Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of DVLA-mandated eye tests in rural and semi-rural communities.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s contract with Specsavers for vision testing services provide coverage across England, Wales and Scotland, with 436 stores able to perform the services required.
Specsavers is working to increase the number of stores available to carry out eyesight tests by supplying them with the appropriate equipment.
Specsavers may utilise local opticians for customers who live more than 25 miles from their nearest Specsavers branch, for example those living in rural or semi rural areas.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a) making DVLA driving licence data available to Electoral Registration Officers for the purposes of Automatic Voter Registration, and b) allowing people who update their address on their driving licences with DVLA to update their voter registration automatically at the same time.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
While voter registration processes are a matter for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MCHLG), officials at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency are discussing the potential for using driver licensing information for these purposes with MCHLG officials.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of roadworks on the economy.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is unable to provide a current estimate of the overall impact of roadworks on the economy. This is because road and street works are carried out by a wide range of organisations, for different purposes, and the Department does not collect the data that would be required to produce a reliable national estimate.
Road and street works are essential to maintaining and upgrading utility services and the road network, and they play a vital role in supporting economic growth by enabling continued investment in critical infrastructure. Where street and road works do result in disruption, we recognise the wider impacts this can have on the economy. We remain committed to minimising these effects wherever possible. This includes strengthening penalties to improve compliance, enhancing coordination through the use of digital tools, and supporting local highway authorities to adopt lane rental schemes, which encourage works promoters to plan and deliver works more efficiently, thereby reducing delays and congestion.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the January 2026 Road Traffic Strategy, when she plans to publish the manual for streets.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department intends to publish an updated version of the Manual for Streets before the end of 2026.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes in doses of (a) insulin and (b) diabetic medication on driver license renewals.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) assesses licence applications from drivers using insulin or other diabetes medications based on the risk of hypoglycaemia and the stability of diabetes management.
Car and motorcycle drivers who use insulin must demonstrate adequate hypoglycaemic awareness and must not have experienced two or more episodes of severe hypoglycaemia in the previous 12 months. The most recent episode must have occurred more than three months prior to application. Drivers are also required to attend regular medical reviews and meet the statutory eyesight standards.
Drivers of lorries and buses are subject to more stringent medical requirements due to the size of their vehicles and the length of time they spend driving. They must have had no episodes of severe hypoglycaemia within the last 12 months, demonstrate full hypoglycaemic awareness, and provide medical evidence of stable diabetes control. This includes four weeks of glucose readings as part of an annual independent diabetes medical assessment when they apply for a licence.
All insulin-treated drivers must comply with glucose monitoring requirements, including checking glucose levels before driving and at regular intervals while driving. Monitoring may be undertaken using either finger-prick testing or continuous glucose monitoring systems, including Freestyle Libre.
For drivers using non-insulin diabetes medications, assessments focus on whether the treatment carries a risk of hypoglycaemia. Car and motorcycle drivers are required to notify the DVLA only if such a risk exists, while lorry and bus drivers must notify the DVLA of any diabetes medication use. In all cases, licence entitlement depends on evidence of stable diabetes management, appropriate monitoring, and effective hypoglycaemic control.
Changes to insulin or medication dosage do not automatically affect a person’s entitlement to drive.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency use in the consideration of applications for licence renewals from drivers who take (a) insulin and (b) diabetes medication.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) assesses licence applications from drivers using insulin or other diabetes medications based on the risk of hypoglycaemia and the stability of diabetes management.
Car and motorcycle drivers who use insulin must demonstrate adequate hypoglycaemic awareness and must not have experienced two or more episodes of severe hypoglycaemia in the previous 12 months. The most recent episode must have occurred more than three months prior to application. Drivers are also required to attend regular medical reviews and meet the statutory eyesight standards.
Drivers of lorries and buses are subject to more stringent medical requirements due to the size of their vehicles and the length of time they spend driving. They must have had no episodes of severe hypoglycaemia within the last 12 months, demonstrate full hypoglycaemic awareness, and provide medical evidence of stable diabetes control. This includes four weeks of glucose readings as part of an annual independent diabetes medical assessment when they apply for a licence.
All insulin-treated drivers must comply with glucose monitoring requirements, including checking glucose levels before driving and at regular intervals while driving. Monitoring may be undertaken using either finger-prick testing or continuous glucose monitoring systems, including Freestyle Libre.
For drivers using non-insulin diabetes medications, assessments focus on whether the treatment carries a risk of hypoglycaemia. Car and motorcycle drivers are required to notify the DVLA only if such a risk exists, while lorry and bus drivers must notify the DVLA of any diabetes medication use. In all cases, licence entitlement depends on evidence of stable diabetes management, appropriate monitoring, and effective hypoglycaemic control.
Changes to insulin or medication dosage do not automatically affect a person’s entitlement to drive.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will set out the process for driver licence renewals which are subject to the monitoring of blood sugar levels, including Freestyle Libre.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) assesses licence applications from drivers using insulin or other diabetes medications based on the risk of hypoglycaemia and the stability of diabetes management.
Car and motorcycle drivers who use insulin must demonstrate adequate hypoglycaemic awareness and must not have experienced two or more episodes of severe hypoglycaemia in the previous 12 months. The most recent episode must have occurred more than three months prior to application. Drivers are also required to attend regular medical reviews and meet the statutory eyesight standards.
Drivers of lorries and buses are subject to more stringent medical requirements due to the size of their vehicles and the length of time they spend driving. They must have had no episodes of severe hypoglycaemia within the last 12 months, demonstrate full hypoglycaemic awareness, and provide medical evidence of stable diabetes control. This includes four weeks of glucose readings as part of an annual independent diabetes medical assessment when they apply for a licence.
All insulin-treated drivers must comply with glucose monitoring requirements, including checking glucose levels before driving and at regular intervals while driving. Monitoring may be undertaken using either finger-prick testing or continuous glucose monitoring systems, including Freestyle Libre.
For drivers using non-insulin diabetes medications, assessments focus on whether the treatment carries a risk of hypoglycaemia. Car and motorcycle drivers are required to notify the DVLA only if such a risk exists, while lorry and bus drivers must notify the DVLA of any diabetes medication use. In all cases, licence entitlement depends on evidence of stable diabetes management, appropriate monitoring, and effective hypoglycaemic control.
Changes to insulin or medication dosage do not automatically affect a person’s entitlement to drive.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the resilience of the passenger rail network in the South West.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail is investing significantly in assets throughout the Western and Wales region, including in resilience to protect against storms and flooding in the South West. The storm events and particularly flooding that we have seen in the region recently have posed greater challenges than we have seen in the last few years. The rail industry continues to build plans to make our infrastructure more resilient including focusing on known black spots so that flooding instances are reduced, and where flooding and storms do occur, recovery of rail services can happen more quickly.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) average and (b) longest waiting time was for a driving test in Eastleigh constituency in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The attached Excel Spreadsheet shows the (a) average and (b) longest waiting time in weeks at driving test centres (DTC) that serve the Eastleigh constituency, for the financial years 2015/16 to the financial year to date (YTD).
Asked by: Tim Roca (Labour - Macclesfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time was for a practical car driving test at Macclesfield Test Centre in the most recent month for which data is available.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The average waiting time for a car practical driving test at Macclesfield driving test centre in December 2025, was 16 weeks.