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 2 March 2026 to Question 114110, what information his Department holds on tyre procurement by its arm’s-length bodies, including NHS trusts and other agencies; and whether he plans to collect centrally data on the proportion of retread and single-use imported tyres procured for heavy vehicle fleets operated by those bodies.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold any information on tyre procurement by its arm’s length bodies and does not intend to collect data on the proportion of retread and single-use imported tyres by those bodies.
NHS England reports that that emergency ambulances and rapid response vehicles used by National Health Service trusts, which are based on light commercial vehicle and car platforms, do not routinely utilise retread tyres. This reflects the demanding operational duty cycles associated with frontline emergency response, where vehicle reliability, performance, and safety are critical. As a result, these vehicles typically operate with new tyres in line with manufacturer guidance and operational requirements.
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 2 March 2026 to Question 115052, whether permitting (a) contractors to issue fixed penalty notices under bus byelaws for profit and (b) payment structures linked to the number of fines issued are being considered for the guidance for local transport authorities under the Bus Services Act 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The guidance for local transport authorities on the byelaws provisions in the Bus Services Act 2025 is still being developed and will be published 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, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of remote access and deactivation capability in Chinese-manufactured electric buses on (a) cybersecurity and (b) publicly funded zero-emission bus procurement.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government takes national security extremely seriously and recognises the systemic challenges of increased connectivity and the cyber security implications for almost every area of government policy, including electric buses. The Department works closely with the transport sector and other government department to understand and respond to cyber vulnerabilities for all transport modes.
The department introduced two new regulations in November 2025: one to strengthen vehicle cybersecurity and one on software updates (UN Reg 155 and UN Reg 156). The cybersecurity regulation sets out requirements to mitigate potential threats in vehicle construction, to monitor emerging threats and to respond to cyber-attacks. The software updating regulation sets out requirements for upgrading software in a safe and secure manner, that is documented and the vehicle's user is fully informed throughout the process.
As part of the National Security Strategy the government is also bolstering our cyber and economic security defences. For example, the national security powers in the Procurement Act 2023 allow the Government to exclude suppliers from public sector procurement, terminate their contracts and debar them from future ones. These powers target risk from individual suppliers – not specific countries – and will be used proportionately based on the threat posed.
We are aware of recent reports from Norway concerning an electric bus manufacturer. Officials are investigating these, and the Transport Secretary will update the Transport Committee once the work is complete.
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 3 March 2026 to Question 115062, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of increases in business rates on planned private sector investment in Channel Tunnel rail services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The 2026 business rates revaluation, which is a continuing process, is a matter for the operationally independent Valuation Office Agency (VOA). The VOA is due to publish its final ratings list this Spring.
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 2 March 2026 to Question 115554 on Great British Railways: Finance, whether she plans to publish the (a) internal modelling, (b) business case documentation and (c) analytical assessments which informed the forecast that corporate initiatives under the Department’s Efficiency Plan will deliver net savings in 2028–29.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has no plans to publish the internal modelling or initial business case development which informed the savings from corporate initiatives in the Department’s Efficiency Plan.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2026 to Question 114105 on Tyres: Imports, what consideration her Department has given to using different codes; and whether her Department plans to implement different codes for single-use and other kinds of tyres.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK commodity codes are formed from the World Custom’s Organization’s (WCO) Harmonized System and, as a WCO contracting party, the UK has recently participated in WCO discussions about tyres. These are resulting in a change to code 4004, which will be introduced to cover “pneumatic tyres that have retained their original shape and are unsuitable for use as a tyre or for retreading because of wear, defects, or other reasons”, to be implemented in 2028.Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment the National Cyber Security Centre has made of the potential impact of kill switches in Chinese-made (a) cars and (b) buses on cyber security.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Modern vehicles – including cars and buses – are increasingly using software to support safer driving, to improve diagnostics and to provide a host of other services such as navigation and entertainment.
The Government takes national security extremely seriously and recognises the systemic challenges of increased connectivity and the cyber security implications for almost every area of government policy, including vehicles. The National Cyber Security Centre has published guidance to help organisations understand and manage the associated risks, ensuring that system connectivity is approached in a way that balances security with the significant benefits it provides.
The Department for Transport introduced two new regulations: one to strengthen vehicle cybersecurity and one on software updates (UN Reg 155 and UN Reg 156). The cybersecurity regulation sets out requirements to mitigate potential threats in vehicle construction, to monitor emerging threats and to respond to cyber-attacks.
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, when NHS England’s investigation into guidance and training materials relating to marriage between close relatives began; which guidance, training modules and programmes are within scope of that investigation; and when he expects its findings to be concluded and published.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The internal review in response to recent concerns that National Health Service guidance stated the benefits of close relative marriage began on 19 January 2026. All public documents which constitute training modules, or guidance regarding marriage between close relatives is in scope. The findings will be concluded shortly.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2025 to Question 90730 on Ministers: Official Cars, if he will provide equivalent information for July 2024 to March 2025.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Invoicing data for the period in question is included below.
The figures provided represent total charges to departments, inclusive of all associated costs such as Transport for London (TfL) congestion charge, as well as travel and subsistence claims submitted by drivers in the delivery of the service.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 85497 on Official Cars, what information his Department holds on the greenhouse gas emissions for the Government Car Service in 2024-25.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
A consolidated record of total greenhouse gas emissions of the Government Car Service (GCS) fleet is not held centrally. These reporting arrangements are longstanding and have not changed since the previous administration.