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 23 February 2026 to Question 112364, whether the annual spend on maternity care reported in the NHS National Cost Collection includes or excludes payments made by NHS Resolution for maternity clinical negligence claims; and under which budget heading such payments are accounted for.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The annual spend on maternity in the NHS National Cost Collection does not include payments made by NHS Resolution.
Payments for maternity clinical negligence claims are made from the clinical negligence scheme for trusts, which is managed by NHS Resolution.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the level of disputes over charges regarding private parking operators belonging to accredited trade associations since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The department holds baseline information on private parking appeals, provided through stakeholder engagement.
The government also has a new strategy to enable the regular collection of data regarding the private parking industry, as outlined in the 2025 Code of Practice Consultation, once the revised Code has been published.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many journeys were undertaken by civil servants using Government Car Service vehicles since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government Car Service (GCS) provides vehicles to government departments as a shared resource. Individual departments determine the allocation and use of these vehicles in line with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code. Information on the number of journeys undertaken is not held centrally by GCS.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2026 to Question 110886 on Roads: Biodiversity, in what month the biodiversity net gain impact assessment for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects will be published.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government intends to publish the biodiversity net gain impact assessment for nationally significant infrastructure projects soon.
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, what criteria DVSA used to designate Bedford, Bletchley, Bromley, Slough, Southampton and Tottenham as priority sites for the Driving Examiner recruitment pilot; what the average driving test waiting time and examiner vacancy rate was at each site at the time of designation; and on what date each site was selected.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DVSA identified priority locations that had 5 or more live vacancies and provided the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) with a list. Following their external recruitment drive in January 2026, DVSA advised DWP that some of the locations initially identified were no longer considered high priority due to roles being filled. From the remaining sites on the list those chosen were where DVSA have managers with the flexibility to carry out assessments as part of the Driving Examiner recruitment pilot.
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 February 2026 to Question 111459 on Motorways: Accidents, whether her Department plans to amend the STATS19 road traffic collision reporting system so that the type of central reservation barrier involved in collisions is recorded where relevant.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are no plans to amend the STATS19 collection in this way.
The STATS19 collection is reviewed every 5 to 10 years. The last such review commenced in 2018, with the agreed recommendations being rolled out to police force collection systems from the start of 2024, and expected to be complete during 2026.
These reviews seek to balance the need for information with the burdens placed on police, bearing in mind that STATS19 is based on information available to the reporting officer at the scene of the collision rather than a detailed investigation.
The date for the next STATS19 review has not yet been set. The timing is agreed by the Standing Committee for Road Injury Collision Statistics (SCRICS), which meets annually to consider whether there is sufficient need for a review.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what work is being undertaken by her Department to identify cross-sector infrastructure interdependencies and single points of failure affecting the transport network.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Transport is one of the UK’s 13 Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) sectors. Given the cross-sector infrastructure interdependencies, resilience across CNI, including transport, is critical to the UK.
My department is taking forward work to deliver the transport implications of the UK Government Resilience Action Plan, published July 2025, recognising the complex and interdependent nature of our critical transport operations. This includes carrying out a Criticalities Review; working with partners across the transport sector and government to improve our understanding of the interdependencies and single points of failure affecting the transport network. This will enable us to develop robust and informed measures to mitigate the risks and build resilience within the system.
Furthermore, as committed within the recently published Climate Adaptation Strategy for Transport, the department is developing guidance to support transport operators to identify their upstream interdependencies and the cascading failures associated with climate risks.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will take steps (a) in this financial year and (b) in future financial years to help reduce the fee deficit of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency keeps its fees under continual review. Any changes to fee levels would be subject to public consultation and Parliamentary approval.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many officials in her Department have been transferred or seconded to DfT Operator Ltd since 4 July 2024; and how many further transfers are planned.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As at today’s date, there has been one member of staff seconded to DfT Operator Limited since 4 July 2024 and 210 staff are planned to transfer to DFT Operator on 1 April 2026.
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, whether his Department is reviewing documents released to the media in March 2025 in relation to the employment tribunal involving the Drax whistleblower; and whether any findings from that material have been shared with the regulator.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DESNZ does not hold these documents, so is not reviewing them and has not shared them with Ofgem.