Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have plan to ensure better data sharing between the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, the police, insurers and the Motor Insurers' Bureau to ensure action is taken against uninsured driving and driving after being banned.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Arrangements are already in place to support data sharing to tackle uninsured driving through Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE). Under CIE, DVLA vehicle records are compared with insurance data held by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau to identify vehicles that appear to be uninsured, enabling reminder letters to be issued and, where no action is taken, penalties and further enforcement action.
In addition, the Motor Insurers’ Bureau shares insurance data with police forces to support roadside enforcement, including through Automatic Number Plate Recognition and national activity such as Operation Tutelage. The Department and DVLA continue to work closely with law enforcement and insurance partners to ensure data is shared lawfully, effectively and proportionately, and keep these arrangements under review.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to improve public awareness of the penalties for (1) uninsured driving, and (2) failing to stop after an accident.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Enforcement of road traffic law is an operational matter for the police, and sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent courts.
Since 2011, Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) has enabled action to be taken against those who keep a vehicle without insurance. The scheme 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). Under CIE keepers of vehicles which appear to be uninsured are sent reminder letters. Those who take no action receive a fixed penalty of £100, followed by enforcement action including prosecution.
CIE supplements enforcement action taken by the police on the road. Since 2005 the police have had the power to seize vehicles that are being driven without insurance. In addition to a £300 fixed penalty and 6 penalty points on their licence for the offence, those whose vehicles have been seized face a cost to recover the vehicle and must provide proof that the vehicle has been insured. Seized vehicles that are not claimed within 14 days can be sold or crushed.
The Department for Transport published the consultation, “Proposed changes to penalties for motoring offences” on 7 January 2026. It sought views on changes to the motoring offences framework, including consideration of whether the minimum penalties for the offence of driving uninsured and failure to stop and report should be increased.
The consultation closed on 11 May 2026, and the Government is considering the responses.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, for measures to address road users who continue to drive after having been banned from driving.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Driving whilst disqualified is already a criminal offence, carrying a maximum penalty of an unlimited fine and/or 6 months’ imprisonment. This is in addition to any penalties for other offences committed during the same incident, such as driving without insurance, careless or dangerous driving, or drink or drug driving.
Enforcement of this offence is an operational matter for the police. Sentencing in individual cases, including the appropriate length of any sentence or further disqualification, is a matter for the independent courts. The courts may take account of relevant aggravating factors, including previous convictions and repeated non-compliance with court orders.
The Department keeps under review the penalties for the road traffic offences for which it is responsible to ensure that they remain appropriate and effective. As part of the recent motoring offences consultation, the Department sought views on whether, in cases where death or serious injury has occurred, the statutory time limit for driving unlicensed, uninsured or disqualified should be extended from 6 months to 18 months. Responses are now being analysed.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to address road users who drive without insurance.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Enforcement of road traffic law is an operational matter for the police, and sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent courts.
Since 2011, Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) has enabled action to be taken against those who keep a vehicle without insurance. The scheme 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). Under CIE keepers of vehicles which appear to be uninsured are sent reminder letters. Those who take no action receive a fixed penalty of £100, followed by enforcement action including prosecution.
CIE supplements enforcement action taken by the police on the road. Since 2005 the police have had the power to seize vehicles that are being driven without insurance. In addition to a £300 fixed penalty and 6 penalty points on their licence for the offence, those whose vehicles have been seized face a cost to recover the vehicle and must provide proof that the vehicle has been insured. Seized vehicles that are not claimed within 14 days can be sold or crushed.
The Department for Transport published the consultation, “Proposed changes to penalties for motoring offences” on 7 January 2026. It sought views on changes to the motoring offences framework, including consideration of whether the minimum penalties for the offence of driving uninsured and failure to stop and report should be increased.
The consultation closed on 11 May 2026, and the Government is considering the responses.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the importance for road safety of encouraging road users to select tyres carefully and fit them correctly, and to pay special attention to maintaining the rear axle of vehicles.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Maintaining tyres in good condition and ensuring they are appropriate for the vehicle, including across the same axle, is important for road safety. The MOT test includes checks to ensure that tyres are in a safe condition, are suitable for the vehicle, and are compatible across an axle. This includes consideration of tyre size and fitment to ensure they are not obviously unsuitable for use. However, it is not a substitute for proper maintenance and correct tyre selection by the user.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the upcoming expiration in February 2026 of the compulsory purchase powers for phase 2a of HS2 to Crewe, what alternative plans they have to relieve congestion on the west coast main line north of Birmingham.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Whilst we will not reverse the previous government’s decision to cancel Phase 2, we recognise concerns about rail capacity and connectivity between Birmingham and Manchester. We are reviewing our plans for future connectivity in the Midlands and the North, and we hope to say more soon, including our plans for land and property between Birmingham and Crewe.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the provision of a wider range of railway services on Boxing Day in 2026.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The department currently requires its operators to plan services and rail timetables that are designed to meet expected passenger demand and provide value for money for the taxpayer. Typically, demand for services on Boxing Day is low and much of the network is closed to provide opportunity for essential maintenance. We expect operators and in future, GBR, to continue to consider the case for Boxing Day services where there is demand and they do not further increase the burden on taxpayers.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 27 November (HL11894), why time changes of such small increments are used in the calculation of journey saving; and what assessment they have made of the extent to which time changes in these increments can be depended upon.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Our approach to the modelling and appraisal of journey time changes is intended to capture the behavioural choices of travellers, and the resulting impacts on the welfare of society.
There is evidence from everyday life of individuals making choices that suggest they value very small time savings. For instance, pedestrians may choose to cross rather than wait for traffic lights to change, while travellers may rush to catch an underground service, to save 1-2 minutes.
The most recent national study into passenger values of time (Arup et al, 2015), considered this issue, and we provided the rationale for capturing the full range of sizes of time saving as part of our 2016 consultation response on values of travel time.
Firstly, that appraisals are carried out ‘at the margin’ for an incremental scheme, and hence capturing time savings of any size and valuing them at a constant unit value provides a robust mathematical framework to aggregate impacts in a consistent fashion across appraisals.
Furthermore, to ensure a representative approach, we want to reflect the full spectrum of sizes of time saving attributable to different kinds of schemes and different modes. Our approach to the capturing of small time savings is consistent with appraisal frameworks in other countries, for example Sweden.
We intend to gather further evidence on the value of small increments of time savings as part of the next national value of time study, currently being planned.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 10 November (HL11340), in the Transport Analysis Guidance what, if anything, is the smallest period of time that can be taken into account in evaluating time saved by a scheme under consideration.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Transport models are capable of capturing almost any scale of changes in journey time, down to fractions of seconds. Typically, these are aggregated across travellers to provide a measure of the impact of the scheme.
In the Department’s Appraisal Summary Table, used to capture the key results in the appraisal, promoters are requested to provide a breakdown of the total monetary value of net journey time changes by the following increments:
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 10 November (HL11340), when were the Stated Preference Techniques used in Transport Analysis Guidance assessments last updated.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport’s (DfT’s) Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG) uses evidence based on a range of valuation methods, including Stated Preference (SP) techniques.
The valuations of changes to passenger travel time in TAG are based on a large-scale set of SP surveys carried out in 2014/15, which surveyed 9,000 individuals and businesses to understand travel behaviour, and elicited values relating to travel time and reliability, as well as parameters relating to journey quality. Findings from this research were implemented in TAG in 2017, and are kept under review.
Further guidance on journey quality impacts for bus and active mode travel are underpinned by SP studies undertaken in 2009 and 1996/7 respectively, while evidence on the ‘option value’ of rail travel is drawn from a 2006 SP study.
Aspects of the evidence base in TAG on impacts to life and health, used in the appraisal of environmental and safety impacts, draw on several SP studies undertaken during the 1990s.
The DfT regularly reviews the evidence base underpinning TAG to ensure it remains a robust basis for investment decision-making. This includes commissioning new research using a variety of valuation methods. A notable recent example relates to the 2023 DfT and National Highways-commissioned study into road freight values of travel time, which utilised SP techniques.