To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Oxted Line: Electrification
Thursday 13th January 2022

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether electrification of the Uckfield Line will form part of projects to be implemented, as part of the Williams-Shapps plan for rail.

Answered by Wendy Morton

The Department for Transport is in the process of considering how the recently concluded Spending Review 2021 will impact on a range of rail projects, including the proposed electrification of the line between Hurst Green and Uckfield. A decision as to whether the scheme will progress further will be made in due course.


Written Question
Driving Tests
Tuesday 13th April 2021

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether learner drivers who had a driving test booked before 22 April 2021 will be given priority access following the delay in the return of car driving tests from 12 April 2020.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

In line with the Prime Minister’s road map announcement, car driving lessons will resume on 12 April providing data shows it is safe to move to step 2 of the road map. In response to a request by the Approved Driving Instructor National Associations Strategic Partnership, car driving tests have been scheduled to restart 10 days later on 22 April. This will give candidates the chance to access tuition to ensure they are properly prepared before they take their test.

There are currently over 400,000 people with a driving test booked. This includes some candidates who have had their tests cancelled and rescheduled on more than one occasion because of the pandemic. It would be unfair, and impractical, to move every one of those back to accommodate those with tests booked to take place before 22 April.


Written Question
Motorways: Buses
Monday 22nd March 2021

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to (a) make an assessment and (b) implement changes in response to the consultation on proposed changes to the Highway Code where representations tackle the need to provide safe unloading capacity for bus and coach operators on smart motorways.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

Highways England is leading the update of The Highway Code to improve guidance for drivers on motorways and high-speed roads. The public consultation began on 1 March and will close on 29 March. Highways England will assess all consultation responses and determine whether they need to amend the current proposals to address the comments received.


Written Question
Govia Thameslink Railway: Maidstone Railway Line
Friday 11th December 2020

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers of 6 March 2020 to Question 22006 and 24 March 2020 to Questions 30018, 30019 and 30020, if he will urgently meet with representatives of Govia Thameslink Railway, Network Rail and local hon. Members to discuss progress on ensuring the delivery of Thameslink rail services on the Maidstone East line.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

I have asked my officials to arrange such a meeting with my Honourable Friend and other relevant MPs.


Written Question
Southeastern: Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements
Friday 11th December 2020

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what incentives are included within the Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement between his Department and Southeastern for good performance and punctuality; and how those incentives differ from the incentives for good performance and punctuality included within the first Emergency Measures Agreement signed between his Department and Southeastern in March 2020.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Under EMA’s, Operators will be paid a maximum of 2% of the cost base of the franchise before the COVID-19 pandemic began, with an element of the fee conditional on operators meeting performance, passenger experience and efficiency targets.

The Management Fee is a fixed periodic fee, and is payable at the end of the EMA whilst the Performance Fee covers the EMA Period, with fixed amounts based on an Operators performance, payable after a performance review has taken place.


Written Question
Southeastern: Kent
Friday 11th December 2020

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many services on the Southeastern Mainline terminating at (a) Dover Priory and (b) Ramsgate have skipped stops since the franchise signed an Emergency Measures Agreement with his Department in March 2020.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Unfortunately, the information required to provide answer to this Parliamentary Question is not held within the Department and therefore should be directed to Network Rail on PublicAffairs@networkrail.co.uk who will be able to assist.


Written Question
Southeastern: Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements
Friday 11th December 2020

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many days there were delays on the (a) Southeastern Mainline and (b) Medway Valley Line since Southeastern signed an Emergency Measures Agreement with his Department in March 2020.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Unfortunately, the information required to provide answer to this Parliamentary Question is not held within the Department and therefore should be directed to Network Rail on PublicAffairs@networkrail.co.uk who will be able to assist.


Written Question
Bus Services: Coronavirus
Tuesday 8th December 2020

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will expedite payment of the covid-19 Bus Services Support Grant to operators to ensure that those payments are made by the end of each restart period.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The Department is incredibly grateful to the bus sector and its key workers for providing services throughout the pandemic. These vital services have and continue to allow people to make essential journeys and enable key workers to get to their place of work.

The Department has provided an unprecedented amount of support to the sector during this time. We are continually looking to enhance the scheme’s operations including to the timeliness of payments.


Written Question
Speed Limits
Tuesday 1st December 2020

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on the introduction of 20mph speed limits.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The Department for Transport issues non-mandatory guidance to English local authorities on setting speed limits, including 20mph speed limits. It suggests that 20mph limits can be introduced in streets that are primarily residential as well as major streets where there may be significant numbers of pedestrian and cycle journeys and this outweighs the disadvantage of longer journey times for motorised traffic.

Local authorities are responsible for taking decisions about setting speed limits on their roads as they have the local knowledge making them the best placed to do so.


Written Question
Air Traffic Control
Tuesday 1st December 2020

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department collects data from (a) individual airports and (b) NATS on the number of aircraft which join an interception landing system between 8nm and 10nm from the east of an airport.

Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The Department has issued notices under Section 78(1) of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 to London Heathrow, London Gatwick and London Stansted airports. These notices set out the noise mitigation requirements for departing and arriving aircraft at these airports, including details on the Instrument Landing System (ILS) joining point arrangements.

The Department does not collect data on where aircraft join the airport’s ILS, but we expect London Heathrow, London Gatwick and London Stansted airports to do so and we encourage other large airports to do the same.

The Department has not provided any specific guidance to NATS, the Civil Aviation Authority or individual airports relating to aircraft arrival operations during an extended period of low air traffic movements. However, we expect that all airports will seek to ensure their arrival operations are efficient, provide safe and stabilised approaches, and minimise their overall environmental impact.