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Written question asked by Greg Smith (Conservative) on Wednesday, 20 May 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 2 June 2026 (named day). A holding answer was provided on Tuesday, 2 June 2026. A substantive answer was provided by Keir Mather (Labour) on Thursday, 4 June 2026 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Office of Rail and Road: Carbon Emissions

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 9 January 2026 to Question 100955 on Department for Transport: Carbon Emissions, what steps the Office of Rail and Road is taking to integrate Net Zero targets into its economic and safety regulatory frameworks for Network Rail and National Highways; and what the administrative cost of these steps is.

Answer

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is an independent regulator and decisions regarding net zero targets for Network Rail is a matter for the ORR Board.

The ORR does not set the targets for National Highways. Government has set its requirements and targets for National Highways for the next five-year road period (RP3) in the third road investment strategy (RIS3). This reiterates National Highways’ commitments to support the achievement of net zero by 2050 through achieving: net zero for its own operations by 2030; net zero for maintenance and construction by 2040; and net zero carbon travel on the Strategic Road Network by 2050. The RIS sets out two untargeted performance metrics over the next road period for corporate carbon emissions and construction and maintenance carbon emissions.

The ORR holds National Highways to account to deliver the RIS set by the Government and ensure that it does so in compliance with its licence, which includes wider consideration of environmental matters and a requirement to comply with Government policy. The ORR’s approach to undertaking its role is set out in its HTA policy and its RIS3 monitoring letter.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
3337
Session
2026-27
Related items
Department for Transport: Carbon Emissions
Friday, 9 January 2026
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects
Expenditure Carbon emissions National Highways Network Rail Office of Rail and Road
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk