Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce delays at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in processing driving licence decisions where medical evidence has been submitted.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No specific assessment has been undertaken on delays affecting drivers from West Dorset or the South West. There are no delays in applications for a licence where there is no medical condition involved. The DVLA’s target for driving licence applications is to dispatch 95 per cent within three working days for straightforward online applications and 90 per cent within ten working days for straightforward paper applications. In the current financial year, the DVLA has achieved 100 per cent for online applications and 99.9 per cent for paper applications.
Driving licence applications where a medical condition(s) must be investigated before a licence can be issued can take longer as the DVLA is often reliant on information from third parties, including medical professionals, before a licence can be issued. For 2025/26 the average time to make a licensing decision in cases where a medical condition(s) must be investigated before a licence could be issued to 16 March is 56.67 days.
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. 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 that 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: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average processing time is for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to assess driving licence applications following the submission of medical information.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No specific assessment has been undertaken on delays affecting drivers from West Dorset or the South West. There are no delays in applications for a licence where there is no medical condition involved. The DVLA’s target for driving licence applications is to dispatch 95 per cent within three working days for straightforward online applications and 90 per cent within ten working days for straightforward paper applications. In the current financial year, the DVLA has achieved 100 per cent for online applications and 99.9 per cent for paper applications.
Driving licence applications where a medical condition(s) must be investigated before a licence can be issued can take longer as the DVLA is often reliant on information from third parties, including medical professionals, before a licence can be issued. For 2025/26 the average time to make a licensing decision in cases where a medical condition(s) must be investigated before a licence could be issued to 16 March is 56.67 days.
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. 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 that 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: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to reduce processing delays at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for drivers in the South West.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No specific assessment has been undertaken on delays affecting drivers from West Dorset or the South West. There are no delays in applications for a licence where there is no medical condition involved. The DVLA’s target for driving licence applications is to dispatch 95 per cent within three working days for straightforward online applications and 90 per cent within ten working days for straightforward paper applications. In the current financial year, the DVLA has achieved 100 per cent for online applications and 99.9 per cent for paper applications.
Driving licence applications where a medical condition(s) must be investigated before a licence can be issued can take longer as the DVLA is often reliant on information from third parties, including medical professionals, before a licence can be issued. For 2025/26 the average time to make a licensing decision in cases where a medical condition(s) must be investigated before a licence could be issued to 16 March is 56.67 days.
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. 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 that 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: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of processing delays at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency on drivers in West Dorset.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No specific assessment has been undertaken on delays affecting drivers from West Dorset or the South West. There are no delays in applications for a licence where there is no medical condition involved. The DVLA’s target for driving licence applications is to dispatch 95 per cent within three working days for straightforward online applications and 90 per cent within ten working days for straightforward paper applications. In the current financial year, the DVLA has achieved 100 per cent for online applications and 99.9 per cent for paper applications.
Driving licence applications where a medical condition(s) must be investigated before a licence can be issued can take longer as the DVLA is often reliant on information from third parties, including medical professionals, before a licence can be issued. For 2025/26 the average time to make a licensing decision in cases where a medical condition(s) must be investigated before a licence could be issued to 16 March is 56.67 days.
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. 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 that 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: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to prevent a reduction in apprenticeship starts among employers who pay into the levy but whose levy funds do not cover full training costs.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 9 February 2026 to Question UIN 109925.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the August 2025 apprenticeship funding changes on employer participation in engineering and other high-cost apprenticeship standards.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 9 February 2026 to Question UIN 109925.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding will be available for new applications to the Landscape Recovery Scheme in the next application round.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. Defra has set out how it plans to spend this budget on its farming blog here and here.
Landscape Recovery is part of the Environmental Land Management offer. Projects run over multiple years. In December 2025, Defra announced plans to spend £500m on the implementation of the first tranche of Round 1 agreements over the next 25 years. Further details on the timing of future rounds, and their funding, will follow in due course.
In line with its obligations under the Agriculture Act 2020, Defra regularly publishes an annual report, setting out commitments in the previous financial year, including Farming and Countryside Programme spend broken down by each scheme. The latest report, covering financial year 2024/25, can be accessed here: Farming and Countryside Programme annual report 2024 to 2025 (HTML version) - GOV.UK
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much is the total annual funding allocation for the Landscape Recovery Scheme for the current and next financial year.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. Defra has set out how it plans to spend this budget on its farming blog here and here.
Landscape Recovery is part of the Environmental Land Management offer. Projects run over multiple years. In December 2025, Defra announced plans to spend £500m on the implementation of the first tranche of Round 1 agreements over the next 25 years. Further details on the timing of future rounds, and their funding, will follow in due course.
In line with its obligations under the Agriculture Act 2020, Defra regularly publishes an annual report, setting out commitments in the previous financial year, including Farming and Countryside Programme spend broken down by each scheme. The latest report, covering financial year 2024/25, can be accessed here: Farming and Countryside Programme annual report 2024 to 2025 (HTML version) - GOV.UK
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of combined sewage overflows discharging into the South Winterborne at Martinstown on the environment.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency regularly assess the impact of storm overflows on the environment, including those discharging into the South Winterborne at Martinstown.
Water companies are installing continuous water quality monitors to quantify the impacts of sewerage undertaker assets, including storm overflows, on the quality of receiving watercourses.