Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Department for Transport

Oral Answers to Questions

Sally Jameson Excerpts
Thursday 8th January 2026

(2 days, 21 hours ago)

Commons Chamber
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Allison Gardner Portrait Dr Allison Gardner (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Lab)
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7. What steps she is taking to help ensure that the transport system supports economic growth.

Sally Jameson Portrait Sally Jameson (Doncaster Central) (Lab/Co-op)
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12. What steps she is taking to help ensure that the transport system supports economic growth.

Heidi Alexander Portrait The Secretary of State for Transport (Heidi Alexander)
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Transport is a key enabler of economic growth. That is why we are investing £92 billion to maintain and modernise our roads and railways, to deliver major projects such as HS2 and East West Rail, and to support leaders in our towns and cities to improve local public transport networks. This will strengthen connectivity, unlock productivity and support a thriving UK economy.

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Heidi Alexander Portrait Heidi Alexander
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I appreciate what a fearsome and impatient advocate my hon. Friend is for her constituency, and I am sure she will leave no stone unturned in exploring potential funding options with local partners to reopen some of those stations. I will gladly ask the Rail Minister to sit down with her to discuss the art of the possible.

Sally Jameson Portrait Sally Jameson
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Junction 3 of the M18 in Doncaster is one of the biggest bottlenecks to growth in our region, so will the Minister meet me to discuss the possibility of its inclusion in the road investment strategy and how the Department can further support the mayoral combined authority and the council to make sure we get this sorted out?

Heidi Alexander Portrait Heidi Alexander
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I would be happy to ask the Roads Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield and Rothwell (Simon Lightwood), to meet my hon. Friend, who has campaigned hard to secure a viable future for Doncaster Sheffield airport, and I also appreciate the importance of this junction. We have given a significant amount of funding to the South Yorkshire mayoral combined authority to determine what its local investment priorities are. I encourage her to continue discussions with the Mayor of South Yorkshire to that effect.