Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help mitigate changes in construction costs and land prices linked to anticipated HS2 development in Crewe; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of those changes on local public projects.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As part of the Northern Growth Strategy, the government set out its intention to ultimately deliver a North-South new line between Birmingham and Manchester. This is not a reinstatement of HS2 and the government is yet to determine exactly what will be delivered and to what specification. Significant further work is required to develop plans before such decisions are made. We will engage with stakeholders, including Local Authorities, as this work takes place.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is taking to reduce the time taken to process driving licence renewal applications referred to its medical department.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) aims to process all applications as quickly as possible. In the interests of road safety, the DVLA must be satisfied that the required medical standards are met before a licence is issued.
Driving licence applications where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued can take longer to process as the DVLA is often reliant on receiving information from third parties, including medical professionals, before a licence can be issued.
The DVLA is currently experiencing an increase in both the volume and complexity of driving licence applications from people with one or more medical conditions. Unfortunately this has led to longer waiting times for some customers. In 2024/25 the DVLA made more than 830,000 medical licensing decisions with forecasts showing that more than 925,000 medical applications and notifications will be received in 2025/26.
To keep up with growing customer demand and to offer a better service, the DVLA is updating its online service and is launching a new casework system which will deliver significant improvements to drivers with medical conditions. These enhancements, alongside the recruitment of additional staff to deal with medical applications and answer telephone calls, will deliver real improvements for customers.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the UK’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure to support the transition required under the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that public charging provision, grid capacity, and local authority support keep pace with the increased number of electric vehicles expected as a result of the zero emission vehicles mandate on the automotive industry.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As of March 2025, there are over 118,000 public chargers across the UK. Both the 2024 NAO ‘public chargepoints for electric vehicles’ report, and the Climate Change Committee 2025 Progress report, concluded that charge point rollout is on track.
The majority of public chargepoints will be delivered by industry, who have already committed £6 billion of private sector investment before 2030. The Government’s £400 million Local Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure Fund supports local authorities in England to leverage significant private investment and is expected to deliver over 100,000 further local public charge points.
We are confident that the Grid can support the transition to EVs. The National Energy System Operator is investing over £58 billion to modernise and expand the electricity network.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support consumers to switch to electric vehicles.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has committed £7.5 billion over the next decade to support industry and the public as they transition to zero emission vehicles.
This includes the £2 billion Electric Car Grant, which has already supported over 80,000 drivers who have benefited from discounts of up to £3,750 across more than 40 models. This also includes the £600 million funding to support the rollout of charging infrastructure, with 118,321 public chargers installed already as of 1 March 2026.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
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 introducing a railcard for adults over the age of 30 who rely on regular rail travel for work in (a) the north and (b) other areas of England; and whether her Department plans to amend existing railcard schemes to support working age passengers.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Adults aged over 30 may be eligible for a number of national and regional railcards. Train operating companies also offer a range of products, such as season tickets, which can be used to support better value regular travel to work.
The Government has no current plans to review existing concessionary discounts. However, the Railways Bill gives Great British Railways the flexibility to update and expand concessionary offers as passenger needs change.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take legislative steps to require cyclists to wear helmets.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government strongly encourages cyclists to wear helmets, and this is reflected in The Highway Code, but there are no plans to mandate this.
A previous review of this matter concluded that the safety benefits of mandating helmets would be likely to be outweighed by the fact that it would put some people off cycling, thereby reducing the wider health and environmental benefits.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of available driving tests in Cheshire East.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
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 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that DVSA will take further actions to reduce waiting times for all customers across Great Britain.
Further information on these actions and progress of DVSA’s plan to reduce driving test waiting times, which was announced in December 2024, can be found on GOV.UK.
Cheshire East is served by a cluster of test centres including, Macclesfield, Buxton, Newcastle Cobridge and Crewe. DVSA also has a remote site at Northwich, which is resourced with driving examiners (DE) from Chester.
From recent recruitment campaigns, for the Macclesfield and Buxton cluster of test centres, two potential DEs are undertaking training with a further two awaiting confirmation of availability for a training course.
For the Crewe and Cobridge cluster of test centres, two potential DEs are ready to start training, with one starting on 14 July. DVSA has also made offers to two more potential DEs who will start their training at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of electrifying rail routes.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
This government expects electrification to play an important role to achieve our Net Zero 2050 target and, as such, we will continue to invest in electrification projects which will deliver value for money for the taxpayer. Electrification can also have wider benefits for the railway including increased reliability, cheaper operating costs and quicker journeys compared to diesel vehicles. Our strategy will be to focus on being more efficient with where we deliver electrification by leveraging the recent progress in battery technology. This will help to reduce the amount of electrification infrastructure that needs to be delivered to achieve our Net Zero target.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) English Devolution and (b) the statutory roles of Mayors on (i) rail freight paths and (ii) access.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government wants to bring decision making as close as possible to the communities those decisions impact. That is why we will give mayors a statutory role in governing, managing, planning and developing the Great British Railways (GBR) network.
This will ensure they will be appropriately consulted on GBR’s activity (including the development of railway plans, strategies and services), are able to scrutinise GBR’s performance. GBR will also be required to have due regard to devolved transport strategies.
An enhanced role for mayors will be balanced with GBR's role as the directing mind for the national network. The establishment of GBR will bring together responsibility for managing allocation of capacity and management of the infrastructure. GBR will therefore be able to make the best use of the rail network and provide a seamless service for passengers and freight users.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans her Department has to ensure the Integrated Transport Strategy prioritises road safety.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Integrated National Transport Strategy will be published this year and set the long-term vision for transport in England, recognising the key role transport must play in driving growth and opportunities. The exact scope of the Strategy is being developed through a series of engagement activities that include a Call for Ideas and Regional Roadshows, but we will look at all modes to understand how transport should be designed, built and operated to better serve its users.
Improving road safety is one of my highest priorities. Too many people are killed and seriously injured in road traffic collisions, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users. The Department is developing a road safety strategy and will set out more details in due course.