Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Northern Powerhouse Rail on rail connectivity, journey times, frequency and rolling stock between Blackpool and Manchester.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Northern Powerhouse Rail will deliver turn up and go railway services between Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and York, with onward services to Newcastle, Hull and Chester for North Wales.
The scheme is expected to provide connectivity and growth benefits across the wider region. Government will work with local leaders to develop the details before decisions are made on future journey times and frequencies.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Multi-billion-pound drive to transform rail and growth across Yorkshire and North East, published on 14 January 2026, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of the business case for a new train station in Bradford city centre; and what timetable has been set for (a) completion of the business case, (b) funding approval and (c) commencement of construction of the train station.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As part of the first phase of Northern Powerhouse Rail, we will press forward with the work already in hand with Bradford Metropolitan District Council on a business case for a new Bradford station. We expect to reach decisions on the station by Summer 2026 and have made funding available to then move forward into detailed design.
The government is learning the lessons from HS2, taking sufficient time to explore and develop options, building certainty in costs, outputs and benefits, before confirming decisions on details such as construction timelines. We will work closely with local leaders to do that.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to ensure the effectiveness of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders; and how this will be monitored.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) are currently live in Greater Manchester, three London boroughs (Croydon, Bromley and Sutton), Cleveland, North Wales, and with the British Transport Police. These orders combine the strongest elements of the existing protective order regime into a single comprehensive, flexible tool. DAPOs can impose notification requirements, electronic monitoring and attendance to a behaviour change programme. Breach of a DAPO is a criminal offence punishable by up to 5 years’ imprisonment.
To assess their effectiveness, we have commissioned an independent evaluation of DAPOs to assess how they are working in practice. During this pilot phase, we are closely monitoring the police and courts’ performance as part of the ongoing evaluation. We will use the evaluation findings to help inform the wider rollout of DAPOs and help ensure DAPOs provide effective protection for victims.
Since their launch, more than 1,000 DAPOs have been issued across England and Wales, strengthening protections for victims of all forms of domestic abuse. As set out in the government’s new VAWG Strategy, we are committed to rolling out DAPOs nationally across England and Wales.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the GPS based pay as you go trial between Sheffield and Barnsley has commenced.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Three Digital Pay As You Go (DPAYG) trials have successfully launched across the North and Midlands. The final trial, originally due to go live in November 2025, has been delayed. During rigorous pre-launch testing, issues were identified that would have prevented the DPAYG application from functioning as intended for participants.
To ensure the trial delivers the best possible passenger experience and provides robust data for evaluation, the decision was taken to postpone the launch until these issues were resolved.
We continue to work closely with Northern and the supplier to address the problems and launch as soon as possible. Northern will provide an update to participants in the respective trial in due course.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with the International Maritime Organisation on the designation of additional Emission Control Areas adjacent to the west coast of the United Kingdom.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We, alongside EU partners, are leading work at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to bring in a new Emission Control Area (ECA) in the North-East Atlantic Ocean. This is a key measure, which covers over 5 million km2 of ocean, to reduce air pollutant emissions of vessels across the whole of the North East Atlantic and the west coast of the UK. We will continue to support and press for adoption of this vital measure at the 84th IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee in April 2026.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on tackling harassment on trains against women and girls in Hexham constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Everyone should be able to use the rail network without fearing for their safety. As part of the Government’s Safer Streets mission, we have a commitment to reduce violence against women and girls (VAWG) by half over the next decade.
Last month, the Department and Greater Manchester Combined Authority jointly hosted a Safer Streets, Safer Transport Summit which brought together representatives from across the transport industry, Government, local authorities (including the North East Combined Authority), the third sector and policing to commit to taking action against anti-social behaviour (ASB) and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
Hexham Station has a very low crime rate, with no sexual offences reported this year or in 2024/25.
BTP officers in the North East attend the local Safer Transport Regional Group and the Violence Against Women and Girls on Transport Partnership Working Group, strengthening collaboration with partners and focusing joint efforts on preventing these offences.
BTP deliver numerous public campaigns to increase VAWG reporting across the network including in the North East. The Rail Delivery Group also delivers its ‘zero tolerance’ campaign, which is aimed at educating people about the different types of sexual harassment and encouraging reporting to the BTP or anonymously to Crime Stoppers.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she expects unregulated rail fares to move in line with regulated rail fares this year and over the next five years.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Changes to unregulated fares have typically followed a similar trend to regulated fares in recent years – so we expect the majority of passengers to benefit from savings.
We are also continuing to reform the complex fares system that we know creates significant confusion and does not work for passengers, including through introducing more tap in, tap out pay as you go across the country, and delivering long-distance fares reforms, such as through the trial with London North Eastern Railway (LNER).
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussion her Department is having with relevant stakeholders to help tackle harassment against women and girls on trains in the North East.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Everyone should be able to use the rail network without fearing for their safety. As part of the Government’s Safer Streets mission, we have a commitment to reduce violence against women and girls (VAWG) by half over the next decade. The Department is committed to working with the rail industry and the British Transport Police (BTP) to ensure this is the case.
Last month, the Department and Greater Manchester Combined Authority jointly hosted a Safer Streets, Safer Transport Summit which brought together representatives from across the transport industry, Government, local authorities (including the North East Combined Authority), the third sector and policing to commit to taking action against anti-social behaviour (ASB) and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
BTP officers in the North East attend the local Safer Transport Regional Group and the Violence Against Women and Girls on Transport Partnership Working Group, strengthening collaboration with partners and focusing joint efforts on preventing these offences.
BTP deliver numerous public campaigns to increase VAWG reporting across the network including in the North East. The Rail Delivery Group also delivers its ‘zero tolerance’ campaign, which is aimed at educating people about the different types of sexual harassment and encouraging reporting to the BTP or anonymously to crime stoppers.
Asked by: Lewis Atkinson (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time is for a driving test in (a) Sunderland and (b) neighbouring test centres; and how many additional driving examiners have been recruited to test centres in the North East since May 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The table below shows the current average waiting time in weeks and the number of tests available at Sunderland, Gateshead, Gosforth and Durham driving test centres (DTC) as of 24 November 2025.
Driving test centre (DTC) | Average car practical driving test waiting time (Oct 2025) | Booked tests (as of 24th Nov 2025) | Tests available in 24 week booking window (as of 24th Nov 2025) |
Sunderland | 24 weeks | 4795 | 58 |
Gateshead | 24 weeks | 3200 | 121 |
Gosforth | 24 weeks | 4003 | 171 |
Durham | 23 weeks | 3560 | 168 |
Great Britain (National) | 21.9 weeks | 635,938 | 27,872 |
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is continuing with recruitment campaigns across the country to provide as many tests as possible. A full-time driving examiner (DE) can be expected to add approximately 1,200 tests per year to the booking system.
Since May 2025, DVSA has recruited two new entrant examiners for Sunderland, two new entrants for Gateshead, one new entrant for Gosforth, and one new entrant for Durham. There are also two new entrants undertaking training who are earmarked for Gosforth.
From DVSA’s most recent recruitment campaign, DVSA advertised for further examiner positions for DTCs in the area and is starting to make employment offers, with the hope to have further new entrants in post early in 2026, after all pre-employment checks and training have been successfully completed.
DVSA will also be advertising for further examiner positions in the next recruitment campaign, scheduled to launch next month.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions the Department is having with relevant stakeholders on improving local bus services in Northumberland.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to helping local leaders improve local bus services and grow usage across England, including the North East, Northumberland and Hexham constituency. The Department for Transport regularly engages with local authority representatives from the North East Combined Authority, including as part of our continued support to local transport authorities pursuing bus franchising.
We are taking action to give local leaders the powers they need to deliver better bus services for passengers, including through the Bus Services Act 2025, and investing over £1 billion in 2025/26 to support and improve bus services in England outside London, of which £23.8 million has been allocated to the North East Combined Authority. This funding can be used to expand services and improve reliability, which are currently massive obstacles for too many people.