Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the impact of the (a) use of postal communication and (b) lack of digital alternatives at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency on service users.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The large majority of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s services are available digitally.
To reduce the use of postal communications, the DVLA has introduced digital reminders alongside existing options for both vehicle excise duty and driver licensing through its Driver and Vehicle Account. The DVLA has future plans to provide further secure communications through the account. These will be introduced following customer insight testing to ensure that they meet customer needs and are fully effective.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timetable is for announcing further details on the regulation of private electric scooters, as indicated in the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to pursuing legislative reform for micromobility vehicles when parliamentary time allows.
We understand the importance of providing a clear legislative timeline and my Department is working with colleagues across government to secure this.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many residential buildings have been decanted due to (a) unsafe cladding and (b) other fire safety defects in each year since the passage of the Building Safety Act 2022.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Building decants arise in one of two ways – either in a planned way as part of a schedule of works or in an emergency situation due to emerging safety concerns. Not all decants are reported to the Department, particularly if they are planned. Emergency decants are a local operational matter led either by the entity responsible for the building or by local regulators. Where emergency decants are reported to uswe work with local regulators and responsible entities to ensure residents are placed at the centre of decision-making by all parties.
In the past year, 10 emergency decants related to fire safety defects have been reported to the Department. We have also collaboratively with local regulators and other parties to prevent decants from taking place and since December 2023 this work has allowed more than 6000 households to remain in their homes safely.
When local authorities take enforcement action against a mid or high-rise residential building, the Department asks the local authority to voluntarily upload details to a designated data platform. Local authorities share details of buildings subject to enforcement under powers within the 2004 Housing Act, including inspections, information gathering notices and statutory notices requiring action (such as improvement and prohibition notices). Local authorities can also share data pertaining to remediation orders and remediation contribution orders under the Building Safety Act 2022. We publish enforcement information as part of the monthly remediation data release on gov.uk here.