Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
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 proposed airport expansions at (a) Farnborough, (b) Heathrow and (c) Gatwick on transport infrastructure in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has made no assessment of the potential impact of proposed airport expansion at Farnborough Airport on transport infrastructure in Surrey and Surrey Heath constituency. Farnborough Airport Limited has submitted a planning application to Rushmoor Borough Council. The Department for Transport has no role to play in decision making relating to the planning application.
For Heathrow, the Government recognises the vital role that surface access will play as part of any future expansion of Heathrow Airport. As part of the review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), launched on 22 October 2025, we will consider the transport infrastructure required to support a third runway. This will include considering the impacts for travellers from different regions and the surrounding communities. While it would not be appropriate to pre-empt the outcome of the ANPS review at this stage, it will be the responsibility of any expansion promoter to set out a surface access strategy demonstrating how they will meet the requirements set out in the ANPS as part of any Development Consent Order (DCO) application.
On 21 September 2025, the Transport Secretary approved Gatwick Airport’s application for expansion. Her decision letter, published on GOV.UK, sets out her considerations and the requirements of the planning consent; this includes improvements to highways infrastructure and Gatwick Airport’s commitments to promote the use of public transport.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to review the British Standard for number plates to ensure it remains fit for purpose in supporting (a) enforcement and (b) public safety.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The British Standard for Retroreflective Number Plates (BS AU 145e) is published by the British Standards Institution (BSI).
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is part of the BSI committee that has reviewed this standard and the committee has recently proposed a number of amendments. The proposed amendments are intended to stop the production of number plates with raised characters, often referred to as 3D or 4D number plates and will prevent easy access to plates with ‘ghost’ characteristics. The proposals will also prevent suppliers from adding acrylic letters and numbers to the surface of the number, meaning any finished number plate must be flat. The proposed changes have been subject to a public consultation which closed on 13 December 2025.
The DVLA is working to further reduce the number of vehicles that have no registered keeper or are unlicensed. There are long-standing and robust measures, including legislative requirements, in place to ensure that keepers notify the DVLA when they buy and sell a vehicle. It is an offence to use a vehicle that does not have a registered keeper. The DVLA also has processes in place to correct records when it is made aware of inaccuracies.
Based on the latest available data, more than 93 per cent of vehicle keepers are contactable and traceable based on the information held on the DVLA’s records. Of the remainder, around 6% are in the motor trade, where a vehicle may legitimately have no registered keeper.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the accuracy of vehicle registration data captured by Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The British Standard for Retroreflective Number Plates (BS AU 145e) is published by the British Standards Institution (BSI).
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is part of the BSI committee that has reviewed this standard and the committee has recently proposed a number of amendments. The proposed amendments are intended to stop the production of number plates with raised characters, often referred to as 3D or 4D number plates and will prevent easy access to plates with ‘ghost’ characteristics. The proposals will also prevent suppliers from adding acrylic letters and numbers to the surface of the number, meaning any finished number plate must be flat. The proposed changes have been subject to a public consultation which closed on 13 December 2025.
The DVLA is working to further reduce the number of vehicles that have no registered keeper or are unlicensed. There are long-standing and robust measures, including legislative requirements, in place to ensure that keepers notify the DVLA when they buy and sell a vehicle. It is an offence to use a vehicle that does not have a registered keeper. The DVLA also has processes in place to correct records when it is made aware of inaccuracies.
Based on the latest available data, more than 93 per cent of vehicle keepers are contactable and traceable based on the information held on the DVLA’s records. Of the remainder, around 6% are in the motor trade, where a vehicle may legitimately have no registered keeper.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps are being taken to improve (a) data quality and (b) error correction processes within vehicle-related databases relied upon by enforcement authorities.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The British Standard for Retroreflective Number Plates (BS AU 145e) is published by the British Standards Institution (BSI).
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is part of the BSI committee that has reviewed this standard and the committee has recently proposed a number of amendments. The proposed amendments are intended to stop the production of number plates with raised characters, often referred to as 3D or 4D number plates and will prevent easy access to plates with ‘ghost’ characteristics. The proposals will also prevent suppliers from adding acrylic letters and numbers to the surface of the number, meaning any finished number plate must be flat. The proposed changes have been subject to a public consultation which closed on 13 December 2025.
The DVLA is working to further reduce the number of vehicles that have no registered keeper or are unlicensed. There are long-standing and robust measures, including legislative requirements, in place to ensure that keepers notify the DVLA when they buy and sell a vehicle. It is an offence to use a vehicle that does not have a registered keeper. The DVLA also has processes in place to correct records when it is made aware of inaccuracies.
Based on the latest available data, more than 93 per cent of vehicle keepers are contactable and traceable based on the information held on the DVLA’s records. Of the remainder, around 6% are in the motor trade, where a vehicle may legitimately have no registered keeper.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had recent discussions with Surrey County Council on the review of speed limits on arterial roads in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I have not held any recent discussions with Surrey County Council regarding a review of speed limits on arterial roads in the Surrey Heath constituency.
Local traffic authorities are responsible for making decisions about their own roads, based on their knowledge of the area and taking into account local needs and circumstances. This includes setting local speed limits.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of public awareness of road safety issues relating to (a) drug and (b) drink driving in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
In respect of drug driving, as the THINK! campaign, launched on the 24th Novmeber is still running. The Department has not yet made an assessment of its reach and impact as this will be evaluated in full next year.
In respect of the 2025 THINK! summer drink driving campaign, at a national level 9 in 10 of those who saw or heard the campaign took action as a result. There was a significant increase in the proportion of young male drivers who said they are very likely to have a 0% alcohol alternative when driving, up from 31% pre- to 42% post-campaign.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with local authorities on (a) public awareness and (b) education on (i) drug and (ii) drink driving in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department for Transport routinely engages with local authorities to assist them with using and promoting our campaigns, and we work closely with Road Safety GB who help disseminate and coordinate our outreach to their network of road safety officers and professionals.
My department has recently engaged with contacts at Surrey Roadsafe who have helped promote our THINK! drink and drug driving campaigns through their channels. Surrey Roadsafe is a road safety partnership, comprising: Surrey Police, Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner, Surrey County Council, Surrey Fire and Rescue and National Highways.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
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 providing police officers with additional roadside powers in cases where a driver has tested positive for (a) drugs or (b) alcohol.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We are considering a range of policies under the new Road Safety Strategy; the first for ten years. This includes the case for changing the motoring offences, such as drink and drug driving.
We will set out more details in due course.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what fiscal steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to reduce costs for commuters in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 5 December, the Government confirmed investment of over £3 billion for the rest of the Spending Review period to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services for millions of passengers.
This includes funding to extend the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027, ensuring that millions of people can access affordable bus fares and better opportunities all over the country.
This investment also includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year, ending the short-term approach to bus funding and giving councils the certainty they need to plan. Surrey County Council has been allocated £33.6 million for 2026/27 to 2028/29. Local authorities will have the flexibility to use this funding to meet local needs, which could include introducing local fares schemes to further reduce the cost of bus travel.
In respect of rail travel, the Chancellor and Transport Secretary have announced that regulated rail fares will be frozen for a year from March 2026, for the first time in 30 years. Over a billion journeys are going to be affected by this freeze with season tickets, anytime returns on commuter routes, and off-peak returns on longer-distance routes all subject to the freeze. Commuters in the Surrey Heath constituency could save over £200 on season tickets into London.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that South Western Railway rail replacement bus services are fully wheelchair accessible in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Regulatory requirements apply to South Western Railway (SWR) to ensure rail replacement buses meet the necessary standards on accessibility across their network, including in Surrey Heath constituency. SWR works with its rail replacement providers to ensure services are accessible as far as possible, but if accessible options are not available, SWR will arrange alternative accessible transport.