Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2026 to Question 5446, if she will list the specific transport projects, in addition to the light rail infrastructure trial in Coventry, that have utilised the proportionate and flexible approach to approvals for innovative activity since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A proportionate and flexible approach enables the department to use the most appropriate methodology to assess the value for money, including for an innovative activity, considering risk versus reward. Projects cannot meaningfully be defined as only innovative or not innovative, there is a spectrum that is considered in a proportionate and flexible way.
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 27 May 2026 to Question 2801 on Transport: Innovation, how many projects have had their business case approvals process adapted to support innovative activity since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Departmental guidance allows for a proportionate and flexible approach to approvals, with innovative activity being one of a number of reasons such flexibilities are relevant in any given case. The recently published National Audit Office report Innovation in Transport systematically looked at the department's approach to innovation and included an example of this proportionate and flexible approach when the department reviewed the business case for trialling a new approach to light rail infrastructure in Coventry.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the timetable for completion of the High Speed Rail Phase 2b to take traffic.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The government is taking forward the High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill to deliver the Northern Powerhouse Rail route into Manchester via Manchester Airport. We have not reversed the previous government’s decision to cancel HS2 Phase 2 and will adapt the bill to deliver only the section of route necessary for Northern Powerhouse Rail.
In light of lessons from HS2, we are carefully developing detailed plans for delivery. However, from our work to date, we expect major construction works for the Liverpool to Manchester section of the route to commence in the mid-2030s and continue into the 2040s.
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 6 January 2026 to Question 101488, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of removing or consolidating lower-cost rail fares as part of fare simplification reforms on fare evasion.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As part of our reforms to the railways, we are making fares easier to understand, so that passengers can buy tickets with confidence, knowing they are getting the right fare every time. Under Great British Railways (GBR), passengers will enjoy a consistent, reliable offer across the entire network. Simplifying fares is intended to improve passenger confidence and reduce the likelihood of unintentional fare irregularities.
Tackling fare evasion is a priority. The Secretary of State has accepted the Office for Road and Rail’s recommendations in its June 2025 review into revenue protection practices, and the Department will respond formally in due course.
In light of this wider work on ticketing and fare evasion, the Department has not undertaken a separate assessment specifically on the impact of removing or consolidating lower‑cost fares on fare evasion.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the building of a tram or light rail system in Derby.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Local transport, including light rail, is largely devolved. It is for local transport authorities to determine whether a light rail or tram scheme represents an appropriate intervention to address any local mass transit challenge or opportunity.
The Chancellor announced the £15.6 billion Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlements for 9 eligible mayoral strategic authorities on 4 June 2025. As part of this announcement East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA), which includes Derby, was allocated £2 billion in local transport funding through to 2031/32. This investment aims to drive economic growth and improve access to opportunities in the region. While the Government sets the overarching objectives for the programme, TCR is devolved and Mayors have discretion over how to allocate these funds to meet local transport priorities, including mass transit.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the building of a tram or light rail system in Coventry.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Local transport, including light rail, is largely devolved. It is for local transport authorities to determine whether a light rail or tram scheme represents an appropriate intervention to address any local mass transit challenge or opportunity.
The Chancellor announced the £15.6 billion Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlements for 9 eligible mayoral strategic authorities on 4 June 2025. As part of this announcement West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), which includes Coventry, was allocated £2.4 billion in local transport funding through to 2031/32. This investment aims to drive economic growth and improve access to opportunities in the region. While the Government sets the overarching objectives for the programme, TCR is devolved and Mayors have discretion over how to allocate these funds to meet local transport priorities, including mass transit.
WMCA has previously allocated £5m from its devolved City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) to progress a mass transit route options study in Coventry.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the Network Rail vegetation management review, published in October 2018, what criteria are used to approve temporary variations for vegetation management from Network Rail standards for vegetation management.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The review and potential approval for temporary variations to any of Network Rail’s standards is undertaken by a competent person (such as the standard owner or a delegated authority). The risk mitigation of the non-compliance needs to clearly be provided along with timescales on when the applicant will become compliant to the standards. The applications are at local levels and can vary. Since the October 2018 review, Network Rail has improved vegetation management training, updated the vegetation standards and deployed technology to allow it to measure compliance of the vegetation profile. This has resulted in the temporary variations being annulled and alignment to the latest version of the standard.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the written statement of 18 November 2025, HCWS1062, on Next phase of planning reform, what the geographical distance is around a train station that the policy would apply to; and whether the definition includes (a) Trams, (b) light-rail, (c) Metros and (d) the London Underground.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is currently consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
The consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, sets out how different proposed policies would apply to land around stations, including those that are defined as well-connected and those that are within and outside of settlements.
The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the upcoming expiration in February 2026 of the compulsory purchase powers for phase 2a of HS2 to Crewe, what alternative plans they have to relieve congestion on the west coast main line north of Birmingham.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Whilst we will not reverse the previous government’s decision to cancel Phase 2, we recognise concerns about rail capacity and connectivity between Birmingham and Manchester. We are reviewing our plans for future connectivity in the Midlands and the North, and we hope to say more soon, including our plans for land and property between Birmingham and Crewe.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Department for Transport has directly, indirectly, or through agents or sub-contractors partially or wholly funded the supply of any cars or light vehicles for West Yorkshire Police in connection with or via the Transpennine Route Upgrade project.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The consortium appointed by Network Rail to deliver infrastructure works to the west of Leeds as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme, has transferred funds to West Yorkshire Police, for the provision of vehicles to help maintain the delivery schedule of abnormal loads to programme work sites.