theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice of 31 March 2025 in the debate on the Report Stage of the Mental Health Bill, Official Report, House of Lords, column 103, what work the health and justice strategic advisory group has undertaken. \p Stephen Kinnock: The first formal meeting of the mental health and justice strategic advisory group is planned to take place on 1 July 2025. The group will be chaired by NHS England’s National Medical Director for Mental Health and Neurodiversity, who will report regularly to Ministers and be responsible for agreeing a joint work plan to support implementation of the statutory time limit for transfers between prisons and hospitals, identifying solutions to common barriers to timely transfers and holding partners to account.

An initial planning meeting was held on 30 April 2025 and the chair, along with senior leads in health and justice, specialised commissioning and community mental health are in the process of agreeing the terms of reference for the group.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice of 31 March 2025 in the debate on the Report Stage of the Mental Health Bill, Official Report, House of Lords, col 103, how she plans to monitor the effectiveness of the health and justice strategy advisory group. \p Stephen Kinnock: The mental health and justice strategic advisory group will be chaired by NHS England’s National Medical Director for Mental Health and Neurodiversity, and the group’s membership is still in the process of being confirmed.

The mental health and justice strategic advisory group has not yet started its work. The National Medical Director for Mental Health and Neurodiversity, along with senior leads in health and justice, specialised commissioning, and community mental health are in the process of agreeing the terms of reference for the group, and its first meeting is expected to take place in early July.

The Chair will provide a quarterly report on progress and impact to ministers in both the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health and Social Care, with the first report expected in the Autumn.
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Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the potential impact of the White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025, on the employment of overseas workers in the social care sector. \p Stephen Kinnock: The immigration White Paper, Restoring Control over the Immigration System, was collectively agreed across Government, and is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6821f334ced319d02c906103/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-web-optimised.pdf(opens in a new tab)

In the technical annex, published alongside the White Paper, the Home Office has estimated an annual reduction of approximately 7,000 main applicants as a result of ending overseas recruitment for care workers and senior care workers. This is based on their internal management information for entry visas granted covering the period March 2024 to February 2025. This estimate reflects that there was a drop in visa grants of more than 90% compared with the 12 months ending in March 2024, when more than 83,000 entry visas were granted to care workers and senior care workers. The analysis in the technical annex will be refined and included within the relevant impact assessments accompanying the rule changes, as appropriate. The technical annex is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6821b49bdb6463b14cd8189c/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-technical-annex.pdf(opens in a new tab)

As set out in the immigration White Paper, visa extensions and in-country switching for those already in the country and with working rights will be permitted for a transition period until 2028. This will be kept under review.

DHSC are providing up to £12.5m to regional partnerships in 2025/26 to respond to unethical international recruitment practices in the adult social care sector. This includes supporting international recruits impacted by sponsor licence revocations to find alternative employment.

Care workers are essential to those who draw on care and support, helping them to maintain their quality of life, independence, and connection to the things that matter to them. In England, as per the Care Act 2014, it is the responsibility of local government to develop a market that delivers a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, that will be available to their communities. English local authorities have responsibility under the Care Act 2014 to meet social care needs, and statutory guidance directs them to ensure there is sufficient workforce in adult social care.

The Department continues to monitor adult social care workforce capacity, bringing together national data sets from Skills for Care’s monthly tracking data, the Capacity Tracker tool, and intelligence from key sector partners.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for establishing a fair pay agreement process in the adult social care sector. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is committed to consulting on the design of the Fair Pay Agreement process and aims to begin the public consultation after the bill receives Royal Assent later this year. Secondary legislation and the establishing of the Negotiating Body will follow. The body will then negotiate the first Fair Pay Agreement. The Government is committed to establishing the first Fair Pay Agreement, and to doing so within this Parliament.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent the mishandling of patient information by social care providers. \p Stephen Kinnock: Responsibility for delivering shared care records sits with local integrated care boards (ICBs).The health and care organisations which participate in the Devon and Cornwall Care Record are joint controllers for the shared care record system and are responsible for determining who is authorised to access medical records in the system, the process for authorising users, how those users access records and the purposes for which the records can be accessed.

Every ICB which shares records is required to look after an individual’s information in accordance with the Information Governance Framework for shared care records published by NHS England, to ensure that only authorised users access relevant information, and that access is governed by appropriate access controls. The framework is available at the following link:

https://transform.england.nhs.uk/information-governance/guidance/summary-of-information-governance-framework-shared-care-records/information-governance-framework-for-integrated-health-and-care-shared-care-records/

There are safeguards in place to keep information confidential. All care organisations accessing information via the Devon and Cornwall Care Record must be compliant with the Data Security and Protection Toolkit and sign a data sharing agreement. To access, a user needs an account which must be requested by an authorised sponsor in their organisation. Each time a shared record is accessed in the Devon and Cornwall Care Record, it is recorded in an audit trail.

The registered managers of any care home are responsible legally for the safe management of information and ensuring all staff receive training and must agree to the terms and conditions of use, of which they are reminded on the login page.
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Tim Farron:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish the risk management plan for the M6 Lune Gorge structures project. \p Lilian Greenwood: The M6 Lune Gorge structures project Risk Management Plan is a working document owned by National Highways. Therefore, it is not available for publication.
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Jonathan Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vehicles without valid Vehicle Excise Duty have been identified through automatic number plate recognition systems in the most recent 12 month period for which data is available; and what steps her Department is taking to improve vehicle excise duty compliance. \p Lilian Greenwood: In the 12 months between June 2024 and May 2025, automatic number plate recognition systems operated by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and its contractors, generated 142,031 enforcement cases for vehicles identified as being unlicensed.

The DVLA operates a comprehensive package of measures to tackle vehicle tax evasion. These range from reminder letters, penalties and court prosecutions through to the use of automatic number plate recognition systems cameras, wheel clamping and the removal of unlicensed vehicles.

The DVLA aims to make vehicle tax easy to pay but hard to avoid, ensuring processes are regularly reviewed and refined to encourage compliance and to deliver a robust enforcement regime. These measures led to an overall compliance rate of 98.7% in the last roadside survey undertaken by the Department for Transport in 2023.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to increase the number of full time equivalent examiners at the Newton Abbot Driving Test Centre in the 2025-26 financial year. \p Lilian Greenwood: On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport announced that the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) will take further actions to reduce waiting times for all customers across Great Britain.

Since announcing these measures, DVSA has reintroduced overtime pay incentives for everyone delivering driving tests. The additional testing allowance scheme launched this month (June 2025).

The DVSA’s plan to reduce waiting times as set out in December last year, included recruiting and training 450 driving examiners (DE). As with all test centres in Great Britain, DVSA will assess the recruitment needs at Newton Abbot test centre when it launches any future recruitment campaigns.
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Wendy Chamberlain:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Transport Secretary acts to make thousands of extra driving tests available each month, published on 23 April 2025, whether an estimate has been made of the number of number of DVSA staff members who will return to examining roles by region. \p Lilian Greenwood: On the 23 April, the Secretary of State (SoS) for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) will take further actions to reduce waiting times for all customers across Great Britain.

Further information on these actions and progress of DVSA’s plan to reduce driving test waiting times, which was announced in December 2024, can be found on GOV.UK.

The measures announced by SoS to make additional driving tests available each month were implemented on 1 June. It is too early to evaluate those measures, or their impact at a national or regional level.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving test examiners have been hired by the DVSA in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands in the last five years. \p Lilian Greenwood: The attached Excel document shows the number of driving examiners that have left and started at driving test centres in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands in the last five years.

Driving test instructors - DVSA (xlsx, 19.2KB)
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress she has made on expanding the use of solar power at train stations. \p Lilian Greenwood: The government is committed to establishing Great British Energy and significantly increasing the amount of renewable energy generation in the UK by 2030.

Network Rail has already installed assets for the generation of renewable energy on the rail estate, including at stations, and is continuing the roll out of new assets.
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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support access to public transport for care leavers. \p Simon Lightwood: This government recognises the importance of supporting care leavers and is keeping public transport accessible and affordable for them with the £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London and investment of over £1 billion to improve bus service reliability and frequency. Care leavers can also access the 16-25 Railcard, which provides 1/3 off the cost of rail travel for young passengers. We continue to support Strategic Authorities and Local Authorities who use their local transport funding, including the Local Authority Bus Grant, to provide targeted support for care leavers, such as through offering discounted fares.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she has taken to work with relevant authorities to reduce fatalities involving young drivers in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency. \p Lilian Greenwood: Local authorities have a statutory duty to take steps both to reduce and prevent collisions, and the powers to make their own decisions about the design of the streets under their care, taking account of the relevant legislation and official guidance.

My Department is developing its Road Safety Strategy and will set out more details in due course. We absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads, and we are exploring options to tackle the root causes of this.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to mandate that learner drivers have practiced driving on motorways prior to taking a driving test. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has no current plans to mandate that all learner drivers must undertake motorway driving prior to their driving test, for several key reasons.

Not all learners have convenient access to motorways, with many candidates living in rural or remote areas where the nearest motorway may be some distance away. Requiring all candidates to drive on a motorway would risk creating an unfair barrier to test readiness and accessibility.

While motorway driving is valuable, the practical driving test already includes a strong focus on high-speed driving environments. Dual carriageways, which can present even greater risk due to variable traffic flows, mixed vehicle types, and more frequent junctions, are included in test routes, wherever possible. They provide critical opportunities to assess a candidate’s ability to manage higher speeds and complex traffic situations.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of long waiting times for driving tests on social and economic mobility of young people in (a) Mid Bedfordshire and (b) other rural areas. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.

On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that DVSA will take further actions to reduce waiting times for all customers across Great Britain.

As acknowledged in the announcement regarding these measures, DVSA understands the potential impact high waiting times have on learner drivers, including younger drivers, and the importance of helping learners pass quickly.

Further information on these actions and progress on the DVSA’s 7-point plan, which was set out last year, can be found on GOV.UK.

From recruitment campaigns, beginning last year at driving test centres that serve customers in Mid Bedfordshire, DVSA has recruited three new driving examiners (DE).

DVSA will continue to recruit in the area and has begun its next recruitment campaign. Once the campaign has closed, DVSA will make offers to successful applicants.

DVSA is committed to providing its customers, including those in rural areas, with the best service possible. DVSA continually reviews its estate to ensure it represents good value for money and is efficient.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to lower the drink drive limit in England. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Government is considering policy options in respect of motoring offences, including around drink and drug driving. Details will follow in due course.
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Mr Peter Bedford:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many permanent civil servants in her Department had their contract of employment terminated as a result of poor performance in the (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25 financial years. \p Mike Kane: Based on the case records held on the Civil Service HR (CSHR) Casework “Casework Management Application” (CMA) database, the number of DfTc staff dismissed due to ‘Managing Poor Performance’ or for Poor Performance whilst on Probation are in the attached table.

Poor performance Civil Servants - Department (docx, 40.6KB)
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Ben Lake:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has received representations from the Welsh Government requesting that the East-West rail project be reclassified as an England only project. \p Simon Lightwood: There have been no formal representations from the Welsh Government on this matter.

The UK Government is responsible for heavy rail infrastructure across England and Wales so spends money on this in Wales rather than funding the Welsh Government to do so through the Barnett formula. This approach applies to investment in heavy rail by the Department for Transport, including HS2 and East-West Rail, and is consistent with the funding arrangements for all other policy areas reserved in Wales as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.
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Dame Caroline Dinenage:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to include mobility scooters within the scope of dangerous (a) driving and (b) cycling legislation. \p Lilian Greenwood: While we keep the scope of the dangerous driving and cycling legislation under review, we do not currently have any plans to extend this to mobility scooters.
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David Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the number of vehicles under the jurisdiction of her Department coming to their end of life; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making those vehicles available to the Ukrainian military. \p Mike Kane: The Department has not made a specific estimate of the number of vehicles under its jurisdiction that are approaching the end of their operational life. It is also important to note that a proportion of vehicles are leased rather than owned outright, and therefore would not be available for disposal by the Department.

Decisions regarding the disposal or repurposing of vehicles are made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account operational requirements, value for money, and relevant legal and security considerations. At present, there are no plans to assess the potential merits of making such vehicles available to the Ukrainian military. Any such decision would need to be considered in the context of broader cross-government policy on defence support and international assistance.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increasing service frequency and electrification on the Lytham to Preston line on the local (a) economy and (b) environment. \p Lilian Greenwood: Fylde Council’s business case found there was some potential to increase frequency. Economic benefits were assessed as part of the study, which also recommended further development of infrastructure options including electrification. It is now for the Local Transport Authority to decide if this project should go forward.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to mandate a defined minimum learning period before learner drivers can take their test. \p Lilian Greenwood: We are considering measures and assessing their potential impacts to tackle the root causes of young and novice driver collisions. We will set out more details in due course.
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Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of the availability of driving tests in Stockport. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.

On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that DVSA will take further actions to reduce waiting times for all customers across the country.

As acknowledged in the announcement regarding these measures, DVSA understands the potential impact high waiting times have on learner drivers and the importance of helping learners pass quickly.

Further information on these actions and progress on the DVSA’s 7-point plan, which was set out last year, can be found on GOV.UK.

The table below shows the average waiting time for a car practical driving test in May 2025, at centres that serve customers in Stockport.

Driving test centre

Average waiting time in June 2025 (weeks)

Bredbury (Manchester)

24

West Didsbury (Manchester)

24

Sale (Manchester)

24

National

22.5

From recruitment campaigns, one potential new driving examiner (DE) will be starting their training course on 23 June for West Didsbury. A further potential new DE for Sale will start their course on 25 August. DVSA has made three further offers, with applicants scheduled for courses in the late summer/early autumn. The latest recruitment campaign has yielded nine recruitment drives for the cluster, all of which will be completed by 14 June.
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Jess Brown-Fuller:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of available driving tests in Chichester constituency. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.

On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that DVSA will take further actions to reduce waiting times for all customers across Great Britain.

Further information on these actions and progress of DVSA’s plan to reduce driving test waiting times, which was announced in December 2024, can be found on GOV.UK.

To increase the number of tests available in Chichester, DVSA is deploying additional driving examiner (DE) resource from neighbouring driving test centres.

From recent recruitment campaigns for the area, DVSA has a potential new DE starting training later this month. DVSA has also offered another candidate a training course starting later in the year.

DVSA will continue to recruit in the area and has begun its next recruitment campaign. Once the campaign has closed, DVSA will make offers to successful applicants.

DVSA is committed to providing its customers, including those in rural areas, with the best service possible. DVSA continually reviews its estate to ensure it represents good value for money and is efficient.
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Connor Naismith:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of electrifying rail routes. \p Lilian Greenwood: This government expects electrification to play an important role to achieve our Net Zero 2050 target and, as such, we will continue to invest in electrification projects which will deliver value for money for the taxpayer. Electrification can also have wider benefits for the railway including increased reliability, cheaper operating costs and quicker journeys compared to diesel vehicles. Our strategy will be to focus on being more efficient with where we deliver electrification by leveraging the recent progress in battery technology. This will help to reduce the amount of electrification infrastructure that needs to be delivered to achieve our Net Zero target.
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Liz Saville Roberts:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the June 2025 Statement of Funding Policy, published on 11 June, and the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Wales during the oral question on Devolution: Crown Estate of 11 June, Official Report, column 958, whether the East-West rail project is classified by her department as carrying a 100% comparability factor for Wales. \p Simon Lightwood: The East-West rail project is classified as an England and Wales project. This approach applies to investment in heavy rail by the Department for Transport, including HS2 and East-West Rail, and is consistent with the funding arrangements for all other policy areas reserved in Wales as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.
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Ben Lake:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department classifies heavy rail projects located entirely within England as (a) local and (b) national projects. \p Simon Lightwood: The UK Government is responsible for heavy rail infrastructure across England and Wales so spends money on this in Wales rather than funding the Welsh Government to do so through the Barnett formula. This approach applies to investment in heavy rail by the Department for Transport, including HS2 and East-West Rail, and is consistent with the funding arrangements for all other policy areas reserved in Wales as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.
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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing local transport authorities to compel highways authorities to provide parking provision for shared mobility schemes. \p Simon Lightwood: The Department has not made a detailed assessment of this. It is up to local transport authorities to decide what parking provision to make in their areas, including for shared mobility schemes such as car clubs. In doing so they have to take into account, among other things, their statutory duties as set out in the Equality Act 2010.
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Sir Geoffrey Cox:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many meetings (a) she has and (b) Ministers in her Department have had with hon. Members from (i) her party and (ii) other parties on rail infrastructure projects in their constituencies. \p Simon Lightwood: Ministers meet regularly with MPs of all parties to discuss rail infrastructure projects at surgeries.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2024 to Question 2344 on Railways: West Midlands, what impact her Department’s internal review of its capital spend portfolio had on the decision on Midlands Rail Hub. \p Simon Lightwood: As referenced by the Chancellor, this settlement shows the government's commitment to progress Midlands Rail Hub West, strengthening connections between Birmingham, the South-West and Wales.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress her Department has made on improving the UK's international train connectivity. \p Simon Lightwood: The Government fully supports thriving and competitive international rail passenger services and freight markets, given the benefits this can bring, including potentially greater choice, new service offers and lower fares for passengers and more sustainable option for the movement of freight.

DfT Officials are actively engaging with relevant international partners and industry counterparts, including prospective operators, to help facilitate new routes or services where possible, particularly where there is a commercial proposition to do so.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the Spending Review 2025 on 11 June 2025, what funding will be provided to progress the next stage of the Midlands Rail Hub. \p Simon Lightwood: The Chancellor’s commitment to progress Midlands Rail Hub West in the 2025 Spending Review follows the release of £123 million last year to design the first phase, which could be delivered by the early 2030s.
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Sir Oliver Dowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the merits of removing Appendix B from the Persons with Reduced Mobility National Technical Specification Notice. \p Simon Lightwood: We recently published the Accessibility National Technical Specification Notice (NTSN), replacing the Persons with Reduced Mobility NTSN following an extensive review and public consultation facilitated by the Rail Safety and Standards Board. The Accessibility NTSN updates many specifications inherited from EU law while preserving ones that did not have a clear case for change.

We did not receive feedback on Appendix B during the review and public consultation or any assessment suggesting merit in its removal. However, we keep all NTSN content under regular review and will consider all feedback as part of our ongoing monitoring process.
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Sir Oliver Dowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her Department’s timetable is for announcing the next steps of the Access for All programme. \p Simon Lightwood: Access for All (AfA) funds accessibility improvements to station infrastructure and to date has delivered over 260 additional step-free stations across Britain.

We have funded Network Rail to undertake feasibility studies on 50 stations which could be upgraded through AfA and plan to update stakeholders during the summer.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-17)

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Max Wilkinson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an comparative assessment of the quality of catering between rail franchises. \p Simon Lightwood: The Department has not carried out a comparative assessment of catering between train operating companies. Catering services are a commercial matter for each train operating company, and they are responsible for their catering offer. The Department expects operators to tailor their catering provision to local needs while driving value for the taxpayer.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_217

Max Wilkinson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve the quality of catering across the rail network during the transition to Great British Railways. \p Simon Lightwood: Catering services are a commercial matter for each train operating company, and they are responsible for their catering offer. The Department expects operators to tailor their catering provision to local needs while driving value for the taxpayer. Once established, Great British Railways will be able to set appropriate levels of catering on its train services.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_218

Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 58292 on Bus Services: North Shropshire, what metrics will be used to evaluate whether the £4.5 million allocated to Shropshire Council for financial year 2025/2026 is delivering improvements in bus service (a) accessibility, (b) frequency and (c) affordability. \p Simon Lightwood: The government allocated £4.5 million to Shropshire Council in 2025/26 through the £712 million Local Authority Bus Grant to support and improve bus services. The government used a formula to determine Local Authority Bus Grant allocations in 2025/26 based on need, including population, the distance that buses travel, and the levels of deprivation. Under the formula, Shropshire Council has seen an increase in bus funding compared to 2024/25, when they were allocated £3.8 million.

While the Department closely monitors the finance and delivery performance of all Local Transport Authorities on a quarterly basis, LTAs can use their allocations in whichever way they wish provided this is consistent with the Department's guidance on Bus Service Improvement Plans. The Department encourages local authorities to focus their funding on the actions they and local bus operators believe will deliver the best overall outcomes in growing long-term patronage, revenues and therefore maintaining service levels, whilst maintaining essential social and economic connectivity for local communities.

In 2025/26 financial year, the Department will also introduce a pilot of an outcomes framework approach. The framework will play a vital role in driving up standards for passengers across England, including North Shropshire.
wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_219
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_219

Mr Joshua Reynolds:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of guidance from the Highway Authority and Utilities Committee that utilities beneath tram tracks must be diverted under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 on the cost of light rail schemes; and whether her Department is taking steps to (a) review the cost-allocation model for utility diversions and (b) review the requirement to move utilities in this way. \p Lilian Greenwood: My Department works closely with the Highway Authorities and Utilities Committee (HAUC(UK)) - which brings together highway authorities, utilities and government with the aim of working safely and smartly to reduce the impact of street and road works on members of the public throughout the UK. The Highway Authorities and Utilities Committee is currently reviewing the Diversionary Works Code of Practice with my officials. There are currently no plans to review the regulations for cost allocation.

The New Road and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA) balances the statutory rights of highway authorities and undertakers to carry out works with the need to minimise the disruption caused by these works. Financial incentives play an important role in ensuring compliance with requirements. There is a risk that by removing safeguards when utilities work on tram routes, reinstatements may not be fit for purpose, resulting in damage and possible safety issues that the tram company operator or local highway authority would then need to resolve.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_220

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 46979 on Railways, what steps she plans to take to ensure that Great British Railways will have a relentless focus on passengers. \p Simon Lightwood: GBR will have a statutory duty to run the railway in the interest of passengers. It will have the tools and operational independence it needs to plan and run the rail system on a long-term basis to meet the needs of current and future passengers.
wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_221
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_221

Dame Caroline Dinenage:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people were injured in collisions with mobility scooters in 2024. \p Lilian Greenwood: Figures on the number of collisions involving mobility scooters for 2024 are not yet available as these statistics have not yet been published. These figures will be available following the publication of “Reported road casualties Great Britain, annual report: 2024” in September 2025.
wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_222
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_222

Dame Caroline Dinenage:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of trends in the number of casualties involving mobility scooters. \p Lilian Greenwood: The table below shows the number of casualties, split by casualty severity, that resulted from road injury collisions involving at least one mobility scooter in Great Britain, for the most recent ten-year period that data is available for.

It should be noted that these figures include all casualties from collisions involving at least one mobility scooter. The casualties may be the mobility scooter users themselves, other road users, or pedestrians. There may also be other vehicles involved in the collision.

Year

Killed

Seriously Injured

Slightly Injured

2014

9

60

149

2015

8

60

159

2016

14

68

185

2017

5

59

182

2018

13

74

172

2019

12

58

192

2020

2

55

139

2021

8

84

219

2022

9

101

239

2023

17

94

229
wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_223
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_223

Dame Caroline Dinenage:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance her Department provides to mobility scooter users who use public roads. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Department has developed a comprehensive guide for users of mobility scooters and powered wheelchairs, including legal requirements and relevant Highway Code information. This is available online at www.gov.uk/government/publications/mobility-scooters-and-powered-wheelchairs-on-the-road-some-guidance-for-users

Further information about the classes of mobility scooters and the requirements to use them can be found online at www.gov.uk/mobility-scooters-and-powered-wheelchairs-rules/classes.
wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_224
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_224

Maureen Burke:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce processing times for applications for Graduate visas. \p Seema Malhotra: Our published transparency statistics can be found here: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK, including data on service standards.

The current publication covers to end of March 2025: Visas, status and immigration data: Q1 2025 - 98% of standard Graduate cases are considered within service standard.

We continue to operate within our service standard of 8 weeks for straightforward applications, with even faster times for our priority services.

We encourage applicants to apply as early as possible and ensure they have provided all required documents, and their university has reported successful course completion to UKVI, to avoid any delay in processing.

Where applications are complex or there is missing information, decisions may take longer. Applicants will have been informed by email if this is the case, but these emails can be missed or ignored. We encourage applicants to check their junk or spam folders and respond promptly to any request for further information. Further information on processing times is available here: Visa processing times - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_225

Maureen Burke:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the application window for international students to apply for a Graduate visa in the event of their university exam results being delayed. \p Seema Malhotra: If a student’s results are not expected before their current visa expires, and they need more time to demonstrate successful course completion, they may apply to extend their Student visa as set out in the Immigration Rules Appendix Student.
wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_226
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_226

James Asser:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025, whether the proposed extension of the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain to ten years will apply retrospectively for Skilled Worker Visa holders residing in the UK. \p Seema Malhotra: We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_227

James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to para. 266 of the White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025, what her Department's timetable is for the consultation on changes to the (a) points-based system and (b) qualifying period for visas. \p Seema Malhotra: We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.
wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_228
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_228

Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what budget will be available to the Windrush Commissioner. \p Seema Malhotra: The budget allocation for the Windrush Commissioner will be formally agreed once the Commissioner has been appointed.
wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_229
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-17)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-17 conversation_229

Connor Naismith:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether foreign nationals on UK work visas will (a) be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after five years and (b) have (i) provisions and (ii) routes for fast-tracking permanent residency for skilled workers in key sectors; and whether undertaking postgraduate studies alongside employment will impact eligibility for settlement. \p Seema Malhotra: We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.