Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations of the report of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety Locking out the Drink Driver, published March 2021; and what assessment they have made of the use of alcohol interlocks in other countries.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Government has taken note of the research and the report published by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety which was funded by a grant from the Department for Transport.

We are considering a range of policies under the new Road Safety Strategy; the first for ten years. This includes the case for changing the motoring offences, such as drink driving.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the fairness and proportionality of penalty charges issued for non-payment of drop-off fees at UK airports; and whether she plans to review the current 24-hour payment window.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Most airports in the UK are managed and operated as private businesses, and the provision and charging of car parking at airports (including payment windows) is a matter for the airport operator as a commercial business to manage and justify. Any issue relating to car parking charges should be raised with the airport operator directly.

However, the Department expects car parking at airports to be managed appropriately and for consumers to be treated fairly, which could include providing information on choices for parking, along with information on how to access them.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2025 to WPQ 98745, how many (a) vehicle owners and (b) people on the Register of Number Plate Suppliers have been (i) charged, and (ii) convicted of offences connected with illegal number plates in the last four years.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not hold information about the number of vehicle keepers who have been convicted for number plate offences as enforcement of number plates offences is a matter for the police.

The DVLA does not have the relevant powers to take forward prosecutions of number plate suppliers. Such prosecutions are taken forward by the police and Trading Standards.

The DVLA’s enforcement officers work with the police and Trading Standards to carry out educational and compliance visits to registered number plate suppliers. Enforcement officers carry out inspections to check working practices and inspect number plates on the premises. Enforcement officers can also inspect records held, take copies and/or seize the records.

The DVLA’s enforcement officers carry out intelligence led enforcement activities to tackle a wide range of offences, actively working with partners to investigate potential offences. While the DVLA does not take forward prosecutions, its enforcement officers may attend court as an expert witness in any such proceedings.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support car-sharing and car-club provision in the context of Zipcar announcing that it will cease its UK operations by the end of the year.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Minister for Local Transport met with the shared mobility industry in November to discuss how Government can continue to best support the sector and ensure the right measures are in place to support car clubs across the UK.

The Department is considering the evidence and experiences shared to inform our next steps. Our forthcoming integrated national transport strategy will focus on creating a transport network that works well for people across England and ensuring they have a choice of good transport options.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of financial barriers on people who wish to train as commercial airline pilots.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This government works closely with industry to address financial barriers to pilot training and to support the growth of a diverse aviation workforce, including through the Aviation Industry Skills Board. This area is a priority, not only for my department, but also the Department for Business and Trade, the Department for Work and Pensions and Skills England.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing mandatory security features for number plates to prevent (a) cloning and (b) unauthorised reproduction.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime.

Officials are considering options to ensure more robust application and audit processes which would enable tighter checks on number plate suppliers. On-road enforcement of number plate offences is a matter for the police.

Officials are also considering potential options for making number plates more secure.

The DVLA is part of the British Standards Institute committee that has recently reviewed the existing number plate standard. The committee has proposed a number of amendments which are intended to stop the production of number plates with raised characters, often referred to as 3D or 4D number plates and will prevent easy access to plates with ‘ghost’ characteristics. The proposals will also prevent suppliers from adding acrylic letters and numbers to the surface of the number, meaning any finished number plate must be flat. The proposed changes have been subject to a public consultation which closed on 13 December 2025.

Standards on the use of automated number plate reader technology are a matter for the Home Office which issues guidance on its use as part of the National ANPR Standards for Policing and Law Enforcement.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems in detecting vehicles using (a) cloned or (b) ghost number plates.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime.

Officials are considering options to ensure more robust application and audit processes which would enable tighter checks on number plate suppliers. On-road enforcement of number plate offences is a matter for the police.

Officials are also considering potential options for making number plates more secure.

The DVLA is part of the British Standards Institute committee that has recently reviewed the existing number plate standard. The committee has proposed a number of amendments which are intended to stop the production of number plates with raised characters, often referred to as 3D or 4D number plates and will prevent easy access to plates with ‘ghost’ characteristics. The proposals will also prevent suppliers from adding acrylic letters and numbers to the surface of the number, meaning any finished number plate must be flat. The proposed changes have been subject to a public consultation which closed on 13 December 2025.

Standards on the use of automated number plate reader technology are a matter for the Home Office which issues guidance on its use as part of the National ANPR Standards for Policing and Law Enforcement.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has any plans to review the statutory minimum provision within the English National Concessionary Travel scheme to support disabled and elderly residents to safely and equitably access services and activities within their communities; and whether she has any plans to extend the scheme to include companion travel.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age. The ENCTS costs around £795 million annually and any changes to the statutory obligations, such as extending the travel times, would need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.

However, local authorities in England have the power to offer concessions in addition to their statutory obligations, including funding companion passes locally. In the year ending March 2026, 66% of local authorities are offering companion passes to disabled people as a discretionary concession. These are additional local concessions provided and funded by local authorities from local resources.

The Government is investing in bus services long-term and has confirmed over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services over the remainder of the spending review period. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year.

Hampshire County Council will be allocated £45 million under the LABG from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in addition to the £14.2 million they are already receiving this year. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers, including funding discretionary concessions.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the validity period of driving theory test certificates for learner drivers who have been unable to secure a practical driving test date within the standard two-year window due to ongoing DVSA booking backlogs.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The maximum duration of two years between passing the theory test and a subsequent practical test is in place to ensure a customer’s road safety knowledge and ability to identify developing hazards is current. This validity period is set in legislation, and the Government has no current plans to lay further legislation to extend it.

Ensuring learner drivers have current relevant knowledge and skills is a vital part of the learning to drive process as new drivers are disproportionately casualties on our roads. Learners therefore need to pass another theory test if their two-year theory test certificate expires.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is doing everything it can to ensure that learners can access practical tests within the theory test validity period, to prevent candidates from having to retake the theory test.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the misuse of number plates to evade enforcement.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department for Transport does not hold the information requested. On-road enforcement of number plate offences is a matter for the police.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and others to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime, including the use of cloned and ghost number plates.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the performance of South Western Railway.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The new Managing Director of South Western Railway (SWR), Lawrence Bowman, is responsible for both the infrastructure and operations of the SWR network. The new integrated team is working hard to address the issues inherited from the previous private sector operator. Officials are supporting SWR in the delivery of these improvements.

Performance is still below the level that passengers should expect but progress is being made. The number of Arterio trains in service has more than quadrupled under public ownership and SWR has accelerated the recruitment of drivers to address traincrew shortages. Also, over £2 billion of works is being delivered in the current five-year control period to help improve the resilience of railway infrastructure.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a national register of opticians licensed to carry out DVLA eyesight tests.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is responsible for ensuring that all drivers meet the medical standards required for safe driving, including for eyesight. Drivers who notify the DVLA of a medical condition that may affect their eyesight may be asked to have a formal vision test. These tests are conducted by Specsavers on behalf of the DVLA. The current contract for this purpose was awarded to Specsavers in February 2025 following a competitive tender exercise. There are no plans to introduce a national register of opticians licensed to carry out these tests.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of amending Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to include cats as an animal that drivers are required to stop and report an incident when they are involved in a collision.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Under section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, a driver is required to stop and report a collision involving specified animals including horses, cattle, asses, mules, sheep, pigs, goats or dogs, but not cats or wild animals. This requirement arises from their status as working animals rather than as domestic pets. To introduce such a measure within the provision of section 170 would require primary legislation

There are no plans to amend section 170 of the Road Traffic Act to make it mandatory for drivers to report road collisions involving cats.

Having a law making it a requirement to report road collisions involving cats would be very difficult to enforce and we have reservations about the difference it would make to the behaviour of drivers, who are aware that they have run over a cat and do not report it.

Although there is no obligation to report all animal deaths on roads, drivers should, if possible, make enquiries to ascertain the owner of domestic animals, such as cats, and advise them of the situation.

Since June 2024, all cats in England over 20 weeks of age must be microchipped and registered on a compliant database, unless exempt or free-living. This will make it easier for National Highways and local authorities to reunite cats with their keeper.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate her Department has made of the proportion of vehicles on UK roads that are uninsured.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

My Department does not hold information in respect to how many and what proportion of vehicles on UK roads are uninsured.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the number of illegal or non-compliant vehicle number plates that have been (a) seized or (b) required to be replaced in each of the last five years.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department for Transport does not hold the information requested. On-road enforcement of number plate offences is a matter for the police.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and others to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime, including the use of cloned and ghost number plates.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of regional variations in the level of public transport provision on (a) the number of people who rely on cars and (b) levels of rural poverty.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government knows how important reliable public transport services are in enabling people to stay connected and access education, work and vital services across the country. We also know that local bus services can be a lifeline in rural areas and can be the only means for communities to stay connected.

The Government is taking ambitious steps to improve local bus services across the country, including introducing the Bus Services Act 2025 which puts passenger needs, reliable services and local accountability at the heart of local bus services by putting the power back in the hands of local leaders right across England.

We also recently confirmed long-term investment of over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services for millions of passengers. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year, ending the short-term approach to bus funding and giving councils the certainty they need to plan ahead to improve services for local communities. LABG allocations have been calculated using a fair and transparent approach that considers population size, levels of deprivation, the extent of existing bus services, and rurality.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority will be allocated £133.5 million under the LABG from 2026/27 to 2028/29. This is in addition to the £46.8 million they are already receiving under the LABG this financial year.

The Department for Transport has developed and published a Connectivity Tool to measure people’s ability to get where they want and need to go, using walking, cycling and public transport to reach jobs, shops, schools, healthcare and other essential services in any location in England and Wales. The Connectivity Tool combines transport and land use data to generate a national measure of connectivity and provides new insights to those developing new transport schemes or planning for growth to more easily understand how new transport infrastructure can impact an area’s connectivity.

As announced in the Child Poverty Strategy, published on 5 December 2025, the Government will also develop a transport poverty tool, which will aim to capture where poor transport connectivity and affordability limits people’s access to employment and essential services.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she has taken to help reduce the risk of a rolling stock shortage in 2025.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

There are regular conversations with train operators who are responsible for operating and delivering the passenger timetable and ensuring they have enough rolling stock to meet their requirements. In 2026 there will be introduction of new modern fleets on South Western Railway and East Midlands Railway which have more passenger carrying capacity than the existing fleets.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her Department's policy is for vessels identified within UK territorial waters as sailing under a false flag.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The United Kingdom recognises the importance of all vessels complying with international maritime law and we are concerned by the rise of ships without nationality. We are determined to continue to uphold international maritime law and to challenge abusive flag practices.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to extend the qualifying criteria for Blue Badges to ensure that people with (a) Parkinson's and (b) other fluctuating conditions are eligible.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This Government fully recognises the importance of ensuring that the Blue Badge scheme supports those who have their mobility impacted by substantial and enduring disabilities and other health conditions. The current eligibility criteria are focused on the impact on an applicant’s mobility, rather than based on specific disabilities or conditions, and can be found on GOV.UK.

Whilst Parkinson’s and other fluctuation conditions are not automatically eligible for a Blue Badge, applicants may still be eligible for a badge based on the evidence provided. Any decisions on an applicant’s eligibility are ultimately for the responsible local authority.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the introduction of Tap-In/Tap out on rail users at Surrey stations.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We want to expand ticketing innovations such as Pay As You Go (PAYG) to more passengers. The Department considered several factors to determine which stations would have PAYG with contactless rollout for this phase of delivery. These included travel patterns, passenger benefits, operator views and the necessary changes to fares to ensure as many passengers as possible benefit from an improved experience. On 14th December we launched PAYG with contactless at a further 30 stations in the Southeast, and we will continue to ensure operators monitor these changes post implementation.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with mayoral combined authorities to deliver large-scale transport infrastructure.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Eligible Mayoral Combined Authorities are in receipt of £5.7 billion of funding through the City Regions Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) programme, running for a five-year period from April 2022 to March 2027. This devolved funding affords Mayors the ability to develop and implement large scale transport interventions that most benefit their areas.

Following the Summer Spending Review, £15.6 billion of devolved funding was confirmed to provide Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlements for the nine eligible Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSAs) from the period April 2027 to March 2032.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to increase the number of British made cars in the Ministerial car fleet.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport does not hold this information.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the Mayor of London on the potential impact of the cost of the Piccadilly Line renovation on TfL's finances.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Government announced a £2.2bn investment over the next four years for TfL at the Spending Review. This multi-year settlement marks the largest Government capital contribution to London's transport infrastructure in over a decade and is in addition to £485m delivered at the Budget in 2024.

As transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London, it is for him and TfL to assess the merits and financial impacts of capital projects and make decisions on investment including upgrades to the Piccadilly Line.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much South Western Railway has spent on KPMG’s services to develop a business case for the infrastructure investment.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Expenditure on external consultants is a matter for train companies to manage. The Department has agreed challenging budget targets with every train operating company, including South Western Railway, and officials discuss spending against these budgets on a regular basis.

Expenditure on specific contracts cannot be shared as it is commercially sensitive.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much South Western Railway has spent on external consultants since May 2025.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Expenditure on external consultants is a matter for train companies to manage. The Department has agreed challenging budget targets with every train operating company, including South Western Railway, and officials discuss spending against these budgets on a regular basis.

Expenditure on specific contracts cannot be shared as it is commercially sensitive.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding is available to local authorities to improve street lighting in residential areas where safety guidance is not met; and what criteria are used to allocate that funding.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The management of street lighting in England is the responsibility of local highway authorities, who have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the public highways in their charge, including street lighting. Authorities do not have a duty to light their networks but, where lighting has been provided, the authority has a duty to maintain it.

The Government encourages local authorities to consider best practice when making decisions about lighting on their networks and to work closely with emergency services and other key partners when considering the street lighting needs of local communities. Advice is available in the UK Roads Leadership Group’s Code of Practice for Well Managed Highway Infrastructure, which references British Standards for road lighting.

The Government has confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment for local highways maintenance over the next four years, bringing annual funding to over £2 billion annually by 2029/30. This funding is provided to local authorities to maintain all parts of the highway network, including lighting columns, bridges, cycleways and footways. In addition to increasing the available funding, the Department has confirmed funding allocations for the next four years, providing greater funding certainty to local authorities. This will help them to plan ahead and move away from expensive, short-term repairs and to instead invest in proactive and preventative maintenance.

The Department allocates funding to local highway authorities based on a formula, which takes account of road lengths in each authority area, as well as the number of bridges and lighting columns.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether local authorities are (a) encouraged and (b) required to upgrade street lighting to meet British Standards.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The management of street lighting in England is the responsibility of local highway authorities, who have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the public highways in their charge, including street lighting. Authorities do not have a duty to light their networks but, where lighting has been provided, the authority has a duty to maintain it.

The Government encourages local authorities to consider best practice when making decisions about lighting on their networks and to work closely with emergency services and other key partners when considering the street lighting needs of local communities. Advice is available in the UK Roads Leadership Group’s Code of Practice for Well Managed Highway Infrastructure, which references British Standards for road lighting.

The Government has confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment for local highways maintenance over the next four years, bringing annual funding to over £2 billion annually by 2029/30. This funding is provided to local authorities to maintain all parts of the highway network, including lighting columns, bridges, cycleways and footways. In addition to increasing the available funding, the Department has confirmed funding allocations for the next four years, providing greater funding certainty to local authorities. This will help them to plan ahead and move away from expensive, short-term repairs and to instead invest in proactive and preventative maintenance.

The Department allocates funding to local highway authorities based on a formula, which takes account of road lengths in each authority area, as well as the number of bridges and lighting columns.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance her Department provides to local authorities on minimum lighting levels required on residential roads.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The management of street lighting in England is the responsibility of local highway authorities, who have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the public highways in their charge, including street lighting. Authorities do not have a duty to light their networks but, where lighting has been provided, the authority has a duty to maintain it.

The Government encourages local authorities to consider best practice when making decisions about lighting on their networks and to work closely with emergency services and other key partners when considering the street lighting needs of local communities. Advice is available in the UK Roads Leadership Group’s Code of Practice for Well Managed Highway Infrastructure, which references British Standards for road lighting.

The Government has confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment for local highways maintenance over the next four years, bringing annual funding to over £2 billion annually by 2029/30. This funding is provided to local authorities to maintain all parts of the highway network, including lighting columns, bridges, cycleways and footways. In addition to increasing the available funding, the Department has confirmed funding allocations for the next four years, providing greater funding certainty to local authorities. This will help them to plan ahead and move away from expensive, short-term repairs and to instead invest in proactive and preventative maintenance.

The Department allocates funding to local highway authorities based on a formula, which takes account of road lengths in each authority area, as well as the number of bridges and lighting columns.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of civil servants in his Department are (a) on temporary contract and (b) consultants.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As of 30 November, 265 staff at the Department for Transport were on a temporary contract - representing 7.2% of the total workforce. We do not collate data on the number of individuals working within the Department at any moment in time as part of consultancy contracts.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential for a safe, accredited inspection or certification process to allow second-hand infant car seats in good condition to be re-used; and whether she will review current guidance in light of the environmental and social impacts of requiring these items to be discarded.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department does not provide specific guidance on the use of second-hand infant car seats and has not evaluated the feasibility of an inspection or certification process for such products.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) advises against using second-hand car seats for several reasons, including the risk of hidden damage from previous collisions. Such damage can compromise the seat’s structural integrity even when no visible defects are present. Detecting these issues would require complex and costly assessment techniques, making an accredited inspection or certification process impractical.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is the policy of DVLA to provide registered keeper data to enforcement authorities under Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, or their commercial intermediaries, who wish to introduce traffic filters.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Regulation 27(1)(a)(iii) of the Vehicle Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 allows the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to provide registered keeper information to local authorities in England and Wales for any purpose connected with its activities as an enforcement authority within the meaning of Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average processing time was for driving licence applications in December 2025.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The tables below show the average number of working days taken to process driving licence applications made both online and not online for December 2025 up to 16 December for both group 1 (cars and motorcycle) and group 2 (lorry and bus) licences.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the Network Rail vegetation management review, published in October 2018, what criteria are used to approve temporary variations for vegetation management from Network Rail standards for vegetation management.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The review and potential approval for temporary variations to any of Network Rail’s standards is undertaken by a competent person (such as the standard owner or a delegated authority). The risk mitigation of the non-compliance needs to clearly be provided along with timescales on when the applicant will become compliant to the standards. The applications are at local levels and can vary. Since the October 2018 review, Network Rail has improved vegetation management training, updated the vegetation standards and deployed technology to allow it to measure compliance of the vegetation profile. This has resulted in the temporary variations being annulled and alignment to the latest version of the standard.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential economic impact of improving transport connections from Woking.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Under public ownership, South Western Railway will be undertaking a complete redesign of their timetable which will include reviewing connections from Woking. In the assessment of options, wider economic impacts will be a consideration, alongside other factors such as reducing the net subsidy requirement of the railway, meeting passenger demand and improving operational performance.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of rescue helicopter operational capability.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Throughout the procurement and service delivery lifecycle of the UK’s contracted search and rescue helicopter provision, capability is continually assessed against demand, ensuring that it will always meet the needs of the public. Recent examples include demand analyses, audit programmes and reviews of technical requirements to support procurements.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to National Highways press release on 15 December entitled Fix being rolled out after variable speed camera anomaly, whether money has been set aside to compensate affected drivers for a) any lost interest and b) any increase to their insurance premiums.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Data has been provided to the police forces to enable them to start contacting those drivers who were impacted by this anomaly and allow the process of redress to begin. While we expect the number of drivers impacted by this issue to be very small, all those notified by the police will receive details on how to contact National Highways, who will consider the details of each claim on a case by case basis.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2025 to Question 86751 on the Restoring Your Railway Fund, whether any expenditure incurred on feasibility, development or preparatory work for Restoring Your Railway schemes that did not proceed following the programme’s cancellation has been subject to impairment or write-down in the Department’s accounts.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

In line with our previous answers, there has been no write-down or impairment in the Department’s accounts from the decision to cancel the Restoring Your Railway programme.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will publish changes in bus funding allocations by local transport authority for 2025–26 and 2026–27.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

On 5 December, the Government confirmed investment of over £3 billion from 2026/27 for the rest of the spending review period to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services for millions of passengers. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year, ending the short-term approach to bus funding and giving councils the certainty they need to plan ahead.

The formula used to calculate LABG allocations in 2025/26 was the Government’s first step towards ending competitive allocations and it considered population size, levels of deprivation and the extent of existing bus services. To prevent sharp decreases of funding, and as part of the Government’s effort to rebalance inequalities created by competitive allocations, losses were capped at 25%.

We revised this formula for 2026/27 onwards to give a greater weighting to levels of deprivation and population, and to cap any losses at 5% in our continued effort to end the inequalities of competitive allocations once and for all. The formula now also includes consideration of the rurality of local areas in response to a recommendation from the Transport Select Committee.

Further details on the funding formula and local authority allocations for 2026/27 onwards have been published on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-bus-grant-allocations. LABG allocations for 2025/26 are also published on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-service-improvement-plans-local-transport-authority-allocations/total-combined-bus-funding-allocations-2025-to-2026.

In addition to the LABG, the Government has also introduced a £3 million Bus Franchising Fund for Mayoral Combined Authorities that are pursuing franchising to apply for in 26/27, such as Liverpool City Region, to help support their transition to franchised services.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will set out the changes to the bus funding allocations formula between 2025-26 and 2026-27.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

On 5 December, the Government confirmed investment of over £3 billion from 2026/27 for the rest of the spending review period to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services for millions of passengers. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year, ending the short-term approach to bus funding and giving councils the certainty they need to plan ahead.

The formula used to calculate LABG allocations in 2025/26 was the Government’s first step towards ending competitive allocations and it considered population size, levels of deprivation and the extent of existing bus services. To prevent sharp decreases of funding, and as part of the Government’s effort to rebalance inequalities created by competitive allocations, losses were capped at 25%.

We revised this formula for 2026/27 onwards to give a greater weighting to levels of deprivation and population, and to cap any losses at 5% in our continued effort to end the inequalities of competitive allocations once and for all. The formula now also includes consideration of the rurality of local areas in response to a recommendation from the Transport Select Committee.

Further details on the funding formula and local authority allocations for 2026/27 onwards have been published on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-bus-grant-allocations. LABG allocations for 2025/26 are also published on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-service-improvement-plans-local-transport-authority-allocations/total-combined-bus-funding-allocations-2025-to-2026.

In addition to the LABG, the Government has also introduced a £3 million Bus Franchising Fund for Mayoral Combined Authorities that are pursuing franchising to apply for in 26/27, such as Liverpool City Region, to help support their transition to franchised services.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what external agencies or consultants her Department or its arm’s-length bodies have commissioned to design the branding, logo and visual identity for Great British Rail; whether those contracts were subject to open competitive tender; how many bids were received; and what assessment she has made of value for money in awarding those contracts.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The brand unveiled on 9 December 2025 was developed in-house by staff at the Department for Transport with support from a livery design specialist who works for a train operator in public ownership. This approach was chosen to ensure good value for money for the taxpayer.

A specialist supplier on audience and accessibility testing was used to ensure that the branding unveiled and deployed would deliver against the Government’s objectives for Great British Railways (GBR) and meet the needs of a variety of users with a range of accessibility needs. This supplier was appointed under the Department’s usual procurement processes which include formal assessments of value for money.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total budget is for the development and rollout of branding for Great British Rail; and what the cost has been to date.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department is working to develop a rollout plan for the GBR branding, with a focus on maximising opportunities to ensure value for money, such as repainting trains when they are due to be repainted by their leasing companies and changing station signage when it is life expired.

The brand was developed in-house by the Department for Transport with support from a livery design specialist who works for a train operator in public ownership – with the only minimal design cost being audience and accessibility testing, at £32,400 including VAT. This approach was chosen to ensure good value for money for the taxpayer.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Great British Rail branding designs currently in circulation are the final approved versions; what stages of design development or ministerial approval remain outstanding; what consultation has taken place with (a) passenger groups, (b) disabled people’s organisations, (c) rail industry staff and (d) the wider public; what feedback was received; and what assessment she has made of the accessibility of the proposed branding, including colour contrast, legibility and ease of comprehension for passengers with additional needs.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The railway today features a huge variety of conflicting signage standards, driven by the wasteful approach in of rebranding operators each time the franchise changed – creating a fragmented and confusing system for passengers, and in some cases not reaching the accessibility standards we would expect.

Great British Railways (GBR) will unify the system for the passenger, ensuring that accessibility is maintained consistently throughout the railway network. In developing the branding, we have ensured that it has followed all relevant legal requirements and guidance, including compliance with relevant accessibility legislation. Audience testing has taken place, including people with a range of accessibility needs.

We are confident that the testing with the public, passengers, and those with disabilities has led to a design that provides ease of comprehension for all passengers. The GBR brand unveiled on the 9 December 2025 is the final approved design.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timetable is for implementing the Great British Rail branding across (a) rolling stock, (b) stations, (c) staff uniforms and (d) digital platforms; what estimate she has made of the cost of each element; what the cost will be of removing or replacing existing train operating company branding; what assessment she has made of the potential waste or environmental impact arising from that process; and what steps she is taking to minimise unnecessary expenditure.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department is working to develop a rollout plan for the GBR branding, with a focus on maximising opportunities to ensure value for money, such as repainting trains when they were due to be repainted by their leasing companies.

The brand rollout will be gradual, beginning from this spring at a number of publicly owned operators to demonstrate our commitment to change and to start the journey of simplifying the railway for the public.

To ensure value for money, and consider the environmental impact of a brand change, much of the rollout will be driven by routine asset maintenance cycles – changing the branding as assets are being maintained or replaced. This includes rolling stock, station assets, and uniforms.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the effect of introducing the Great British Rail branding on existing regional identities and heritage railway liveries; whether she plans to permit local or heritage-specific variations within the national brand; and what plans she has to evaluate the impact of the new branding on public confidence, passenger satisfaction and perceptions of value for money.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

In developing the new brand for Great British Railways (GBR), the Secretary of State has carefully considered how to preserve Britain’s iconic railway history. With that in mind, many heritage names like Great Western Railway and London North Eastern Railway will be preserved as regional identifiers within one overarching national brand, which in turn offers passengers consistency and clarity. Heritage stations will also preserve their heritage look and feel.

The Department has considered the impact of the new branding on public confidence, passenger satisfaction and perceptions of value for money. The brand has been developed in-house to provide value for money and undergone audience testing. We want to rebuild a railway the country can be proud of and rely on. The brand incorporates the iconic double arrow and the colours of the Union Jack.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, as of 15 December 2025, what the total amount of public funding committed to electric vehicle charging infrastructure to date is; and what estimate her Department has made of the average cost per operational public chargepoint delivered.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

At the Autumn Budget we announced that we will invest an additional £200 million in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, building on the £400 million of funding announced at Spending Review 2025.

The cost of deploying public chargepoints varies widely due to a range of factors including location, speed, anticipated utilisation, and grid connection costs, with many chargepoints delivered without any public funding. Where funding is provided, we monitor average public chargepoint costs via data from DfT grants to ensure value for money for the taxpayer. The Government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund has been designed to minimise cost to the public by encouraging local authorities to leverage significant private investment.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that regional domestic ferry operators are supported to meet the goals of the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy sets out a pathway to zero emissions by 2050, and interim goals in 2030 and 2040.

To support the sector transition to zero, and near-zero, emission fuels, the Strategy sets out a number of key policies including; expanding the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to maritime, the introduction of fuel regulations, taking action to reduce emissions at berth, taking proportionate measures to reduce emissions from smaller vessels and increasing the efficiency of maritime operations.

Support is available to the maritime sector for decarbonisation through our UK SHORE Research and Development programme. Over 300 projects across the UK have been supported to date, including those that support the decarbonisation of domestic ferries. In September, I announced a further £448 million of funding for innovation through this programme, including additional rounds of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competitions, and a second round of the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure competition. We aim to launch the first two of these competitions in Spring 2026 and they will run until 2030.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Planning Inspectorate's press release entitled London Luton Airport Expansion development consent decision announced, published on 3 April 2025, what discussions she has had with Network Rail on the provision of step free access for passengers from the north of Luton travelling to and from London Luton Airport.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Luton Airport Parkway already has step free access and lifts are already due to be installed at Luton station under the Access for All programme. The Department will also expect any new transport infrastructure to meet current accessibility standards.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2025 to Question 93777 on London Underground: Strikes, what discussions Ministers and officials in her Department have had with other transport operators regarding continuing industrial action since 4 July 2024, and which operators were involved in those discussions.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Under the Conservative Government, we saw national rail disputes that caused two years of widespread strikes and disruption to millions of passengers. On coming into office, this Government acted quickly to reset industrial relations and resolve the national disputes.

Since 4 July 2024, there has been limited, local industrial action, involving four of the fourteen Department for Transport (DfT) contracted Train Operating Companies (TOCs); Avanti West Coast, Cross Country, Southeastern and Transpennine Trains. Also, while no industrial action has been taken since July 2024, the RMT has been in dispute with Northern Trains since 2017 regarding who opens and closes the train doors. Northern are in detailed discussions with the RMT to try and resolve this long running dispute.

DfT officials routinely and regularly have discussions with TOCs on operational and other matters. In the case of the TOCs affected by industrial action, discussions include operators’ plans to resolve disputes and where relevant, their preparedness for industrial action. Dispute resolution is a matter for train operators, as the employers, to resolve with trade unions.

Reduce the national speed limit on single carriageways usually found in rural areas from 60mph to 30mph.

We believe the Government should raise increase the value threshold of Luxury car tax to above the average new vehicle value. We believe the AVERAGE should NOT be a luxury.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of helipad provision within NHS services in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Air ambulances form a vital part of the emergency response to patients in critical need. The Department of Health and Social Care continues to work closely with NHS England and the Department for Transport on helipad accessibility for air ambulances across the country, including in Surrey.

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Found: Regulatory Framework for the United Kingdom January 2026 OFFICIAL OFFICIAL Department for Transport

Found: Rail Accident Report This report is published by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, Department for Transport

Found: Rail Accident Report This report is published by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, Department for Transport