Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of East Midlands Railways trains from a) Sheffield to London and b) London to Sheffield have been i) on time, ii) less than fifteen minutes late, iii) 15-30 minutes late, iv) 30-59 minutes late, v) over 59 minutes late and vi) cancelled in each year between 2022 and 2026.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The tables below show the proportion of East Midlands Railway’s (EMR) trains from:
a) Sheffield to London trains that were i) on time, ii) less than fifteen minutes late, iii) 15-30 minutes late, iv) 30-59 minutes late, v) over 59 minutes late and vi) cancelled in each year between 2022 and 2026; and
b) London to Sheffield have been i) on time, ii) less than fifteen minutes late, iii) 15-30 minutes late, iv) 30-59 minutes late, v) over 59 minutes late and vi) cancelled in each year between 2022 and 2026.
(2026 has not been included as we do not have the comparable full year data)
From Sheffield
Year | On Time | <15 Late | 15-30 | 30-59 | >59 | Cancelled |
2022 | 40.4% | 90.8% | 7.4% | 1.4% | 0.4% | 2.5% |
2023 | 43.2% | 90.2% | 8.4% | 1.2% | 0.2% | 2.9% |
2024 | 38.1% | 88.5% | 9.3% | 1.8% | 0.3% | 2.6% |
2025 | 39.9% | 88.1% | 9.8% | 1.7% | 0.3% | 2.9% |
From London
Year | On Time | <15 Late | 15-30 | 30-59 | >59 | Cancelled |
2022 | 31.0% | 89.7% | 8.4% | 1.7% | 0.3% | 2.4% |
2023 | 29.1% | 88.7% | 9.9% | 1.3% | 0.1% | 2.6% |
2024 | 25.2% | 87.6% | 10.4% | 1.7% | 0.2% | 2.5% |
2025 | 30.2% | 89.5% | 8.7% | 1.5% | 0.2% | 2.9% |
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department’s guidance entitled Rail rolling stock procurement: cyber-security, published in March 2026, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that operational technology cabinets and data ports on existing passenger rolling stock are physically secured against unauthorised access.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport published its ‘Rail rolling stock procurement: cyber-security’ guidance to help industry consider and mitigate cyber risks when procuring rolling stock. This guidance is intended to support those responsible for procurement in ensuring that train technology, including the physical security of operational technology systems, is appropriately secure. Responsibility for securing existing rolling stock sits with operators and asset owners, who are expected to implement proportionate, risk-based measures to prevent unauthorised access, including to cabinets, data ports and other equipment on passenger rolling stock. The Department will continue to review its approach with partners and update guidance where appropriate.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 2 March 2026 to Question 113919 on Equality: Gender and Intersex, what the timetable is for the Gender Identity and Intersex Policy Package review following the publication of the Equality Act 2010: Draft Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
New model Policy and Guidance: Supporting Trans and Non-binary Employees was issued to departments on 22 May 2026. These may be used by departments as templates for their own departmental guidance.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment has been made of the potential impact of consolidation of operations under Great British Railways compared with the previous franchising model on (a) operational competition and (b) innovation.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government was elected on a clear manifesto commitment to return franchised passenger services to public ownership. Public ownership, as delivered through the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024, is an important first step towards making the railway run better, with the whole system working to one set of clear objectives.
The Railways Bill delivers the next phase of rail reform, establishing Great British Railways (GBR) to run both track and train, thus ending the fragmentation that currently exists between Network Rail and train operating companies which is inefficient and drives down performance.
GBR will support a competitive private sector. Open access will continue to play an important role on the network where it genuinely adds value that benefits the public and aligns with the overall strategy for growth on our railways. Freight operations will remain in the private sector and will benefit from a statutory freight growth target. GBR will provide greater longer-term certainty for rail that gives investors' confidence, thus supporting innovation throughout the sector. Further detail can be found in the Impact Assessments for both pieces of legislation, including the analysis that neither public ownership nor GBR is expected to materially reduce competition in terms of operating passenger services, given competition was already limited under the franchising model.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question
To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has provided guidance to electoral registration officers on whether British citizens who have a dwelling in the UK which they periodically occupy and an overseas dwelling which they also occupy can register on the UK electoral roll as a domestic, non-overseas elector.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Commission’s guidance for Electoral Registration Officers in England, Scotland and Wales sets out eligibility requirements.
A person must be resident at the address at which they want to be registered. Residence has a particular meaning in electoral law and is not equivalent to residence for other purposes. Normally, a person is resident at an address for electoral purposes if it is their permanent home address.
When making a determination on someone’s residence, Electoral Registration Officers will need to consider the circumstances of the applicant, including the purpose they are present at a particular address.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question
To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance or advice the Electoral Commission has given to local authorities on whether employees of a district or county council can serve as a councillor of a shadow unitary authority for that area.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Electoral Commission outlines the disqualification criteria at each relevant election in its guidance for candidates and agents. Due to the complexity of the rules, it does not provide direct advice on whether someone is qualified or disqualified from standing. Instead it recommends that candidates seek their own legal advice if in doubt about their eligibility.
In its role supporting Returning Officers to deliver well-run elections, it has advised them to raise any queries about the matter with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
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 January 2026 and each subsequent month.
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 January 2026 and in each subsequent month 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: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the extent to which the additional funding for apprentices aged under 25 offsets changes in the level of (a) employer National Insurance contributions, (b) the National Minimum Wage and (c) employment regulation.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government has committed a further £1 billion investment in young people, taking total additional investment into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy to £2.5 billion over the next three years. This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn.
We are transforming the Apprenticeships Levy into a new Growth and Skills Levy in England, backed by £1 billion of additional investment, which will support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, give employers greater flexibility to develop the workforce they need, and support the industrial strategy.
We are providing considerable financial support to employers, particularly smaller employers who play such a vital role in creating apprenticeship opportunities for young people. Employers of all sizes are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year).
We are introducing a new apprenticeship hiring payment of £2,000 for non-levy paying employers (typically SMEs) that take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees. Employers hiring apprentices aged 18-24 who have been on Universal Credit for over six months will also be eligible for the new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant from June 2026.
Additionally, the government provides £1,000 to both employers, of all sizes, and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC) or have been, or are, in care.
These payments can be stacked together where the employer and/or apprentice are eligible.
In addition, from August 2026, we will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers for eligible people aged 16-24, to boost small business starts and prioritise funding to young people. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16-21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care.
Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has modelled the potential impact of recent changes in employment costs on trends in the level of apprenticeship recruitment by small and medium-sized enterprises.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government has committed a further £1 billion investment in young people, taking total additional investment into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy to £2.5 billion over the next three years. This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn.
We are transforming the Apprenticeships Levy into a new Growth and Skills Levy in England, backed by £1 billion of additional investment, which will support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, give employers greater flexibility to develop the workforce they need, and support the industrial strategy.
We are providing considerable financial support to employers, particularly smaller employers who play such a vital role in creating apprenticeship opportunities for young people. Employers of all sizes are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year).
We are introducing a new apprenticeship hiring payment of £2,000 for non-levy paying employers (typically SMEs) that take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees. Employers hiring apprentices aged 18-24 who have been on Universal Credit for over six months will also be eligible for the new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant from June 2026.
Additionally, the government provides £1,000 to both employers, of all sizes, and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC) or have been, or are, in care.
These payments can be stacked together where the employer and/or apprentice are eligible.
In addition, from August 2026, we will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers for eligible people aged 16-24, to boost small business starts and prioritise funding to young people. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16-21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department's proposed SEND reforms will support children who receive education otherwise than at school packages.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s consultation, “SEND reform: putting children and young people first”, proposes the introduction of Specialist Provision Packages for all children and young people with complex needs, including those children and young people whose needs are currently met through Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) packages of support.
After a 12-week consultation period, including over 200 engagement events, meetings and roundtables, the department’s consultation has now closed. We are carefully reviewing and taking into account all responses submitted to the consultation and continuing to engage widely on our proposals.
As part of that continued engagement, we intend to publish a consultation on the use of EOTAS provision in the coming weeks. It is crucial that we get support for EOTAS children and young people right, particularly given their often complex needs. This consultation will seek views to ensure we meet those specific needs, and that these children and young people benefit from the inclusive education we want for all.