Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2025 to Question 94029, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Food Scanner app on people with eating disorders.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has a series of digital tools to support adults and families to eat better and move more, including the food scanner app and the National Health Service weight loss plan app, email programmes, and websites. These tools are evidence-based and regularly reviewed to ensure alignment with current Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition guidance. Updates are ongoing to reflect the latest Government advice.
We are always looking to improve the app experience, including extending and personalising messaging. We welcome feedback from parents as well as organisations to aid us in this process.
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 British Transport Police’s crime-screening policy for pedal-cycle theft at railway stations on (a) public confidence in policing and (b) the delivery of a joined-up national transport network.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Ensuring the railway remains safe for passengers and staff, and creating a hostile environment for criminals on the network is a priority for both the Department for Transport and the British Transport Police (BTP). Decisions on the use of resource and deployment of officers across the railway are for the BTP, as an operationally independent police service.
The BTP’s screening policy, introduced in August 2024, takes into account factors including the possible time window an incident could have taken place in, but also the availability of witnesses and CCTV, the realistic prospect of a successful outcome, and a range of other factors. In some instances this may mean that an investigation is not progressed, but there is no blanket ruling and each case is assessed individually. BTP have not taken the decision to stop investigating bike theft that cannot be narrowed to a two-hour window.
BTP work closely with train operating companies and their counterparts in Home Office forces to run events at stations across the network, which provide practical crime prevention advice and services such as free bike marking to passengers. There was a 23% decrease in cycle theft recorded between 2022/23 and 2024/25.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of ghost plates pose on (a) national security and (b) the ability of hostile or organised criminal actors to evade detection by ANPR technology; and whether she has commissioned a cross-government review on the potential impact of the use of illegal plates on investigative leads, including those related to violent crime, terrorism, and serious organised criminal activity.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Under the new Road Safety Strategy, published on 7 January by the Department for Transport, the Government has announced firm action to tackle illegal or ‘ghost’ numberplates. This includes consulting on tougher penalties, including penalty points and vehicle seizure, more robust checks on number plate suppliers, and higher industry standards for numberplates. We also intend to commission targeted research to explore the potential use of artificial intelligence to identify illegal plates.
In addition, the Government has pledged £2.7m for each of the next three years to support a roads policing innovation programme. As part of this innovation programme, the Department for Transport and Home Office are working in collaboration with National Police Chiefs' Council and others to consider new approaches to tackling the issue of illegal plate usage.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many bus passenger journeys were taken in (a) London and (b) England outside London in each month from January 2023 for which data is available.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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 16 December 2025 to Question 96696 on Roads: Biodiversity, what estimate she has made of the average cost for each Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project of (a) voluntarily delivering biodiversity net gain (BNG) prior to May 2026, (b) delivering BNG on a compulsory basis during the third Road Period and (c) delivering BNG overall for schemes (i) currently under construction or (ii) in the delivery pipeline.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which driving test centres were at 24 weeks wait times in December 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what evidential basis her Department has concluded that the majority of passengers benefit from the long-distance simplified ticketing trials.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has commissioned independent evaluation on the trial, this research has not yet concluded.
The current evidence is provided by LNER and is available at https://assets.ctfassets.net/mxack5k9p2sw/6k2Evw4OmGsvywKgBg9U9j/e63a4ca09d2c4e01fada29f731d90f7b/Simpler_Fares_LNER_Website_Copy_Enhanced_Sept_2025.pdf .
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 December 2025.
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 December 2025 because none have been in breach of their formal contractual terms.
The DfT 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 Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the level of carbon emissions caused by (a) prescribed burns of vegetation and (b) wildfires during 2025.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government remains committed to improving air quality to deliver benefits for public health, the environment, and the economy. This includes reducing carbon emissions.
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 17 December 2025 to Question 96800, on what dates each HS2 environmental assessment published since 4 July 2024 was published, and to provide a link to each document, in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidance on transparency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
HS2 Environmental Assessments published since 4 July 2024 are available on www.gov.uk alongside their corresponding publication dates here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-environmental-sustainability-progress-report
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sei-reports-for-new-significant-environmental-effects-on-the-hs2-phase-one-route
- https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/monitoring-the-environmental-effects-of-hs2-2025
- https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/monitoring-the-environmental-effects-of-hs2-2024