Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the extra cost of car insurance premiums faced by (a) all drivers and (b) those drivers who have not previously claimed.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government committed in its manifesto to tackle the high costs of motor insurance. Our cross-Government Motor Insurance Taskforce, launched in October, is comprised of ministers from relevant government departments and the Financial Conduct Authority and Competition and Markets Authority.

This Taskforce has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments aimed at stabilising or reducing the cost to all drivers, including those who have not previously made a claim on their motor insurance.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to prevent foreign lorries without adequate safety features using UK roads.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

All lorries using GB roads must meet safety standards. The Driver and vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) conduct enforcement of this, including roadside checks.

DVSA use data and intelligence to target those vehicles that present the highest risk to road safety. Where vehicles do not meet standards, they are prohibited from continuing their journey until the defects are fixed and until any penalties are paid.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department holds data on noise readings from Heathrow Airport on (a) 21 March 2025 and (b) average on other days.

Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department does not hold data on individual noise readings from Heathrow Airport.

We expect airports to help local communities understand their noise impacts through monitoring, provision of information and communication. Heathrow publishes a wide range of noise data on its website including real time data from its noise monitors and annual reports which detail its noise impacts.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what body will hold responsibility for the issuing of permits for operators of automated passenger services under the Automated Vehicles Act 2024.

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

Section 82 of the Automated Vehicles Act 2024 gives the appropriate national authority the power to grant an Automated Passenger Services (APS) permit. The appropriate national authority is defined in section 90 (4) and (5) as the Secretary of State for the provision of any taxi and private hire-like service in England and for the provision of a service in a public service vehicle across Great Britain. In relation to a permit for the provision of a taxi and private hire-like service in Scotland, this is Scottish Ministers, and in Wales, this is Welsh Ministers. The Act further sets out that the appropriate national authority can provide for its functions to be exercisable by Traffic Commissioners instead of or in addition to the appropriate national authority. Consideration is still being given to whether these functions will be exercised by Traffic Commissioners.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve road safety for vulnerable road users.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This Government treats road safety with the utmost seriousness, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. My Department is developing our road safety strategy and will set out more details in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether, in implementing the Automated Vehicles Act 2024, they plan to give local authorities the right to withhold consent for an automated passenger services operator permit to be granted; and if so, which tier of local government will be responsible for providing consent.

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

The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 provides the right for specified local authorities to withhold their consent for an automated passenger services (APS) operator permit to be granted. This right protects local decision-making.

For services resembling taxies or private hire vehicles, section 85 outlines that an APS permit may not be granted without the consent of each licensing authority in whose areas the service may be provided under the permit. A “licensing authority” is where responsibility sits for the issuing of taxi or private hire licenses, and currently is typically a lower-tier authority, unitary authority or Transport for London.

For services resembling buses where a bus franchising scheme exists, section 86 outlines that an APS permit may not be granted without the consent of each relevant franchising body. Where an automated passenger service is proposed to operate under an APS permit in an area which sits outside of a bus franchising scheme, the legislation does not require consent from local authorities.

To withhold consent, the licensing or franchising authority must provide written reasons within six weeks of receiving a formal request, beginning with the day on which the request is made.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing restrictions on pavement parking on pedestrians with (a) a visual impairment (b) people with mobility issues, (c) children and (d) parents with buggies.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government fully understands the serious problems that vehicles parked on the pavement can cause for pedestrians, especially people with mobility or sight impairments, as well as those with prams or pushchairs. The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to our consultation in 2020 and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. As soon as the Government has decided its preferred way forward, we will announce the next steps and publish our formal response.  In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to manage pavement parking.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of regulations governing the use of ghost number plates..

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs Council, various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of modified number plates, including those commonly known as ‘ghost plates’. The police are responsible for on road enforcement of existing number plate offences.

It is already an offence to display a vehicle registration number that does not comply with the relevant regulations. Work is ongoing to quantify the number of illegal plates that may be in circulation. The evidence gathered will be considered when evaluating potential future action that may be taken to address this issue.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to tackle the use of ghost number plates on public highways.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs Council, various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of modified number plates, including those commonly known as ‘ghost plates’. The police are responsible for on road enforcement of existing number plate offences.

It is already an offence to display a vehicle registration number that does not comply with the relevant regulations. Work is ongoing to quantify the number of illegal plates that may be in circulation. The evidence gathered will be considered when evaluating potential future action that may be taken to address this issue.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to encourage the use of electric vehicles in public transport.

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

The Department is working with our rail industry stakeholders to develop credible long-term plans for further decarbonisation, bearing in mind the railway is already such a carbon efficient mode of transport. We expect electrification to play an important role in our programme to achieve our Net Zero 2050 target, tackle air pollution, and improve the passenger experience.

Which rail lines will be electrified will broadly depend on the most suitable technological choice and value for money. All investment decisions require proper funding and are subject to current and future spending reviews and will be integrated with rolling stock decisions.

Expanding the rollout of zero emission buses (ZEBs) is central to our efforts to decarbonise the bus fleet and improve air quality.

The Bus Services Bill, currently going through Parliament, places a requirement on bus operators not to use new diesel buses on local bus routes in England. This will not take effect prior to 2030, giving time to the sector to plan a smooth transition.

The UK continues to make positive advancements in the deployment of ZEBs year-on-year. More than 50% of new buses registered in 2024 were zero-emission: a record 1,600, up 33% on the previous year’s record of 1,200.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what are the 10 highest cost-benefit ratios for proposed railway infrastructure projects; and if she will publish the figures.

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

We are reviewing all of our investment plans, including rail infrastructure, as part of the ongoing Spending Review in order to ensure that they reflect our missions as government whilst delivering value sustainably. I cannot comment on individual schemes until this has concluded.

It should also be noted that Benefit Cost Ratios (BCRs) are only one element of decision-making on proposed rail infrastructure projects and should be considered within the context of the five-case business model (Strategic, Economic, Financial, Commercial and Management) used in Government. We do not routinely share or publish BCRs as they do not capture the full case for a project and can be misleading without wider context.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to introduce a contactless payment system for commuter rail services in Devon.

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

At this stage there are no plans for such a scheme. However, this Government remains committed to making ticketing simpler and more flexible for passengers and to working with local authorities to support integrated transport plans in their areas. We want to expand ticketing innovations such as Pay As You Go (PAYG) where possible and further details on any wider expansion of PAYG will be announced in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will hold discussions with Avanti West Coast on the (a) reliability and (b) speed of wifi connectivity on west coast mainline passenger railway services.

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

The Secretary of State and the Rail Minister met with Avanti West Coast (AWC) in January to discuss industrial action and performance. They did not specifically discuss Wi-Fi connectivity however, officials meet with AWC regularly to discuss services for passengers, including Wi-Fi.

The Department is considering the feasibility of a range of technology options to improve passenger Wi-Fi services on the rail network. AWC recently completed a positive trial using laser window etching technology to improve connectivity and are exploring future use. The Department is also measuring the strength of mobile signals along the rail network to fully understand where interventions are needed, and the potential impacts.

Operators are required to achieve challenging customer experience targets across a range of measures, including Wi-Fi connectivity. These standards are regularly and independently inspected via the Service Quality Regime and there are accountability and financial consequences for failure.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of combining City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements CRSTS 1 and 2.

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

Discussions are underway between the department and MCAs, including West of England, on how the transition between CRSTS 1 and CRSTS 2 can be delivered. Some MCAs are also moving towards Integrated Settlements which will enable greater flexibility for planning and decision making at a local level.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with South Western Railway on extending London Waterloo Services past Exeter St Davids to Newton Abbot.

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

The Department and South-Western Railway (SWR) are in regular discussion regarding its service provision, which aims to balance the needs of both passenger and taxpayer. There have, however, been no recent discussions with SWR regarding extending London Waterloo services via Exeter St Davids to Newton Abbot.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding her Department plans to provide to Dorset Council for (a) cycling and (b) walking infrastructure in each of the next three financial years.

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

On 12 February, the Department announced the funding allocations for the Combined Active Travel Fund (CATF), the dedicated revenue and capital funding round for 2025/26. Dorset Council was awarded £774,233 and it will be for the authority to decide on infrastructure projects it may wish to progress with this funding.

Decisions on future Government funding for active travel will be a matter for the Spending Review, which is considering all transport expenditure in the round. Specific funding allocations to Dorset Council for 2026/27 and 2027/28 will be agreed after the Spending Review concludes.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she considered making an environmental impact assessment on the decision to ban volumetric concrete mobile plants in 2028.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As part of its consideration of the evidence, the Department for Transport has assessed the potential environmental impacts in accordance with the Environment Act 2021 which requires Ministers of the Crown to have ‘due regard’ to the environmental principles policy statement when making policy.

Current exemptions to weight limits for VCMs will expire in 2028. This policy is being maintained.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to request funds for (a) cycling and (b) walking as part of the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review.

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

Future government funding for cycling and walking is being considered alongside all other transport priorities as part of the Spending Review. On 28 March, I informed Parliament of my intention to publish a third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy following the conclusion of the Spending Review. This will allow us to say more on the long-term funding for active travel, as required by the 2015 Infrastructure Act.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many meetings (a) she, (b) the Minister for Future of Roads and (c) her officials have had with (i) hon. Members and (ii) trade associations that contributed to the Government's review on Volumetric concrete mixers prior to announcing the findings of that review.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

My Department engaged with hon. Members and industry stakeholders through correspondence prior to the announcement. In addition, industry and interested parties were given the opportunity to present views and evidence on this topic as part of the Call for Evidence between October and December 2023.

Temporary exemptions to weight limits for VCMs will expire in 2028. This policy is being maintained.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the annual additional lorry miles on concrete deliveries that would rise from cutting the weights of volumetric concrete mobile from 2028.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

A call for evidence ran from October to December 2023 seeking views on three potential options on weight limits for VCMs. The following factors were considered: reduction in payload per journey, increased waste, and increased vehicle mileage.

Information received did not provide any compelling evidence for permitting a weight limit exemption specifically for VCMs on the grounds of increased lorry miles.

Current exemptions to weight limits for VCMs will expire in 2028. This policy is being maintained.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she held discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade prior to announcing changes to volumetric concrete mobile operating weights from 2028.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Secretary of State for Transport did not raise this with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade. However, cross-Whitehall engagement did occur prior to the announcement.

This is not a change to the policy on weights for VCMs but a decision to continue with the existing policy that a temporary exemption will come to an end in 2028.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential return on investment of increasing funding for (a) cycling and (b) walking.

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

Investment in active travel supports the Government’s economic growth, health and net zero missions, and generally has a very positive benefit-to-cost ratio. Walking and cycling are among the cheapest and most accessible forms of physical activity and some of the most cost-effective interventions to meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended physical activity levels. The Department announced the details of almost £300 million of funding for active travel in 2024/5 and 2025/6 on 12 February. This will deliver 300 miles of brand new pavements and cycle routes to enable 30 million more journeys by walking and cycling every year. It will lead to 43,000 less sick days a year to ease pressure on the NHS.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to mitigate rail congestion across East-West rail lines in the north of England.

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

The Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline portfolio contains some of the most transformative and important programmes in the country such as the TransPennine Route Upgrade, which will increase capacity and improve reliability of East to West rail lines in the north of England.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the impact of her policies on electric vehicle charging companies’ (a) pricing and (b) subscription models.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government is committed to ensuring public charging is affordable for all. Under the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, chargepoint operators are required to clearly provide the price of charging at public chargepoints in pence per kilowatt hour. While this does not cap the cost of charging or require chargepoint operators to use a specific pricing model, it does ensure consistency in the way prices are displayed, making it easy for drivers to compare public chargepoints and choose the best rate.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether appointments to Great British Railways will be included in the Public Bodies Order in Council; and whether the Chair will be classified as a Significant Appointment.

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

After the Railways Bill is scrutinised by Parliament, and as part of the design of Great British Railways, we will consider whether to propose an amendment to the Public Bodies Order in Council. We expect that the GBR Chair will be classed as a significant appointment.

Parliament will have an opportunity to scrutinise GBR’s duties when the bill is taken through Parliament later this session.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Civil Aviation Authority has undertaken any recent work with (a) her Department, (b) Heathrow Airport, (c) Network Rail and (d) others to make progress on the construction of a Western Rail Link to Heathrow.

Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Since plans for expansion were paused in 2020, the CAA has not conducted any work in relation to a Western Rail link to Heathrow. Should any such plans emerge as part of fresh proposals for Heathrow expansion, the CAA would review the elements of those plans relevant to its role as economic regulator of Heathrow in accordance with its statutory duties.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of British Airways' recent performance on the UK-Ghana route.

Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

British Airways operate direct routes between the UK and Ghana from London Gatwick Airport and London Heathrow Airport.

UK aviation operates in the private sector, and airlines are responsible for ensuring they reach an acceptable level of performance for their passengers.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) publishes flight punctuality statistics and is responsible for ensuring the industry meets relevant regulatory requirements.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress she has made on completing feasibility studies to provide step-free access to Ash Vale Station.

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

The feasibility work for Ash Vale station is underway and we expect all 50 of the feasibility studies announced last year to be complete in the spring. We expect to be able to confirm which stations will move forward over the summer. The Access for All programme continues to be heavily oversubscribed.

We remain committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognise the valuable social and economic benefits this brings to communities.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing adequate passenger services to Reddish South railway station.

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

The Department expects operators to match capacity and frequency of their services to demand, though these must also be operationally sustainable and deliver value for taxpayers. Rail North Partnership, through which the Department and Transport for the North jointly manage the contract with Northern Trains, which serves Reddish South, will assess any business case put forward, but this analysis must balance the economic and social benefits of any enhancement with the performance of existing services and the financial impact on taxpayer subsidy.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she will publish a response to her Department's consultation entitled, Design standards for accessible railway stations: a code of practice, published on 23 August 2023.

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

This consultation was conducted under the previous government. The Department for Transport is currently considering publication of a response.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Northern Powerhouse Rail is designated as an England and Wales project.

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

Funding for heavy rail infrastructure is reserved in Wales, meaning that the UK Government, rather than the Welsh Government, is directly responsible for funding heavy rail infrastructure projects, including those in Wales. Consequently, any heavy rail project that the Department delivers is designated as an England and Wales project. This designation would apply to Northern Powerhouse Rail. This is consistent with the funding arrangements for all other policy areas that are reserved in Wales.

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 implementing a scheme equivalent to Fuel Finder for the cost of charging electric vehicles.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government is committed to improving the transparency of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure costs. Under the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, chargepoint operators are required to clearly provide the price of charging at public chargepoints in pence per kilowatt hour (or pound per kilowatt hour).

These regulations also require operators to share open data on charging costs free of charge, among other data fields. Both these measures allow drivers to compare public chargepoint costs and choose the best rate.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what lessons Network Rail has learned from the railway accident near Llanbrynmair on the Shrewsbury to Machynlleth line in October 2024; and how those lessons will be heeded throughout the railway network.

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

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB), the independent body responsible for investigating rail accidents in the UK, launched an investigation into the fatal accident at Talerddig, near Llanbrynmair in Powys, on 22 October 2024, the day after the accident. Once the investigation is complete, RAIB will publish an investigation report, which will highlight any recommendations or learning points.

Maintaining high safety levels on the railway remains a priority for this Government and we expect the relevant parts of the rail industry, including Network Rail, to act on any recommendations resulting from RAIB’s investigation.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representation non legacy groups have in her Department's Expert Bus Manufacturers Panel.

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

The membership of the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel comprises two classifications: Standing Members and Additional Members. Standing Members include Government departments and wider industry bodies. Industry bodies include the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the Urban Transport Group (UTG), Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) and the Association of Local Bus Managers (ALBUM).

Additional Members will be invited to relevant meetings when particular issues are under consideration. These include bus manufacturers, operators and mayoral combined authorities. This decision was taken to ensure that the expertise of additional members is reflected during relevant meetings when specific issues are under discussion.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress the Motor Insurance Taskforce has made.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The cross-Government Motor Insurance Taskforce met for the first time on 16 October 2024 and the Secretary of State is keen to reconvene again soon.

The Taskforce has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments that may contribute to stabilising or reducing premiums, while maintaining appropriate levels of cover. It will look at the increased insurance costs on consumers and the insurance industry, including how this impacts different demographics, geographies, and communities.

We will provide updates on the Taskforce in due course.

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 decision to increase parking penalties in London on her Department's review of penalty charge notice research.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This Government believes that transport decisions in London, including the level of penalty charge notices (PCN), should be for the Mayor of London. A group of local government and other stakeholders has submitted research to Ministers on PCN levels outside London. The Department will consider carefully their findings and recommendations along with other relevant evidence before any decision is taken.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase the availability of approved driving instructor (ADI) tests; and if she will make it her policy to temporarily extend the two-year qualification period applicable after passing part one of the ADI.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) understands that waiting times remain high for approved driving instructor (ADI) tests and has a rolling programme of recruitment and training for ADI examiners.

Since December 2024, the DVSA has also made available weekend slots for ADI part 2 and part 3 tests.

When managing the book to hold list, DVSA’s deployment team will look at the part 1 expiry date to help prioritise trainee driving instructors whose expiration date is approaching.

The legislation requires that a part three test is booked, not taken, before the expiry of the part one test. The DVSA has put measures in place to support candidates whose part one pass is due to expire by allowing them to book a part three test online, or if no tests are available they can book a test to hold. Both of these options meet the regulatory requirements.

The two-year qualifying period is set in legislation and there are no plans to extend this.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of tests for (a) D1 and (b) B category licenses resulted in a (i) pass and (ii) fail in each of the last five years.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The table below shows, for the last five years, the number of:

• category B (car) practical driving tests conducted by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA);

• category D1 (minibus) 3b on road practical driving tests conducted by DVSA and delegated examiners; and

• tests passed and failed, including pass rate.

* - Testing reduced due to Covid-19 pandemic

# - January 2024 to September 2024 is the latest official statistics.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase the availability of driving tests in Windsor.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.

On the 18 December 2024, DVSA set out further plans to reduce driving test waiting times across the country. These steps include recruiting 450 driving examiners (DEs). Full details of these steps can be found on GOV.UK.

DVSA continues recruitment for DEs at driving test centres (DTCs) that serve customers in the Windsor constituency and is currently working through the recruitment process from recent campaigns.

As part of this, DVSA has had four candidates successfully pass training, with a further four potential new DEs booked-on training programmes. There are also another four potential new DEs currently undergoing checks as part of the recruitment process.

DVSA has also been running a recruitment campaign in March and has fourteen vacancies for the area as part of this.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many current driving licences that entitle the holder to drive category (a) B and (b) D1 vehicles were issued (a) before and (b) on or after 1 January 1997.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The table below shows the number of driving licence holders with entitlement to drive category B (car) and D1 (minibuses with between nine and 16 passenger seats). The table also shows whether the entitlement was gained before or after 1 January 1997. Please note that drivers who passed a category B test before 1 January 1997 were automatically granted D1 entitlement but could not drive D1 vehicles for hire or reward (NFHR). This entitlement has also been included. Drivers with D1 (NFHR) entitlement must meet the higher medical standards required of Group 2 (HGV/Bus) drivers when their driving licence expires, normally at the age of 70.

* This figure also includes drivers who hold category D1 entitlement from passing a category D (Bus) test.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral answer to the hon. Member for Newton Abbot of 27 March 2025, what the evidential basis is for the statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport that up to 30% of drivers who take the D1 test fail.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The statistic of up to 30% of drivers failing the D1 driving test is quoted in the 2022 Driving Licensing Call for Evidence. It is based on data from April 2016 to September 2021, where tests were conducted by DVSA examiners only.

Driving test, theory test and driving instructor statistics for Great Britain are published on GOV.UK each year by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to (a) prevent third-party brokers from bulk-booking driving test slots via the DVSA online system and (b) to reduce waiting times for learner drivers in rural areas.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.

On the 18 December 2024, DVSA set out further plans to reduce driving test waiting times across the country. These steps include recruiting 450 driving examiners (DEs). Full details of these steps can be found on GOV.UK.

DVSA is committed to providing customers with the best service possible and continually reviews its estate, including in rural areas, to ensure it represents good value for money and is efficient.

To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, DVSA continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests and has announced further measures to review the driving test booking system.

On the 18 December 2024, a call for evidence was launched, seeking views on the current rules to book tests. This will lead to consultation on improving processes, with potential future legislative changes.

On 6 January 2025, DVSA also introduced tougher terms and conditions for the service driving instructors use to book and manage car driving tests for their pupils.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy published on 25 March 2025, what steps she is taking to ensure that the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (SHORE) takes account of employment practices at companies which submit bids to SHORE for public funding.

Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy encourages building on the UK’s extensive maritime knowledge, expertise and capacity for innovation. Through the UK Shipping Emissions for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) programme, we have invested £236m across the UK to support research and development into clean maritime technologies.

As the primary delivery partner for UK SHORE, Innovate UK manages the competition, assessment process, due diligence, and ongoing monitoring and management of UK SHORE funded projects. Innovate UK undertakes rigorous checks on each organisation receiving funding before grants are awarded. There are clauses within the grant awards that allow funding to be immediately suspended or terminated if we have concerns about an organisation breaking the law, including through their employment practices.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has reviewed Heathrow Airport's business continuity plans.

Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The UK aviation market operates predominantly in the private sector, therefore, it is the responsibility of industry to determine appropriate resilience plans and measures are put in place to minimise potential disruption.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the UK’s independent regulator for the aviation sector. The CAA conducts economic regulation at Heathrow, where they set licence conditions that the airports must abide by. The CAA oversee the development and agreement of these licences, and Heathrow submit resilience plans which form part of the licence conditions.

Government officials regularly engage with the sector on assurances of resilience plans, and they will continue to engage with industry to ensure that lessons are learnt.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the number of passengers expected to interchange onto East-West Rail services at Cambridge South whose journeys began at London Stansted Airport in the next 12 months.

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

No estimate has been made of the number of passengers using Cambridge South station as an interchange to change from East-West Rail services to connecting services to Stansted Airport.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will ensure that Great British Railways has a statutory accessibility duty.

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

Accessibility is a priority for this Government and we are committed to delivering a rail system which allows disabled people to travel easily, confidently and with dignity. The ongoing Railways Bill consultation is already clear that accessibility will be central to Great British Railways.

GBR will therefore be subject to requirements – either licence conditions

or statutory duties – to ensure this happens. That includes requirements relating to accessibility and engaging accessibility stakeholders.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding has been allocated to (a) Salford City Council and (b) Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council.for road maintenance in (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Both Salford City Council and Wigan Metropolitan Borough are constituent members of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). During 2024/25, the Government allocated funds to GMCA through its City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), which includes consolidated funding for highway maintenance funding for all its constituent authorities. In addition to this funding, during 2024/25 GMCA received a £4.4 million funding uplift as part of the previous Government’s Network North plan.

For 2025/26, GMCA will receive an Integrated Settlement from the Government, into which CRSTS will be consolidated. In addition to this funding, GMCA will receive an additional £14.8 million from the highway maintenance funding uplift announced in this Government’s 2024 Budget.

Funding allocations for CRSTS and highway maintenance are published on gov.uk.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many individual representations her Department has received from Staffordshire County Council in relation to potholes in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) North Staffordshire in each of the last five years.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department receives regular correspondence from many local highway authorities on the topic of local highway maintenance, including potholes. Over the last five years, the Department’s records suggest that Staffordshire County Council has made formal representations to the Department four times on highway maintenance and other funding issues. The Department’s officials are in regular informal contact with officers from Staffordshire County Council on local highway maintenance issues.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions has she had with the Welsh Government regarding the Spending Review.

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

The Secretary of State and the wider ministerial team are in regular contact with Welsh Government counterparts and have ongoing, constructive discussions on our respective strategic priorities. There is also regular collaboration at senior official level through a number of fora, notably the Wales Rail Board.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum on avoiding the routine deployment of Operation Brock during school holidays.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Kent and Medway Resilience Forum (KMRF) is operationally independent from His Majesty’s Government (HMG). The KMRF's decision to deploy Operation Brock ahead of the Easter getaway was taken after extensive discussions, taking into account previous disruption during peak periods, expected traffic levels and safety of road users.

The deployment of Operation Brock and other traffic management measures are continually kept under review by the KMRF to ensure they are designed and implemented in the most effective way possible.

The Department continues to work on new approaches to long term traffic management in Kent, considering a combination of off-road sites and technology to manage the flow of traffic to the portals during periods of high traffic volumes, keeping the strategic road network clear. We are also working on improvements in traffic forecasting using better data, AI and learning from recent experience which could mean that the use of Operation Brock on a precautionary basis could be reduced in the future.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will widen the payment methods which can be used when making a payment to the DVLA.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) offers a range of payment options, including direct debits, cheques and debit and credit cards.

The DVLA keeps its range of payment options under review, taking into account the associated costs and benefits of potential new options.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how the passenger and freight trains on East West Rail will be powered.

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

At the recent non-statutory consultation, EWR Co confirmed their preference for discontinuous electrification to power passenger services once the full route is open from the mid-2030s. The rolling stock used for freight services will be a matter for freight operators to decide.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of conclusion one of the Public Account Committee's report entitled HS2: Update following the Northern leg cancellation, HC 357, published 28 February 2025, on the governance of Great British Railways.

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

Work is underway on the design of Great British Railways, including its governance. We will take learnings from elsewhere, including the Public Account Committee’s recent report on High Speed Two (HS2), to ensure GBR is set up to deliver better services for passengers and freight customers, and better value for money for taxpayers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had recent discussions with the Office of Rail and Road on improving access for disabled people on LeShuttle services.

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

The Government engages regularly with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to discuss a range of matters and officials meet routinely to discuss the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority (CTSA) and ORR’s regulatory activities concerning Eurotunnel. The Government fully supports efforts to continually improve accessibility on Le Shuttle services.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has completed an equality impact assessment on its consultation proposals entitled A railway fit for Britain's future, published on 18 February 2025.

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

Equality impacts are being considered throughout the policy development process and as we prepare the required legislation. Feedback from the consultation will also inform our assessments.

An Equality Impact Assessment will be published alongside the broader Impact Assessment when the legislation is introduced, in line with standard practice and requirements.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will add public interest duties to her Department’s open consultation entitled A railway fit for Britain's future, published on 18 February 2025.

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

The consultation is clear that Great British Railways (GBR) will run our rail infrastructure and passenger services in the public interest. The consultation has not specified GBR’s exact duties and functions, and we welcome views on these. All responses to the consultation will be considered ahead of introduction of the forthcoming Railways Bill.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes proposed by Great Western Railway on (a) ticket offices and (b) station staffing.

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

Any changes to ticket office opening hours, in relation to regulated stations covered by Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, must be made following the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement conditions and Secretary of State guidance. The Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with Great Western Railway on changes related to ticket offices at any of its stations.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the amount of funding spent on reforming the train ticketing system in the (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24 financial years.

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

The Fares Ticketing and Retail (FTR) Programme to modernise ticketing and retail systems started at Spending Review 2021. The first year of the programme was 22/23. The Department spend £55.7 million in 22/23 and £66 million in 23/24 on the FTR programme.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact Appendix B of the PRM NTSN on the availability of step-free Access at Railway Stations.

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

The Secretary of State for Transport has no plans to remove Appendix B from the Persons of Reduced Mobility (PRM) NTSN.

The PRM NTSN is one of several measures that help make the railway more accessible and should be considered in conjunction with relevant National Technical Rules, Rail Industry Standards and operators’ Accessible Travel Policies amongst other measures. My Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of Appendix B on the availability of step free access at stations, but we keep all NTSNs under regular review.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to remove Appendix B of the PRM NTSN.

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

The Secretary of State for Transport has no plans to remove Appendix B from the Persons of Reduced Mobility (PRM) NTSN.

The PRM NTSN is one of several measures that help make the railway more accessible and should be considered in conjunction with relevant National Technical Rules, Rail Industry Standards and operators’ Accessible Travel Policies amongst other measures. My Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of Appendix B on the availability of step free access at stations, but we keep all NTSNs under regular review.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with Crosscountry trains on increasing capacity on rail routes in Newton Abbot constituency.

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

The Department has funded 12 additional Voyager trains (60 carriages) for the CrossCountry network. Three trains are already in service with the next one due to be brought into service in April. The remaining eight trains are due to enter service with CrossCountry in May. This will increase the Voyager train fleet and enable CrossCountry to provide many more seats on its network including the Edinburgh to Plymouth route.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of re-opening the railway line between Heathfield and Newton Abbot.

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

There are no current plans to make an assessment of reopening the railway line between Heathfield and Newton Abbot. The Government believes that local authorities are best placed to promote and take forward transport schemes that will most benefit their local areas.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many railway stations underwent development where (a) full step-free access and (b) only passive provision was provided between 2019 and 2024.

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

During the period 2019 – 2024, 66 major accessibility interventions were delivered at 63 different stations under the Access for All Programme, 4 of which were fixed funding contributions through the Access for All mid-tier programme.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to improve Passenger Assist service for rail users in England.

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

We have recently invested over £10 million to enable the Rail Delivery Group to deliver the next phase of the Passenger Assist Improvement Programme. This 25-month programme will deliver a series of improvements including the capability to book a ticket, request assistance and reserve a seat in a single transaction. Importantly, it will give customers the ability to communicate directly with staff and provide a dedicated help function on the Passenger Assist App.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will conduct a strategic review of road construction, renewal and repair to identify the most economic approach to reduce potholes and costs to road users caused by potholes.

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

It is the responsibility of individual highway authorities to maintain and improve their networks, based upon their local knowledge, circumstances, and priorities. This includes decisions on how best to prevent road surfaces from deteriorating in the most economic way. The Government is committed to updating its guidance to local highway authorities on how to manage their networks, which will include advice on matters of this sort.

For 2025/26, the Government is providing almost £1.6 billion for local highway maintenance, an increase of £500 million compared to 2024/25. Funding is not ring-fenced, and it is a matter for local authorities to determine how the money is best spent. The Department for Transport has written to all local highway authorities asking them to demonstrate that they are complying with certain criteria aimed at driving best practice and continual improvement. The Department will assess the information provided by local highway authorities in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what diversity, equality and inclusion targets her Department has for staff recruitment.

Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

All recruitment at the Department for Transport (DfT) is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. As such there are no diversity, equality and inclusion targets for recruitment in the Department.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what investigations they have undertaken about the provision of a link between the new station at Old Oak Common and the proposed new Hythe Road station on the London Overground's Mildmay Line.

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

The HS2 station currently being constructed at Old Oak Common will connect HS2 services with services on the existing Great Western Main Line including an interchange with the Elizabeth line; provisional journey times are approximately 15 minutes from Old Oak Common to London’s West End, 20 minutes to the City, and 25 minutes to Canary Wharf.

The local area surrounding Old Oak Common station is currently subject to proposals for development by various organisations. Whilst the HS2 Ltd design for Old Oak Common has not yet integrated designs, the urban realm area and station itself has been designed and sized to account for growth. To the east of the site, in the direction of Hythe Road, the station design provides passive provision for both pedestrian and vehicle bridge links so that these can be added later if needed, after the station ceases to operate as a terminus. Note that the proposed station at Hythe Road is a Transport for London proposal and HS2 Ltd isn't delivering any direct scope associated with this station.

HS2 Ltd continues to work closely with the Old Oak Park Royal Development Corporation, local boroughs and Transport for London to review potential pedestrian routes and ensure feasibility of proposals for development.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many passengers they expect to travel between Oxford and Cambridge each day on East West Rail.

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

EWR Co are continuing to model forecast passenger numbers and are working with the Government to understand overall trends.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to help tackle speeding in Lincolnshire.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Enforcement of the speed limit is for the police. The Department for Transport makes highways and local transport funding available to local transport authorities, who decide how to use the funding to support local priorities. Local authorities have the responsibility of making decisions about the roads under their care, based on their knowledge of the area and taking into account local needs and considerations.  This includes setting local speed limits and introducing traffic calming measures.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2025 to Question 38041 on Roads: Repairs and Maintenance, whether the complete resurfacing of an existing road is classed as capital or revenue expenditure.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

It is up to local highway authorities’ Section 151 officers to determine what types of highway maintenance expenditure can legitimately be classed as capital and what as revenue expenditure, following the advice provided by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and others. There are some grey areas, but the complete resurfacing of an existing highway by a local highway authority will almost always be classed as capital expenditure. This is because it would count as improving a council-owned asset and making it last longer.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that more than ten HS2 services can be accommodated at Euston station when required.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The new HS2 Euston station will consist of 6 platforms, which can support up to 10 HS2 trains per hour. We are considering whether and how to future-proof the station with additional platforms, to accommodate any longer-term expansion.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to renew the land purchase powers contained in the HS2 West Midlands to Crewe hybrid Bill before they expire in February 2026.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

I am aware of the limitations on land purchase powers contained in the High Speed Rail (West Midlands to Crewe) Act 2021. This government is carefully reviewing the position it has inherited on HS2 and wider rail infrastructure and I will set out detailed plans in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the emissions reductions required in transport to deliver the sixth carbon budget.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As the UK’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, decarbonising transport will play an important role in meeting economy-wide carbon budgets. Transport emissions reduced by 10% between 2019 to 2023, but emissions must fall faster to achieve our legal targets. The Government will deliver an updated delivery plan for meeting legislated carbon budgets later this year, with policy detail for all sectors provided up to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she is taking steps to reduce administrative requirements for local authorities handling the blue badge digital service.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Blue Badge Digital Service offers a national online application and badge management facility through GOV.UK. Nearly 90% of all badge applications are now made through this service.

The Department for Transport runs a programme of continuous improvement to the digital service to make online badge applications quicker and easier for applicants and local authorities, including undertaking specific research and testing to identify innovative improvements to the online application process. The service also undergoes regular accessibility and assurance testing to guarantee compliance with the Government’s digital standards.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the blue badge digital service for applicants with disabilities.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Blue Badge Digital Service offers a national online application and badge management facility through GOV.UK. Nearly 90% of all badge applications are now made through this service.

The Department for Transport runs a programme of continuous improvement to the digital service to make online badge applications quicker and easier for applicants and local authorities, including undertaking specific research and testing to identify innovative improvements to the online application process. The service also undergoes regular accessibility and assurance testing to guarantee compliance with the Government’s digital standards.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timeframe is for publishing a road safety strategy.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This Government treats road safety with the utmost seriousness, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. My Department is developing the first road safety strategy in over a decade, and will set out more details in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to reduce processing times for applications to the blue badge digital service.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Blue Badge Digital Service offers a national online application and badge management facility through GOV.UK. Nearly 90% of all badge applications are now made through this service.

The Department for Transport runs a programme of continuous improvement to the digital service to make online badge applications quicker and easier for applicants and local authorities, including undertaking specific research and testing to identify innovative improvements to the online application process. The service also undergoes regular accessibility and assurance testing to guarantee compliance with the Government’s digital standards.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of trends in the level of regional disparities in the number of public charging devices for electric vehicles by population.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of affordable and accessible charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle.

Chargepoint availability is increasing everywhere with public charging device numbers increasing by 45% in rural areas of England in 2024.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to encourage public-private collaboration in the (a) investment and (b) delivery of welfare facilities for HGV drivers.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport (DfT) and industry are jointly investing up to £43.5 million to upgrade HGV parking and driver welfare facilities across England, including at independent truck stops and motorway service areas. This is on top of up to £26 million joint investment by National Highways and industry in lorry parking facilities, including Motorway Service Areas, along the strategic road network.

This investment is supporting operators across 30 counties in England to improve security, toilets, showers and refreshment facilities and increase lorry parking spaces.

DfT also established an industry-led Task and Finish Group (TGF) on HGV facilities, which commenced in February 2024. The TFG was a 12-month, industry-led forum focused on increasing capacity for safe and secure HGV parking, and driving industry adoption of existing HGV parking standards. DfT is considering the conclusions of this group.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support the roll out of (a) parking and (b) welfare facilities for HGV drivers at motorway service areas.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport (DfT) and industry are jointly investing up to £43.5 million to upgrade HGV parking and driver welfare facilities across England, including at independent truck stops and motorway service areas. This is on top of up to £26 million joint investment by National Highways and industry in lorry parking facilities, including Motorway Service Areas, along the strategic road network.

This investment is supporting operators across 30 counties in England to improve security, toilets, showers and refreshment facilities and increase lorry parking spaces.

DfT also established an industry-led Task and Finish Group (TGF) on HGV facilities, which commenced in February 2024. The TFG was a 12-month, industry-led forum focused on increasing capacity for safe and secure HGV parking, and driving industry adoption of existing HGV parking standards. DfT is considering the conclusions of this group.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to fine utility companies for inconvenience caused when their roadworks overrun.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Utility companies are already incentivised to complete works on time with charges of up to £10,000 per day for works that overrun. We have announced that these charges will apply to weekends and bank holidays. We are also doubling fixed penalty notices for companies that breach permit conditions. These conditions can include setting days and times when works can take place.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to incentivise utility companies to not overrun on roadworks.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Utility companies are already incentivised to complete works on time with charges of up to £10,000 per day for works that overrun. We have announced that these charges will apply to weekends and bank holidays. We are also doubling fixed penalty notices for companies that breach permit conditions. These conditions can include setting days and times when works can take place.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to reduce the number of car accidents among (a) recently-qualified and (b) young drivers.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads. As work progresses on the new road safety strategy, we are exploring options to tackle the root causes of this without unfairly penalising young drivers.

My Department’s THINK! campaign aims to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads in England and Wales, and is primarily focused on men aged 17-24. THINK! plays an important role in raising awareness of risky driving behaviours amongst young people. This has recently included campaigns on drink-driving and speeding on rural roads.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring drivers to display proof of (a) insurance and (b) MOT in vehicles.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We have no plans to require drivers to display evidence of insurance in their vehicles, as it would only demonstrate insurance cover at one point in time, which may have since been cancelled. Uninsured driving is tackled by Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE), which allows uninsured vehicles to be identified from a comparison of the DVLA’s vehicle register and the Motor Insurance Database of insurance policies managed by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB). This and police enforcement on the road are the most effective tools to tackle uninsured driving.

Although the MOT status of a vehicle is not required to be physically displayed, it can easily be discovered for free by entering the vehicle registration at https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history. This service can be used by both the wider public and enforcement bodies. It will immediately show the due date for the vehicle’s next MOT as well as other relevant information, such as previous MOT certificates. In 2023, the Department for Transport and DVSA published a call for evidence asking for views on the future of the MOT and this was not identified as an issue. As such, we have no current plans to require the MOT status to be physically displayed on the vehicle.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to increase local authorities' powers to inspect roads that have temporarily been reinstated by utility companies conducting roadworks more frequently.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Local highway authorities already have powers to inspect both temporary and permanent reinstatements for compliance with the DfT's technical standards (the specification for the reinstatement of openings in the highway). Since 2023, a performance-based inspections regime has been in place which means those companies who fail inspections are inspected more than those who comply. As companies pay for inspections, there is also a strong financial incentive for them to meet standards.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to reduce the time within which utility companies conducting roadworks must ensure that roads are permanently repaired to six months.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Utility companies can put temporary reinstatements in place following works to re-open roads to traffic whilst, for example, waiting for specialist materials which may be specified by local authorities such as a particular type of paving stone. Permanent reinstatements must be put in place within 6 months. The DfT has no plans to change these arrangements.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the (a) construction and (b) operation of a new National Grid electricity substation at Weston Marsh on levels of traffic in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Roads in the South Holland and the Deepings constituency are the responsibility of Lincolnshire County Council, as the Local Highway Authority and Local Traffic Authority.

This Department does not make an assessment of the impact of individual projects of this nature on the local road network.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to increase local authorities' powers to ensure the immediate permanent reinstation of roads by utility companies near (a) high-traffic areas, (b) hospitals, (c) schools and (d) other critical locations.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Utility companies can put temporary reinstatements in place following works to re-open roads to traffic whilst, for example, waiting for specialist materials which may be specified by local authorities such as a particular type of paving stone. Permanent reinstatements must be put in place within 6 months. The DfT has no plans to change these arrangements.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the cross-Government motor insurance taskforce plans to next meet with the stakeholder panel of industry experts; and what the subjects for discussion will be.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The cross-Government Motor Insurance Taskforce met for the first time on 16 October 2024 and the Secretary of State is keen to reconvene again soon. We will provide updates on the Taskforce in due course.

The taskforce is supported by a separate stakeholder panel of industry experts representing the insurance, motor, and consumer sector. This taskforce has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments that may contribute to stabilising or reducing premiums.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the cross-Government motor insurance taskforce last met; what the outcomes were of that meeting; and what the date is for the next meeting of the taskforce.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The cross-Government Motor Insurance Taskforce met for the first time on 16 October 2024 and the Secretary of State is keen to reconvene again soon. We will provide updates on the Taskforce in due course.

The taskforce is supported by a separate stakeholder panel of industry experts representing the insurance, motor, and consumer sector. This taskforce has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments that may contribute to stabilising or reducing premiums.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2025 to Question 36099 on Housing: Parking, whether local authorities may recover costs of dropping a kerb greater than the actual cost of the (a) works and (b) administration.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Section 184 of the Highways Act 1980 provides that local authorities may recover the expenses reasonably incurred by them in carrying out works to create a dropped kerb.

Local authorities are responsible for managing and maintaining the roads in their area and must themselves make any decision on dropped kerbs.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with (a) local authorities and (b) private companies that own electrical infrastructure that delivers public services on using existing (i) electric infrastructure and (ii) lamp posts to create additional EV charging points.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government is committed to expanding the electricity network to enable decarbonisation and is working closely with Ofgem and industry to mobilise the required investment. In the current distribution price control, Ofgem has allowed £22.2bn for upfront investment in low voltage networks, including £3.1bn for network upgrades to support low-carbon technologies, including infrastructure to support EV charging.

The Government regularly engages with the electricity network companies, which are responsible for maintaining and upgrading electrical infrastructure.

The Government also meets regularly with chargepoint operators and local authorities that plan and deliver on-street chargepoints. The £381m LEVI Fund supports local authorities in England to work with industry and transform the availability of EV charging for drivers without off-street parking. This includes lamp post chargepoints.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of funding research into the use of Diethyl Ether fuel.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department has no plans to fund research into the merits of Diethyl Ether fuel.

Renewable transport fuels that deliver significant greenhouse gas emissions savings relative to fossil fuel and meet stringent sustainability criteria are eligible for support under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme. The RTFO has successfully promoted a market for renewable fuels used in road transport since 2008.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on the introduction of a standardised battery health certification scheme for used electric vehicles.

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

The Department for Transport has worked with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) to develop a Global Technical Regulation on electric vehicle batteries (GTR 22). If implemented, the regulation would set standards for the lifespan of a battery and its minimum durability. It will also ensure that information about electric vehicle batteries is easily accessible, accurate and comparable. The Government is currently considering options for the implementation of GTR 22 battery regulations in the UK.

In the meantime, the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate requires all new electric vehicles to be sold with a warranty that includes battery replacement if capacity falls below 70% in the first 8 years or 100,000 miles, whichever is sooner.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many freight trains they expect to use East West Rail per day.

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

The current scope of EWR enables up to two new freight train paths per day per direction from Felixstowe, routed via Cambridge, through to Oxford and beyond, and around two new freight train paths per day from Southampton, routed via Oxford, Bletchley and onto the West Coast Main Line. Other enhancements on the network would be required for freight to exceed these levels.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's guidance entitled Using speed and red-light cameras for traffic enforcement: deployment, visibility and signing, published on 31 January 2007, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the criteria for the placement of fixed speed cameras in reducing (a) speeding and (b) road accidents.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport has not made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of the criteria for the placement of fixed speed cameras in reducing (a) speeding and (b) road collisions. While the speed camera guidance does include criteria for placement which the police and traffic authorities may consider using, it invites authorities to set their own criteria, depending on local needs and priorities.

The guidance notes that while the primary objective for camera deployment is to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries, cameras can also be beneficial where there is community concern. The guidance is not mandatory; there are no Department for Transport rules preventing traffic authorities from installing speed cameras.

To note, my Department uses the terms 'collision' or 'crash' rather than 'accident'.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of trains on Network Rail are (1) cancelled, and (2) arrive more than five minutes later than timetabled, and what proportion of these cancellations and delays are caused by (a) signal failure, (b) lack of crew availability, and (c) other reasons.

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

(1) The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) reported that in the 12 months up to December 2024 the cancellation measure was 4.0%.

(2) The ORR publish train punctuality on a quarterly basis. They report trains arriving within 59 seconds, within 3 minutes or within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time. These are reported in Table 1.

Table 1. Train punctuality in the year ending December 2024, Great Britain

Source: ORR Table 3133: Delay minutes by operator and cause

The proportion of cancellations by the available causes is report in Table 2.

Table 2. Train Cancellations by cause and responsibility in the year ending December 2024, Great Britain

Source: DfT analysis of ORR Table 3123: Trains planned and cancellations by operator and cause

Information on the cause of delays is published by Rail Period by the ORR. This information is reported in delay minutes. The latest data (covering 3 March 2024 – 2 March 2025) on the proportion of delays minutes attributed by the available causes is reported in Table 3.

Table 3. Share of delay minutes by cause in the year ending 2 March 2025, Great Britain

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the availability of (a) suitably skilled contractors and (b) materials to allow local authorities to meet the 31 March 2027 deadline for investing City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements.

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

The Government recognises that investment in transport infrastructure is of critical importance to unlocking national growth and the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) programme has a key role to play in continuing to transform local transport across the country. DfT is working closely with Local Authorities and other Government departments on understanding and mitigating any potential barriers to delivery, including supply chain or capacity constraints, as part of our ongoing Spending Review discussions.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timetable is for publishing finalised City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements 2.

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

Funding in future years is being considered as part of the current Spending Review, the outcome of which will be confirmed in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government which unit or team in the Department for Transport is responsible for policy relating to self-driving delivery robots that operate primarily on pavements.

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

The Department has a team that is responsible for micromobility policy which includes self-driving delivery robots. That team works with a wide range of other teams on the opportunities and risks they present, including the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have observed a reduction in death and injury caused by road traffic accidents in areas, such as central London, which have introduced a 20 miles per hour speed limit.

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

The Department for Transport published a comprehensive three-year evaluation of the effect of 20mph limits, which are 20mph schemes relying only on signage, on 22 November 2018.

The evaluation looked at twelve case studies including two in city centres (Brighton and Winchester). No case studies were in London.

It found insufficient evidence to conclude that that there had been a significant change in collisions and casualties following the introduction of 20mph limits in residential areas.

The only case study area showing a significant change in collisions and casualties, relative to its 30mph comparator area, was Brighton City Centre. This scheme covered both major and minor roads, with a 19% reduction in overall casualties, a 29% reduction in pedestrian casualties and a 51% reduction in casualties aged 75 or over. No significant change in casualties of cyclists or under 16s was found.

The evaluation stated that the changes appeared to be a reflection of the city characteristics, and the blanket implementation of 20mph limits across all roads within the scheme area, including higher flow A and B roads which were typically excluded from the residential case study schemes. There was a significant reduction in collisions across all road types, but the change was most pronounced on major strategic roads. The evaluation stressed that this represented just one case study, and the extent to which the findings were transferable to other locations was unclear.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many individual representations her Department has received from Staffordshire County Council on the (a) adequacy and (b) reliability of public transport in (i) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (ii) North Staffordshire in each of the last five years.

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

Although we have had representations from Staffordshire County Council on a range of transport matters, we have not, over the last five years, received correspondence from Staffordshire County Council specifically on the adequacy or reliability of public transport in Newcastle-Under-Lyme or North Staffordshire.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure the resilience of critical transport infrastructure in the north of England.

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

The government is committed to ensuring the resilience of the transport network across the UK, including vital services in the North of England. We work closely with transport operators to prevent and respond to the range of risks the sector faces: and aid them in assessing their vulnerabilities and implementing contingency planning arrangements.

Transport related risks to resilience are kept under review, including through the internal, classified National Security Risk Assessment, and the external-facing version, the National Risk Register, to ensure that we effectively plan at the national and local levels. This includes risks around adverse weather conditions, security threats and accidents.

We are also conducting a Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) review to support our work, building our understanding of the CNI landscape and the wide variety of systems, dependencies and redundancies that keep it running. This work is strengthening our ability to plan against risks and threats and bolster our incident response capabilities, ensuring our Critical National Infrastructure is resilient and secure.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve transport links between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

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

Whilst transport is devolved, the Department for Transport is committed to enhancing links between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. The Department is providing funding for Transport Scotland’s feasibility study to explore options to bypass the villages of Springholm and Crocketford on the A75 and is supporting the Windsor Framework to streamline transport and customs processes. The Government is also supporting key aviation routes, including the Public Service Obligation between City of Derry Airport and London Heathrow Airport.

Found: Active Travel England is a small unit established by the Department for Transport, and its job is to

Found: in here, so I do not know whether it has been or will be announced, but I know that the Department for Transport

Found: in here, so I do not know whether it has been or will be announced, but I know that the Department for Transport

Found: Traffic) Regulations 2025 Instruments not reported 6 Annex 6 Appendix 1: Memorandum from the Department for Transport

Found: Over the course of the last year or so we have been working with the Department for Transport (DfT),

Found: That takes housing money, local growth money, adult education budget, retrofit and DFT capital, puts

Found: The immediate response to this awful incident is of course led by the DFT but DEFRA comes in when it

Found: The immediate response to this awful incident is of course led by the DFT but DEFRA comes in when it

Found: From conversations this is currently divided between the UKSA, the MoD, and the DFT leaving many opportunities

Found: I remember the Department for Transport, for example, being pretty well up there.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Secretary of State for Transport's Oral Statement of 24 March 2025 on Road Maintenance, whether she has made an estimate of the Barnett consequential funding for Wales of the additional £500 million highway maintenance funding.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

At Phase 1 of the 2025 Spending Review, an additional £500 million was allocated to the Department for Transport to fund local highways maintenance in 2025-26. The Barnett formula was applied in the usual way to changes in the Department for Transport’s Delegated Expenditure Limit (DEL) budget.

At Spending Reviews, the Barnett formula is applied to changes to each UK Government department’s overall DEL budget, rather than to individual programmes.

The Welsh Government’s Spending Review settlement for 2025-26 is the largest in real terms of any Welsh Government settlement since devolution.  The Welsh Government is receiving at least 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in England. That translates into over £4 billion more in 2025-26 and includes £1.7 billion through the operation of the Barnett formula.

The Block Grant Transparency publication breaks down all changes in the devolved governments’ block grant funding from the 2015 Spending Review up to and including Main Estimates 2023-24. The most recent report was published in July 2023. An update to Block Grant Transparency to include Autumn Budget 2024 changes will be published in due course:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/block-grant-transparency-july-2023

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times his Department has met with the Joint Air Quality Unit and the Department for Transport to discuss the implementation of the NO2 programme in the last eight months.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) is a joint Defra/DfT division. Members of JAQU attend meetings with officials across both Departments regularly.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans the Regulatory Innovation Office has for regulating self-driving delivery robots that operate primarily on pavements, alongside regulation of airborne drones.

Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO) is not a regulator. Responsibility for regulating pavement robots and drones lies with the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority, respectively. One of the RIO’s current focuses is 'drones & other autonomous technology', which includes pavement robots, a promising technology for the UK. The RIO is working with the Department for Transport to understand the regulatory interventions the government could take to stimulate their rollout in the UK.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's guidance entitled Public Bodies Handbook – Part 2: The Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm’s-Length Bodies, whether his Department's public bodies team assessed Great British Railways against the requirement that the creation of a new arm's length body should only be considered as a last resort; whether the Department for Transport provided evidence that alternative delivery models were considered; and which of the three tests in Chapter 2 of that guidance Great British Railways met.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Department for Transport is currently working through the approval process to establish Great British Railways as an Arm’s Length Body. The completion of business cases as part of this process considers viable delivery mechanisms and the three tests.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent pedal cycle theft within the Havering London Borough.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Bike theft has a significant impact on individuals and for too long, many victims have felt not enough was being done to prevent their bikes being stolen or track down the thieves responsible.

As part of this Government’s Plan for Change, our Safer Streets Mission is determined to clamp down on the crime that damages our communities, and affects people’s lives, and tackling theft is a crucial part of that work.

The BTP-led National Cycle Crime Group, working with DfT, have set up Cycle Crime Reduction Partnerships across the country to coordinate regional enforcement activity to disrupt organised cycle theft.

We are also delivering on our commitment to restore and strengthen neighbourhood policing, recruiting 13,000 police personnel into neighbourhood roles, ensuring every community has a named officer to turn to, and doubling investment to £200 million to kickstart this.

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, how many (a) oral statements, (b) urgent questions, (c) end of day adjournment debates and (d) Westminster Hall debates each Department has responded to since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons

Urgent questions, adjournment debates and Westminster Hall debates are a matter for the House. Information relating to each of these is available on the Parliament website.

The Government is responsible for the arrangement of oral statements. As of 3rd April 2025, there have been 129 oral statements from the following departments:

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Department or agency leads on the Cross Government Working Level Group on Indoor Air Quality; how often it has met since Public Health England closed in September 2021; and which Ministers are involved in its meetings.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department co-ordinated the Cross Government Working Level Group on Indoor Air Quality following the closure of Public Health England in September 2021. Since that date the group has met five times, most recently in July 2023. Ministers have not attended this official-level group. Government departments involved in the group have included the Department for Business and Trade, the Department for Education, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the Department for Transport, as well as the Scottish Government, the UK Health Security Agency, and the Health and Safety Executive.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle fly-tipping.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We are seeking powers in the Home Office’s Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory enforcement guidance to help councils make full and proper use of their fly-tipping enforcement powers. These include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, vehicle seizure and prosecution action which can lead to a significant fine or even imprisonment.

We have committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course.

Defra officials chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders, including officials from the Department for Transport, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and devolved governments, to promote good practice on preventing fly-tipping. Various practical tools are available from their webpage which can be found at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group.

Found: , in column 1, after “Department for Transport” insert “, other than in relation to the Driver

Found: 2.5 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) 11 2.6 Home Office 12 2.7 Ministry of Justice 12 2.8 Department for Transport

Found: The Department for Transport (DfT) updated its guidance for setting local speed limits in 2024.7 Some

Found: The Department for Transport (DfT) and the CAA are working on a programme of ATOL reform, which is exploring

Found: Condition and maintenance of Local Roads in England 8 Department for Transport

Found: Condition and maintenance of Local Roads in England 8 Department for Transport

Found: Approval from the Department for Transport was secured in Oct 2023, and the planning application was

Found: The policy brief is presented to ministers and senior civil servants in the Department for Transport

Found: From: Department for Transport, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Mike Kane MP and

Found: Horseferry Road London SW1P 4DR Tel: 0300 330 3000 E-Mail: XXXXXX@dft.gov.uk Web site: www.gov.uk/dft

Found: Crown copyright 2025 ISSN 0309-427 8 Published by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, Department for Transport

Found: Crown copyright 2022 ISSN 0309-4278 Published by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, Department for Transport

Found: Crown copyright 2022 ISSN 0309-4278 Published by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, Department for Transport

Found: Crown copyright 2022 ISSN 0309-4278 Published by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, Department for Transport

Found: Crown copyright 2022 ISSN 0309-4278 Published by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, Department for Transport

Found: into the East West Rail project states in paragraph 2 "Homes England... provides advice to EWR Co and DfT

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

Found: Crown copyright 2022 ISSN 0309-4278 Published by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, Department for Transport

Found: Crown copyright 2022 ISSN 0309-4278 Published by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, Department for Transport

Found: been historical discharges, emissions and losses from high population densities or 10 Department for Transport

Found: port operations • Interdependencies identified and managed Key UK government department Department for Transport

Found: Helping the Department for Transport increase data resilience

Found: Most notably, in 2014 the Department for Transport commissioned Richard Brown, former Chair of Eurostar

Found: ; environment responsibilities moved to Defra) DTI Department of Trade and Industry DTLR Department for Transport

Found: role in the UK’s legislative commitment to net zero greenhouse gas emissions Advising the Department for Transport

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

Found: It has a stakeholder relationship with the Department for Transport (DfT).

Found: your time at HM Treasury, as Aviation minister at DfT, you met a range of key stakeholders

Found: , in column 1, after “Department for Transport” insert “, other than in relation to the Driver

Found: (DfT) at spending reviews, and DfT has generally seen increases to its budget over the period

Found: In a stakeholder briefing issued in January, Network Rail advised that the UK Department for Transport

Found: are working with government and industry partners including the Welsh Government (WG), Department for Transport

Found: certificate derives from EU law (now EU retained law). so it can now be reviewed and that the UK Department for Transport

Found: certificate derives from EU law (now EU retained law). so it can now be reviewed and that the UK Department for Transport

Found: It is sponsored by the Department for Transport. 2.

Found: It is sponsored by the Department for Transport. 2.

Found: The Bill is sponsored by the Department for Transport. 5. The Bill makes provision for: i.

Found: It is sponsored by the Department for Transport. 2.

Found: It is sponsored by the Department for Transport. 2.

Found: awaiting Royal Assent such changes will be addressed by those in Parliament and not the Department for Transport

Found: Wales, apart from the core Valleys lines, remains the responsibility of the UK Government Department for Transport

Found: application of Barnett, and as part of this it would welcome a review of comparability with the Department for Transport

Found: UK Government. 13 Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, HM Treasury, and Department for Transport

Found: Enhancement spending for major enhancement projects is determined by the UK Government’s Department for Transport

Found: creation of the Wales Rail Board, comprising director level representation from Welsh Government, DfT

Found: What tends to happen, and it’s no disrespect for very capable officials at Westminster or the DfT, Wales

Found: Statistics published by the Department for Transport estimate the operating cost per vehicle kilometre

Found: The latest report from the Department for Transport indicates that the number of EV charge points in

Found: Department for Transport DNOs Distribution Network Operators ESG Environmental, Social, and Governance

Found: with experts as a signatory of the Global MoU on zero emission HDV (heavy duty vehicles), with the DfT

Found: Electrical Contractors CE Consumer Efficiency (demand scenario) CP Chargepoint CPO Charge point operator DfT

Found: United Kingdom legislation, policy and plans The Department for Transport is developing a Transport

Found: with experts as a signatory of the Global MoU on zero emission HDV (heavy duty vehicles), with the DfT

Found: The latest report from the Department for Transport indicates that the number of EV charge points in

Found: Department for Transport (DfT) bus patronage data for the year to March 2024 shows Wales lagging behind

Found: According to UK Department for Transport (DfT) data, passenger numbers in Wales in the year to March

Found: Allocation (£m) Budget Line Original Allocation IFRS Adjustment CVL OMR Additional Funding DfT

Found: We expect this to include around £20.3m from the DfT for track access charges and England-only services

Question

How many bus journeys were made by 11-15 year olds in 2024, or the most recent year for which figures are available?

Answered by Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales

There is no formal data collection of this information. The best available data is from Department for Transport statistics, which indicate that the average number of bus trips in this age group is 27 per annum per person in the UK.