Richard Holden MP: written questions 2025
1652 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Railways: Repairs and MaintenanceDepartment for TransportTabled 11 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 89626More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether through the (a) Railways Bill and (b) the associated policy framework she plans to ensure that (i) regulatory oversight of the infrastructure manager’s periodic review and (ii) the setting of its perfor
Answer: The Railways Bill will create a new Periodic Review process in legislation. The key role that the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) plays in ensuring a robust and well evidenced plan for delivery, including performance targets, will be carried across. ORR wil...
Answered 19 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordBank Services: Post OfficesTreasuryTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88887More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to ensure that (a) charities, (b) churches, (c) voluntary organisations and (d) community groups are able to deposit cash into bank accounts via the Post Office without the need for (i) truste
Answer: The Government recognises the importance of cash, understanding that it continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including charities, churches, voluntary organisations and community groups to support communities across the UK, and is comm...
Answered 17 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordDriverless Vehicles: DisabilityDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88886More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether (a) screen-reader compatibility, (b) audio navigation cues, (c) wheelchair-accessible vehicles and (d) other accessibility features will be mandatory requirements for the licensing of autonomous passeng
Answer: Certain requirements relating to accessibility of Automated Passenger Services (APS) are set out in the Automated Vehicles Act, which was agreed by Parliament in 2024. In considering whether to grant a permit, the appropriate national authority must have ...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordDriverless Vehicles: AccidentsDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88885More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to require companies (a) trialling and (b) operating autonomous vehicles to publish data on (i) vehicle miles travelled and (ii) collision incidents.
Answer: The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 includes provisions around the collection and sharing of data and information. The way in which these provisions will be used is still being considered and will be informed by recently closed and forthcoming Calls for Evide...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordDriver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Information SharingDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88884More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding the DVLA has received by providing vehicle registered keeper details in each of the last 10 years.
Answer: The table below shows the income collected by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency by providing vehicle registered keeper details in each of the last ten years. The law allows the DVLA to provide information from the vehicle record (including keeper in...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordFires: Carbon EmissionsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88883More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the level of carbon emissions caused by (a) prescribed burns of vegetation and (b) wildfires during 2025.
Answer: The Government remains committed to improving air quality to deliver benefits for public health, the environment, and the economy. This includes reducing carbon emissions.
Answered 14 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordGreat British RailwaysDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88882More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether powers given to Great British Railways to (a) design and (b) implement the (i) access, (ii) contracting and (iii) pricing regime would be subject to (A) regulatory oversight equivalent to the current fr
Answer: The new framework will allow GBR to strategically plan the best use of the network. This will include working with operators like freight and open access to identify services vital to growing the economy. GBR will be required to design and consult on its...
Answered 13 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordGreat British Railways: FreightDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88881More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to take steps to require that (a) Great British Railways and (b) any operator within Great British Railways cannot operate commercial freight services.
Answer: The Government is committed to supporting rail freight growth, recognising its significant economic and environmental potential and critical role in the UK’s resilience.Under GBR, freight will remain a private industry and continue to be an integral part ...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordRailways: StandardsDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88880More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to maintain the schedule 8 compensation mechanism for unplanned service disruption for operators outside Great British Railways.
Answer: GBR will be required to have a performance and incentives scheme that covers planned and unplanned disruption to protect all users operating services on the network.
Answered 13 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordRailways: Repairs and MaintenanceDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88879More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to maintain the schedule 4 compensation mechanism for planned service disruption for operators outside Great British Railways.
Answer: GBR will be required to have a performance and incentives scheme that covers planned and unplanned disruption to protect all users operating services on the network.
Answered 13 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordTrain Operating Companies: ContractsDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88878More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether existing rail track access rights will (a) remain and (b) be unfettered by the introduction of (i) the Railways Bill and (ii) policies thereunder.
Answer: The Government has committed to honouring existing access rights. As existing contracts expire, operators will move on to new GBR model access contracts. There will be a need to make technical amendments to existing contracts to ensure that they continue ...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordTrain Operating Companies: ContractsDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88877More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the removal of track access charges by operators within Great British Railways on the (a) pricing, (b) access and (c) general operations of (i) non-nation
Answer: The Government is fundamentally reforming the track access charging framework to remove complexities and the complicated ‘money go round’ that would have required GBR to charge itself for using its own infrastructure. To ensure transparency GBR will need ...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordRailways: ReformDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88876More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish the total spending by her Department on (a) rail reform and (b) the formation of Great British Railways since 4 July 2025.
Answer: The recently published Railways Bill Impact Assessment sets out estimated costs for GBR and the passenger watchdog. Costs will be confirmed in the Full Business Case, which we expect to publish next year.
Answered 20 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordGreat British Railways: StaffDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88875More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish the number of (a) civil servants from the Department of Transport, (b) civil servants from other Government departments, (c) employees from Network Rail and (d) employees from other public a
Answer: While details on exact roles are subject to further design work, Great British Railways (GBR) will continue to need colleagues from across the railway to continue the hard work that they do delivering for passengers. We will continue to engage with the in...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordGreat British RailwaysDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88874More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to publish Great British Railway’s (a) Access and Use Policy and (b) Draft Licence.
Answer: A consultation on a draft Access and Use Policy is to be launched during Bill passage to support implementation of rail reform. Under the Railways Act 1993, the Department is required to publish and consult on a draft licence, and this will not change wit...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordFreight: FuelsDepartment for TransportTabled 5 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88363More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the relative operational cost increases for (a) rail freight and (b) road freight during the period from 2011 when fuel duty was first frozen for HGVs.
Answer: Fuel duty is a matter for His Majesty’s Treasury. The Government recognises the economic and environmental benefits of rail freight. The Railways Bill will place a duty on Great British Railways to grow rail freight, meaning freight operators will benefit...
Answered 17 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordRailways: FreightDepartment for TransportTabled 5 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88362More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what protections exist to protect land and operations afforded to rail freight from (a) the risks of redevelopment and (b) other legal and commercial challenges; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy
Answer: The Government recognises that safeguarding strategically important sites for rail freight is vital to securing the growth of the sector and is committed to continuing to protect strategic freight sites. Currently, the consent of the Office of Rail and Ro...
Answered 17 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordRailways: ReformDepartment for TransportTabled 5 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88361More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate she has made of the potential impact of (a) her rail reform policies and (b) the establishment of Great British Railways on costs to the public purse.
Answer: The Impact Assessment presents an estimate of the set-up costs for Great British Railways and the Passenger Watchdog of approximately £200-400 million, with total transitional costs representing around 1-2% of the annual operational costs for DfT contract...
Answered 12 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordRailways: Civil ServantsDepartment for TransportTabled 5 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88360More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many civil servants are working on rail reform.
Answer: This information is already published as part of the Q2 Government Major Projects Portfolio Return.
Answered 17 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordRailways: FreightDepartment for TransportTabled 5 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88359More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions (a) she and (b) the Minister for Rail has had with the rail freight industry on the Railways Bill.
Answer: Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations, including those with rail freight stakeholders, are published every quarter and this information can be accessed on the Gov.uk website via the following link: Transparency and freedom of informa...
Answered 17 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordGreat British RailwaysDepartment for TransportTabled 5 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88358More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to publish a (a) draft licence for Great British Railways and (b) consultation on the licence terms.
Answer: Under the 1993 Railways Act, the Department is required to publish and consult on a draft licence, and this will not change with the Railways Bill. We intend to consult on the draft GBR licence during the Bill Passage. This will give interested parties th...
Answered 12 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordGreat British RailwaysDepartment for TransportTabled 5 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88357More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to publish a (a) draft access and usage policy for Great British Railways and (b) consultation for this policy.
Answer: It is our intention for a consultation on a draft Access and Use Policy to be launched during Bill passage to support implementation of rail reform.
Answered 17 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Work and Pensions: Electric VehiclesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 5 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88356More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4 July 2024; and what estimate
Answer: Currently, the electric vehicles available for use in the department are leased. The department has not purchased any electric vehicles in the period since July 2024. From 4 July 2024 to date, DWP has spent £263,176.93 to install electric vehicle chargers...
Answered 17 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Defence: Electric VehiclesMinistry of DefenceTabled 5 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88355More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4 July 2024; and what estimate their Dep
Answer: Information on the amount spent on installing electric vehicle facilities on Ministry of Defence sites since 4 July 2024 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.Since 4 July 2024, the Department and its arm’s length bodie...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Electric VehiclesForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 5 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88354More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4
Answer: The requested information is not centrally collated by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Answered 13 Nov 2025
Original Parliament record
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