Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to simplify the process by which disabled motorists in receipt of Personal Independence Payment are able to (a) apply for and (b) receive a vehicle tax reduction; and whether the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency plans to introduce an online system enabling eligible disabled drivers to (i) claim the 50 per cent vehicle tax discount and (ii) pay by direct debit.

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

Customers who receive the enhanced rate mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and whose vehicles are already licensed in the disabled taxation class can renew their vehicle excise duty (VED) exemption online.

Those customers who receive the standard rate mobility component of PIP which entitles them to a 50 per cent reduction in the rate of VED payable, must send their application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

Facilitating online applications by disabled customers to claim reduced rates of VED requires the electronic exchange of data held by the Department for Work and Pensions with the DVLA. Officials are considering how to improve the ability for customers in receipt of PIP to transact with the DVLA.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the areas expected to be at risk of major flooding by 2050; and whether her Department plans to introduce measures to restrict future (a) residential, (b) infrastructure and (c) transport development in those areas.

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

In January 2025, the Environment Agency published the updated National Flood Risk Assessment. With climate change, it is estimated that the number of properties in areas at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea will increase from 2.4 million to around 3.1 million between 2036 and 2069.

The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk.

Where development (be it residential, infrastructure of transport) is necessary, and where there are no suitable sites available in areas with a lower risk of flooding, local planning authorities and developers should ensure development is safe for its users for the development’s lifetime, will not increase flood risk overall and will provide wider sustainability benefits.

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Found: Members present • Ruth Jones MP (Chair) • Ann Davies MP • Gill German MP • Llinos Medi MP • Andrew Ranger

Found: Ruth Jones (Chair); David Chadwick; Ann Davies; Gill German; Simon Hoare; Ben Lake; Llinos Medi; Andrew Ranger

Found: Bangor Aberconwy) Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru; Ceredigion Preseli) Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru; Ynys MÙn) Andrew Ranger

Found: meeting Members present: Ruth Jones (Chair); David Chadwick; Ann Davies; Ben Lake; Llinos Medi; Andrew Ranger

Found: Jones (Chair); David Chadwick; Ann Davies; Gill German; Claire Hughes; Ben Lake; Llinos Medi; Andrew Ranger