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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that new Best Start Family Hubs are integrated with primary care services. \p Josh MacAlister: Ensuring every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and to thrive are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission.

Children’s early years are crucial to their development, health and life chances. This government has an ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever. Improved health and education go hand in hand, as healthier children are better able to learn and children who achieve well in education go on to live healthier lives. Consequently, the Best Start in Life strategy makes it clear that the integration of strengthened health services within Best Start Family Hubs is critical to achieving these objectives.

Best Start Family Hubs will be a crucial part of shifting from treatment to prevention, and from hospital to community care. The department of Health and Social Care’s 10 Year Health Plan sets out how a new Neighbourhood Health Service will build on and coordinate with Best Start Family Hubs and Start for Life services to continue to integrate children’s services, NHS and public health, including primary care.
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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions has she had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the establishment of Best Start Family Hubs. \p Josh MacAlister: Ensuring every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and to thrive are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission.

The government has published 'Giving every child the Best Start in Life', which outlines our commitment to deliver a new Best Start Family Service that will bring together parenting, healthcare and education support services.
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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to embed a focus on (a) antenatal and (b) prenatal support for parents in the delivery of new Best Start Family Hubs. \p Josh MacAlister: Ensuring every child has the best start in life, the chance to achieve and to thrive, are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission.

As set out in the Best Start in Life (BSIL) Strategy, Best Start Family Hubs will bring together professionals from health and education, with a continued focus on the 1001 critical days from conception to age 2.

The BSIL strategy makes it clear that the integration of health services within Best Start Family Hubs is critical to raising the healthiest generation of children ever, and to ensuring that every child has a happy, heathy start to life. Additionally, it commits the government to strengthening health services in early childhood, improving maternity and newborn care, strengthening health visiting services, making it easier to get vaccinated, supporting healthy eating, tackling tooth decay and giving parents and health professionals easier access to child health information.
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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many former Sure Start children’s centres are no longer operated by local authorities and have been transferred into the third sector. \p Josh MacAlister: The department does not hold data on how many former Sure Start children’s centres are operated by the third sector.
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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of co-location of Best Start Family Hubs and local primary schools. \p Josh MacAlister: Ensuring every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and to thrive are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission.

The precise location of Best Start Family Hubs will be for local authorities to decide in consultation with their local communities. We will be providing guidance to local authorities on programme design in time to support service delivery from April 2026.
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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to embed parental outreach in designs for new Best Start Family Hubs. \p Josh MacAlister: ​​Ensuring every child has the best start in life, the chance to achieve and to thrive, are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission.

This is a central challenge and we are responding with new outreach funding and targeted test, learn and grow pilots to find what works.

​We have already seen early success in areas like Sheffield and Manchester, where we gathered good insight by testing and adapting outreach approaches focused on boosting take-up of support.

​Best Start Family Hubs will work with parent panels, voluntary sector partners, and local data to reach underserved groups, including fathers, minority ethnic communities, and young parents.

​The department is also investing in a new digital hub, linked with 'My Children' in the NHS App, to make it easier for all families to find trusted advice and book services.
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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what lessons her Department has learned from the preceding roll out of (a) Sure Start Sure Start Local Programmes and (b) Sure Start Children’s Centres. \p Josh MacAlister: ​​Ensuring every child has the best start in life, the chance to achieve and to thrive, are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission.

​Research by the Institute of Fiscal Studies has shown that access to Sure Start local programmes and Sure Start children’s centres in early life generated widespread, long-lasting benefits, improving children’s health and educational outcomes and reducing the prevalence of identified special education needs and disabilities (SEND). Building on these lessons, we are strengthening the early years system through Best Start Family Hubs to provide essential support for parents, improve health, education, and wellbeing, and offer a single access point for services, including a digital offer, targeted in the places we know will make the most impact.
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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Best Start Family Hubs on local availability of high-quality childcare. \p Josh MacAlister: ​​Ensuring every child has the best start in life, the chance to achieve and to thrive, are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission.

Our Best Start in Life Strategy outlines how the department plans to invest close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on the early years and family services. This includes over £500 million to roll out Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority in England, and over £600 million on early years education and reception. We will also spend almost £370 million over the next four years to deliver school-based nurseries across England.

​In the 2025 Spending Review, the government announced it will provide an additional £1.6 billion per year by 2028/29, compared to 2025/26, to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare for working parents, boosting children’s life chances and work choices for their parents. This increase in funding reflects the expansion of childcare for eligible working parents to 30 hours and expected increases to funding rates across the spending review period.
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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of progress in transitioning to net zero across the economy. \p Michael Shanks: The Climate Change Act (2008) made the UK the first country to introduce a legally binding, long-term emissions reduction target. This sets our commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050 in law. The UK has already halved its emissions, having cut them by around 53% between 1990 and 2023, while growing the economy by over 80% in the same period.

We will deliver an updated plan that sets out the policy package out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037 for all sectors of the economy by October 2025. The Climate Change Committee published its 2025 progress report in June, and we will also formally respond to this report by October 2025.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many days were lost to sickness absence by civil servants in their Department (a) in total and (b) on average per employee between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025. \p Michael Shanks: Between the 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025 the department lost 18,203 days to sickness absence. The average days lost per employee was 3.9.
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Sir James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what representations he has received on increasing permitted development rights for onshore wind turbines to 30 metres. \p Michael Shanks: In the recent Onshore Wind Taskforce Strategy, the government committed to publishing a consultation on whether the existing permitted development rights are fit for purpose and if they could support other forms of small-scale onshore wind deployment. The Department is currently conducting stakeholder engagement to prepare for this consultation. As part of this, some stakeholders have expressed interest raising the height limit for a permitted development onshore wind turbine to 30 metres, alongside other suggestions, conditions and limits. The Government will consider all options carefully ahead of consultation.
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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of progress towards making the UK a clean energy superpower. \p Michael Shanks: We have made an excellent start delivering our Clean Energy Superpower Mission. We are bearing down on energy bills and identifying options to lower energy costs. We have secured over £50 billion of private investment in clean energy, backed the next generation of nuclear power with £14.2 billion of funding for Sizewell, and invested in a £1 billion supply chain fund under Great British Energy to unlock investment in offshore wind jobs and our clean energy supply chains. Industry stakeholders have acknowledged and welcomed the acceleration in our ambition and progress we're making to deliver our objectives. We recognise there is much work to do, and our long-term plan will take time, requiring extensive engagement across all sectors of our society. But we won’t be deterred by the scale of the task, and this Government will not waste a moment delivering it.
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Terry Jermy:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many people with disabilities were employed in his Department on 2 September 2025. \p Michael Shanks: The number of employees who have declared they are disabled as of 31 August 2025 in the department is 535.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has spent money on promotion through social media influencers since July 2024. \p Michael Shanks: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has spent money on social media influencers since July 2024. Influencers can be effective in reaching audiences that the Government and traditional marketing channels find hard to reach.
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department plans to take to support (a) lower income families and (b) pensioners impacted by the energy price cap increase. \p Martin McCluskey: The Government knows that more needs to be done to support vulnerable households struggling with their energy bills. That's why we are expanding the Warm Home Discount to around an additional 2.7 million households. This means that from this winter, around 6 million low-income households will receive the £150 support to help with their energy bill costs. The Warm Home Discount regulations expire in 2026, and we will want to consider all options for future bill support beyond this point.

I have been clear with suppliers that they should do all that they can to support their customers – including vulnerable consumers – who may be struggling with their bills. I would urge any consumers who are struggling to pay their bills to speak to their supplier, local authority, or Citizens Advice who may be able to provide help and support. Your constituent can also visit the GOV.UK website, where extra cost-of-living support can be found - www.gov.uk/cost-of-living.
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Jayne Kirkham:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he plans to take to support landlords to meet the deadline for all rental properties to have an EPC C minimum rating by 2030. \p Martin McCluskey: The Government recognises that most landlords strive to provide decent homes, which is why we are proposing stronger standards for the entire sector, to make sure they are not undercut by those providing substandard properties. Around half of properties already meet the current standard of EPC C.

Support is currently available to private landlords to improve their properties through a range of schemes, including the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which offers £7,500 off the cost of a heat pump, as well as the Warm Homes: Local Grant which launched this year. We are also exploring the role the finance sector may play in scaling up and mobilising low-cost lending.
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Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of rising energy costs on small to medium sized hospitality businesses in Yeovil constituency. \p Martin McCluskey: The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently. The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy with less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030.

The Government wants to provide businesses with better protection from being locked into unfair and expensive energy contracts, and more redress when they have a complaint. Last year, the Government launched a consultation on introducing regulation of Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs), such as energy brokers. This is aimed at enhancing consumer protections, particularly for non-domestic consumers.

The consultation has now closed, and a Government response will follow in due course once all feedback has been reviewed. The Government recently published a summary of responses to the consultation which set out that we government continues to believe that the current regulations aren’t sufficient and we remain minded to directly regulate this market when parliamentary time allows.

From 19 December 2024 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 50 employees can now access free support to resolve issues with their energy supplier through the Energy Ombudsman. This means that 99% of British businesses can now access this service with outcomes ranging up to £20,000 in financial awards.
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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Department of Business and Trade and (b) the Cabinet office on ensuring its supply chains do not involve forced labour. \p Michael Shanks: Modern slavery is a serious human rights violation depriving individuals of their freedom and dignity while inflicting immeasurable harm on families, communities, and society as-a-whole. DESNZ is committed to tackling all forms of modern slavery, holding perpetrators to account, and ensuring that victims are supported to recover and rebuild their lives.

The Government will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of new policy tools that are emerging to ensure we can effectively tackle forced labour in supply chains. Government’s Responsible Business Conduct Review will be a primary lever for delivering this as a cross-departmental endeavour to review and address UK’s policy regime and voluntary due diligence requirements for forced labour. Additionally, the Industrial Strategy Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan committed to embedding ethical supply chain standards into DESNZ public spend; and Great British Energy confirmed it will follow strict ethical standards to help ensure solar supply chains are free from exploitation.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Sport England in supporting grassroots sport in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government believes that opportunities to play sport and get physically active should be available to everyone, including children and young people. Everyone, regardless of background, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity.

Every bit of physical activity counts and the greatest public health benefit is enabling people, currently less active, to move more and lead more active lives. This can help to reduce the risk of a range of chronic diseases, in line with the Government’s aims to prevent ill health as set out in the recent NHS 10 Year Plan.

The Secretary of State and I engage regularly with the leadership of Sport England, including at quarterly meetings with the Chairs and CEOs of all DCMS public bodies.

A large part of Sport England’s work focuses on bringing the health and sports sectors together at community level, including their place partnerships work which is working in a targeted way with local areas to understand and overcome the specific barriers in their communities. Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire is one of Sport England’s place partnerships.
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Dame Chi Onwurah:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the swing bridge is eligible for repair funding from the National Lottery. \p Stephanie Peacock: The twelve National Lottery distributor bodies provide good cause funding to organisations independently of Government.

Any specific questions on eligibility for projects should be directed to the relevant distributor.
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Sarah Dyke:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on integrating heritage conservation more effectively into planning systems. \p Ian Murray: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) works closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on ensuring heritage delivers on this Government's core missions including planning reform. Ministers and officials have regular engagement with MHCLG on topics such as the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, the Government’s review of Statutory Consultees, and wider planning reform.
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Sarah Dyke:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support owners of listed buildings with the cost of essential repairs. \p Ian Murray: DCMS works with Arm's-Length Bodies, such as Historic England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and other partner organisations to support owners of listed buildings in a range of ways including through advice, guidance, and supporting heritage skills which are required to make some repairs.

The owners of heritage buildings are ultimately responsible for the condition of their property, but there are wider schemes available in certain cases, particularly where there are wider public benefits:

Historic England’s Repair Grants for Heritage at Risk Scheme which provides grants for the repair and conservation of listed buildings, scheduled monuments, and registered parks and gardens. This funding is specifically aimed at sites on the Heritage at Risk Register, focusing on urgent repairs to prevent the loss or damage of important features.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund offers grants between £10,000 and £10 million to projects that connect people and communities to the UK’s heritage. This could include covering repair work as part of a wider project.

The up to £23 million Listed Places of Worship Grant scheme gives grants of up to £25,000 covering the VAT on repairs to listed buildings used as places of worship.

The Museum Estate and Development Fund is funded by DCMS and delivered through Arts Council England. This provides funding towards urgent infrastructure and maintenance needs which are beyond the scope of day-to-day budgets. The fund is for accredited museums in England, many of which are in landmark, listed buildings. Round 5 of the fund is currently in progress, with £25m of funding available.
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Sarah Dyke:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the average waiting time is for a decision on a listed building application made to Historic England in the last 12 months. \p Ian Murray: Based on a sample of 400 cases, the average time between Historic England receiving an application for listing and the notification of a decision to interested parties was between 36 and 37 weeks between April 2024 and April 2025, which is the latest period for which figures are available. For a given case, this time frame is likely to incorporate stages including desk-based research, a site visit and a period of consultation before Historic England’s advice is submitted to DCMS Ministers for decision.
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help increase participation in women's rugby. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, are able to participate in sport and physical activity.

Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign has inspired millions of women and girls to get active and anticipates that 1.6 million women will be active as a result of the campaign by 2028.

Sport England have awarded the Rugby Football Union £13,859,000 as one of their long-term system partners for the period 2022-27 to support grassroots men’s and women’s rugby union.

DCMS has provided £17.98 million of investment to support England hosting the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, including £6.77m legacy funding.

This tournament can be the springboard for women's rugby, just as the women's EUROs in 2022 was for women’s football. A record-breaking 400,000 tickets have been sold and 43,500 women and girls are now playing rugby. The legacy programme, Impact 25, is pivotal in cementing rugby as a game for all- improving facilities, reaching 850 clubs up and down the country, and supporting greater opportunities for women and girls of all ages to get involved.

We’re also launching the Women’s Sport Taskforce at the Rugby World Cup to tackle challenges and barriers facing women and girls in sport, including rugby, from grassroots to elite. Meeting actions will be published on gov.uk.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure that developer funding contributes to the improvement of sporting facilities in the local area. \p Stephanie Peacock: I will continue to discuss how the planning system can contribute to the provision of local sporting facilities with my ministerial colleagues at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, helps local authorities assess likely increases in demand for sports facilities, and advises on how Section 106 agreements with developers can be used to secure the necessary improvements or creation of these facilities to benefit the community.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she last met the (a) Rugby Football Union and (b) Premiership Rugby; and what issues were discussed. \p Stephanie Peacock: I met with senior RFU figures while supporting England at the opening fixture of the Women's Rugby World Cup. There I discussed the delivery of the tournament as well as other policy issues, including the demand for women’s sport, government support for women’s sport and the RFU’s legacy programme for the tournament: Impact 25. The Secretary of State and I also attended the Women’s Rugby World Cup 100 ‘Days to go’ launch event in May 2025, where we discussed tournament delivery with senior RFU figures and other stakeholders.

I met with Premiership Rugby in November 2024 to discuss the long-term financial sustainability of professional rugby union. Since then, my officials have engaged with Premiership Rugby regularly.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Independent Football Regulator’s ownership rules on (a) smaller and (b) community-owned football clubs. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government recognises the different levels of resources and the different ownership models of smaller and community-owned football clubs. That is why the Football Governance Act has designed the owners’ and directors’ tests to be applied by the Independent Football Regulator in a proportionate way in line with its regulatory principles. For example, the Regulator will recognise that an owner’s financial plans and resources required for a smaller club will understandably be very different to that of a Premier League club.

The Act also accounts for community-owned football clubs in its definition of an owner, ensuring that the tests will be applied appropriately.
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Sarah Dyke:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase the number of youth clubs in Somerset. \p Stephanie Peacock: This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential. We are co-producing a new National Youth Strategy with young people and the sector to better target support and provide opportunities to young people, no matter who they are or where they live.

In 2025/26, DCMS is investing over £145 million in youth funding. This investment will provide stability to the youth sector and ensure young people can access opportunities, as we transition to the National Youth Strategy.

Additionally, the government announced that £132.5 million of dormant assets funding will be allocated to support the provision of services, facilities or opportunities to meet the needs of young people. This will increase disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability.
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information they hold on the number of workdays that were completed remotely in their Department in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date. \p Samantha Dixon: This information is not held centrally and can only be collated at a disproportionate cost to the department.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Rooftop solar for new builds to save people money, published on 6 June 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of these measures on the time it will take to build a new home. \p Samantha Dixon: As part of the consultation on the Future Homes Standard, the proposed net zero-ready standard for new build homes, we published a consultation-stage impact assessment estimating the costs and wider impacts of the proposals, including rooftop solar. In developing this assessment, we worked with specialist energy and construction cost consultants to gather evidence on typical capital costs of installing solar panels on different house types, and how these costs are expected to change over the course of the policy. Consultees were invited to offer their views on this assessment.

On build time, any impact on new homes will vary by site circumstances and design. Through the consultation process, we sought views on implementation, including the length of the transitional period for industry to adopt the new standards. This transitional period will provide time for industry to adapt and prepare, minimising any disruption to housebuilding.

We are carefully considering the response to the consultation. We intend to publish the Future Homes Standard this Autumn, and will publish an updated impact assessment alongside it.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to improve transparency in the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s decision‑making process for over‑70s driving licence renewals; and what weightings are given to recent eyesight tests conducted by qualified opticians when assessing over-70s driving licence renewals. \p Simon Lightwood: The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Mr Angus MacDonald:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has had recent discussions with Starlink on satellite services for trains. \p Simon Lightwood: There have been no recent discussions with Starlink on satellite services for trains.

The Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of satellite technology on (a) mobile and (b) internet connectivity on long-distance rail services between Scotland and London and as a result of the spending review, we secured funding to deliver low earth orbit satellite technology on all mainline trains to improve on train passenger wifi. This will include services between London and Scotland, such as LNER and Avanti West Coast.

However, we know satellite connectivity will not work in tunnels. Network Rail's Project Reach will address mobile connectivity in 57 key mainline tunnels which will include tunnels along the East Coast Mainline and West Coast Mainline.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many days were lost to sickness absence by civil servants in their Department (a) in total and (b) on average per employee between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025. \p Simon Lightwood: Data is published on the average working days lost for the central Department on an annual basis for each financial year. Information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence with figures back to 1999.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of a licensing authority taking an extended period of time to accept or reject a private hire vehicle licence application. \p Simon Lightwood: The Department for Transport’s best practice guidance to licensing authorities in England is clear that all authorities should consider how best to deliver the statutory function of taxi and private hire vehicle licensing. Providing an efficient licensing system benefits both those in the trade and those wishing to enter it, and passengers through greater choice and availability of services.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_291

Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the decision to extend UK e-scooter rental trials until 2028 on (a) private and (b) public funding of active travel infrastructure. \p Simon Lightwood: The Department has made no specific assessment of the impact of e-scooter trial extensions on active travel infrastructure investment.

In the Spending Review we announced £616 million for Active Travel England from 2026-27 to 2029-30 to support local authorities to build and maintain walking and cycling infrastructure.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_292

Mr Lee Dillon:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had recent discussions with National Highways on the potential merits of introducing spacing chevrons on the A34. \p Simon Lightwood: National Highways has not identified a specific issue with mainline collisions on the A34 that would prompt such an intervention and as such, currently has no plans to install spacing chevrons on the A34.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_293

Chris Hinchliff:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a minimum standard of bus service for communities of 300 people or more. \p Simon Lightwood: The Government recognises the importance of reliable bus services in keeping communities connected. On 17 December, the government introduced the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill as part of its ambitious plan for bus reform.

The aim of the Bill is to give power back to local communities to ensure that bus services reflect the needs of those who rely on these services. We believe that mandating an arbitrary level of service takes power away from communities, and that local leaders are best placed to make decisions about how to improve services. That is why we are providing £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London, including £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country. Hertfordshire County Council has been allocated £12.2 million. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent and protect crucial bus routes for local communities.

The Bill also includes a socially necessary local services measure. Under the new measure, local transport authorities will need to identify bus services which they consider socially necessary and put in place requirements that must be followed before they can be substantially changed or cancelled. This includes a review to consider the needs of the local community, as well as taking on board the views of bus passengers who use the service. They will also need to consider any alternative options that are available to preserve vital connectivity.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_294

Mr Joshua Reynolds:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps her Department has taken to ensure local authorities have sufficient resources to repair and maintain residential roads; and what steps she plans to take to improve the long-term funding settlement available for tackling potholes and surface deterioration. \p Simon Lightwood: The Government takes the condition of our country’s roads very seriously and is committed to supporting local authorities in maintaining and renewing the local highway network. This Government has made a record investment of almost £1.6 billion for local road maintenance this financial year, a £500 million increase compared to 2024/25.

Building on this, we will provide £24 billion of capital funding between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve our motorways and local roads across the country. This funding increase will allow National Highways and local authorities to invest in significantly improving the long-term condition of England’s road network.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_295

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will have discissions with Dorset Council on the adequacy of the scheduling of the (a) Axminster to Exeter train and (b) its connecting bus services from Bridport and Lyme Regis. \p Simon Lightwood: Following the successful introduction of the Arterio fleet elsewhere on the South Western Railway (SWR) network, there will be an opportunity to look at the South Western timetable in detail. Relevant stakeholders, such as Dorset council, will have the chance to comment.

The government knows that integrated public transport is vital to keeping communities connected. We also know that in rural areas, bus services can be a lifeline for many and can be the only means of accessing services, including other modes of transportation such as rail links. The government believes that local authorities, working with bus operators, are best placed to determine and design local bus networks in their area, including ensuring integration with other modes, and the government does not intervene in local decisions regarding individual bus routes or services.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_296

Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, how much of the capital funding to (a) maintain and (b) improve roads between 2026-27 and 2029-30 will be spent in Huntingdon constituency. \p Simon Lightwood: Further details on the breakdown of the £24 billion of capital funding will be announced in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, how much of the funding to support the roll-out of charging infrastructure will be spent on (a) privately-owned cars, (b) zero emission vans and (c) zero emission HGVs in Huntingdon constituency. \p Simon Lightwood: We’re investing over £4.5 billion to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to electric vehicles (EVs).  This includes £400 million to support the rollout of charging infrastructure, including along the strategic road network in England, charging infrastructure to facilitate the deployment of zero emission vans and HGVs, and existing grants.

Alongside that, the Government’s £381 million Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund supports local authorities in England to work with industry and transform the availability of EV charging for drivers without off-street parking. Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority, which includes Huntingdon, was allocated almost £6.2m capital and resource funding through the LEVI Fund.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_298

Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, how much of the Freight Innovation Fund accelerator is allocated to be spent in Huntingdon constituency. \p Simon Lightwood: In 2023, the Freight Innovation Fund accelerator awarded £133,000 to RoboK Limited, a Cambridgeshire based start-up. This award was part of the more than £3.9 million funding that the accelerator has allocated to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK in the last three years.

This accelerator programme is open to UK-based SMEs who meet additional eligibility criteria and fund recipients are subject to a rigorous selection process to ensure awards are directly supporting innovation in the freight sector and specific challenges set each year. The Department will shortly announce the successful SMEs for year four of the accelerator.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_299

Dr Scott Arthur:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to ensure that rail workers maintain their (a) pay and (b) working conditions when their rail company is moved into public ownership. \p Simon Lightwood: As rail passenger services are transferred into public ownership, staff employed by the privately-owned operator transfer to the public sector operator in accordance with Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations, protecting their contractual terms and conditions.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_300

Dr Rupa Huq:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether HS2 plans to revisit the allocation of strategic funding to the London Borough of Ealing. \p Simon Lightwood: HS2 Ltd continues to meet its commitment to fund any new financial burdens on LB Ealing as a result of the HS2 project, and is also funding a dedicated officer post.

On top of this, people in Ealing continue to benefit from HS2’s Community and Environment Fund and Business and Local Economy Fund. So far, these have funded projects worth £720,000 in Ealing. There is also a HS2 Road Safety Fund and Highway Deterioration Fund available to Ealing. Ealing has recently applied for its full allocation from the Road Safety Fund.

HS2 Ltd is not funded to make additional financial contributions to Ealing over and above these, and the other commitments agreed during the passage of the hybrid Bill.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_301

Terry Jermy:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people with disabilities were employed in her Department on 2 September 2025. \p Mike Kane: There are currently 1,386 people employed in the department, including the Executive Agencies, who have declared that they have a disability.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_302

Dr Scott Arthur:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish the membership and terms of reference of the Rail Engagement Group. \p Simon Lightwood: As part of our manifesto commitment to reset industrial relations, the Government is looking to establish the Rail Engagement Group (REG). It is intended that the REG will bring together leaders from the Department for Transport, rail industry and trade unions for strategic discussions about the railway, as we move towards establishing Great British Railways.

Individuals have recently been invited to join the REG. The group’s membership will be published on gov.uk after it has been confirmed. The terms of reference will be published once agreed by the REG.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-10 conversation_303

Dr Scott Arthur:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she plans to have discussions with unions ahead of rail companies being taken into public ownership. \p Simon Lightwood: The Department and DFT Operator have regular discussions with trade unions on a range of topics, including the public ownership programme. Officials engage with trade unions throughout the transfer process, from the point of confirming when a train operator’s services will transfer into public ownership through to the transfer date and beyond.