100 on Great British Railways: Environment Protection, if she will take legislative steps to require Great British Railways to publish an annual environmental performance report.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are no plans to legislate for a specific annual report on environmental performance. Reporting requirements for GBR will be set as part of GBR design, ensuring transparency in GBR’s delivery. We expect that GBR will include detail in its Integrated Business Plan and its annual report and accounts.
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 21 November 2025 to Question 90803 on Transport: Apprentices and Training, what discussions her Department has had with the Department for Work and Pensions on the impact of the removal of Level 7 apprenticeship funding for those over 22 on workforce availability in the transport sector.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department for Transport has been in regular contact with the Department for Work and Pensions regarding Level 7 apprenticeships, including most recently as part of preparations for a Transport Select Committee session discussing skills for transport manufacturing.
Analysis done by Skills England on Level 7 apprenticeship funding has shown that in the majority of areas, including transport, there are appropriate substitutes or alternatives to progress at Level 7 for those over 22, which will support workforce availability. This was factored into the decision that was taken on Level 7 apprenticeships.
We know there has been a large decline in young people starting apprenticeships – around 40% over the last ten years. We currently have around 800,000 young people who are not in education, employment or training. Therefore, we are looking to reverse this trend and our focus is on making sure Government funding supports young people starting out in their careers, rather than those already in work with higher prior qualifications. We also know that Level 7 apprenticeships can be valuable for young people, so the Government will continue funding them for learners under 22 as part of our reforms.
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 26 November 2025 to Question 92061 on Great British Railways, when the Department expects to publish the rollout plan for Great British Railways branding; and whether that plan will include a timetable, cost breakdown and value-for-money assessment of the transition process.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Ministers will empower rail industry leaders to deliver an efficient and cost effective rollout of the Great British Railways brand, maximising value for money and growing revenue. The Department is working to finalise more detail on the rollout plan and will announce next steps in due course.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, in the next two years, how many new oil and gas licences his Department will examine and what proportion he estimates will be approved; and what assessment he has made of the impact of licensing policy on the future viability of existing North Sea infrastructure.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government will legislate to meet its landmark manifesto commitment to end new licences to explore new oil and gas fields.
To support existing fields and infrastructure, the Government will introduce new Transitional Energy Certificates for a managed, prosperous and orderly transition.
The evidence suggests that even if new licenses were issued it would have only a marginal impact on overall production in the North Sea given it is a super mature basin which has been in decline for more than two decades.
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 25 November 2025 to Question 91465 on Electric Vehicles: Charging Points, if she will provide the hyperlink to the electric vehicle charging infrastructure statistics listing the number of public charging devices at local authority level.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department’s latest published statistics on the number of public charging devices at local authority level are available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6900f9b584b816d72cb9aab6/electric-vehicle-public-charging-infrastructure-statistics-october-2025.ods.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2025 to Question 93956 on Driving Tests, what is the estimated total cost of the Ministry of Defence charges to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency for the use of 36 defence driving examiners for one day per week over a 12-month period.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
In response to a Military Aid to the Civil Authorities request from the Department for Transport, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has agreed to provide 36 defence driving examiners (DDE) to conduct driving tests for one day a week for 12 months. This support will seek to reduce current civilian driving test wait times.
Actual costs will be calculated and charged following the completion of this support, the estimated cost is approximately £100,000. The MOD has agreed to charge marginal costs, rather than full costs, in line with HM Treasury guidelines as set out in JDP 02 UK Operations: the Defence Contribution to Resilience.
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 18 November 2025 to Question 88878 on Train Operating Companies: Contracts, what is a GBR model access contract what its key terms and conditions are, and how it differs from existing rail track access agreements.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As part of GBR’s new role in determining access to its network, GBR will develop and issue Model Contracts. This will set the rights and obligations between an operator and GBR for the use of GBR's network. The provisions of the model contracts must be consistent with requirements in legislation and GBR’s AUP.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2025 to question 92688, what progress he has made on reducing regulation by 25% by 2029.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is working within the framework set out in the ‘New Approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth’ (also known as the Regulators Action Plan – RAP) to identify potential administrative burden reductions. As part of the RAP, HSE committed to look at three areas: Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrence Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR); Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 (PSSR) and Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) and reforms to aspects of chemicals regulation for which HSE holds the policy lead. These three areas are in the process of consultation and/or call for evidence. The analysis of the responses will be used to inform the next steps in supporting the 25% administrative burden reduction target.
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 14 October 2025 to Question 77640 on Road Traffic Control: Oxford, whether the DVLA has received requests for access to vehicle registration data from (a) Oxfordshire County Council and (b) Oxford City Council in financial year 2024 to 2025 for the purposes of (i) congestion charging, (ii) traffic filters, (iii) zero-emission zone enforcement and (iv) moving traffic offences; and what the statutory authority is for each of those requests.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In 2024/2025 financial year, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) received requests for registered keeper information from a third-party service provider on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council in relation to zero-emissions zones and moving traffic offences. It is not possible to say if requests specifically relating to traffic filters have been received as they would be included in the category of moving traffic offences. The Oxford congestion charge came into effect in October 2025. Oxford City Council requested information, also through a third-party service provider, for off-street parking management only.
Regulation 27 of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 allows the DVLA to make information about UK vehicles and their registered keepers available for use by a local authority for any purpose connected with the investigation of an offence. The same regulation also allows the DVLA to make information available to a local authority in England and Wales when it is acting as an enforcement authority within the meaning of Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004. These provisions apply to Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what is the estimated net cost to the public purse of freezing certain regulated rail fares in March 2026 for this and the subsequent five financial years.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The estimated net cost to the public purse of freezing certain regulated rail fares in March 2026 is set out in the table below. This is putting money back in the pockets of hardworking people when they need it most. With savings set to be available on over a billion journeys, the freeze will also make rail more affordable, encouraging more people to use the railway.
(£m) | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 | 2029-30 | 2030-31 |
Rail Fares: Freeze rail fares in England for one year from 1 March 2026 | +0m | -145m | -150m | -155m | -160m | -165m |