Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2026 to Question 120039, (a) what the purpose was of each flight to Maldives; (b) which Ministers and senior officials approved each visit; (c) how many officials travelled on each occasion and at what grade; (d) what the cost was of each visit; and (e) whether an assessment was made of whether those engagements could be (i) conducted remotely and (ii) combined with other travel.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking following the trial of higher parking penalty charge notices in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council in August 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council has published a report on their month‑long trial of higher PCNs. The Department is reviewing the findings of this trial.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the level of parking penalty charge notices in deterring nuisance parking.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The British Parking Association, the Local Government Association and other key stakeholders have been collaborating to gather comprehensive evidence on the effectiveness of current PCN levels in England outside London. Their findings and recommendations have been submitted to the Department for Transport which will be carefully considered before any decisions are taken.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 March 2026 to Question 123516, whether her Department plans to begin holding data on average or individual replacement battery costs for electric vehicles.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has no plans to collect and hold the data on average or individual replacement battery costs for EVs, but will closely monitor this issue through continued engagement with industry and consumer groups.
The Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate regulations require manufacturers to provide a warranty of 8 years or 100,000 miles on EV batteries. During the warranty period, if battery capacity drops below 70% for cars or 65% for vans, the manufacturer must provide a replacement battery. Additionally, eligibility for the Government’s Electric Car Grant requires manufacturers to offer customers a 2-year extension on the warranty to 10 years, ensuring vehicles and their batteries have long useable lives.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 March 2026 to Question 123517 on Electric Vehicles: Costs, when her Department expects to conclude its exploration of regulatory options on battery state of health information; and whether she plans to lay proposals before the House.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 13 April 2026, the Department launched a public consultation on updating the minimum emission standards for new road vehicles to Euro 7. As part of these proposals, manufacturers would be required to fit electric vehicles with accurate, accessible and comparable battery health monitors. The consultation will remain open until 25 May 2026.
The Government is seeking views on these proposals through that consultation. No final decisions have been taken. Should the proposals be taken forward, they would be laid before the House.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 March 2026 to Question 122220, what the total cost is of mobilising the new sponsorship model and team referred to in that Answer.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There has been no additional cost to the public purse in establishing the new DFTO sponsorship model and team. The team was formed by redeploying existing staff.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 24 March 2026 to WPQ 120039, what the purpose was of each flight to Albania; which Ministers and senior officials approved each visit; how many officials travelled on each occasion and at what grade; what the cost was of each visit; and whether an assessment was made of whether those engagements could be (a) conducted remotely and (b) combined with other travel.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There was a single return flight to Albania, and this was to enable an official to attend a conference of the joint United Nations and World Health Organisation Pan European Programme for Transport, Health and the Environment. A single official at HEO grade attended and no ministers or senior officials were present. The cost of the flight was £144.96. There was no option to attend this event remotely.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, a) what assessment she has made of progress towards delivering an additional one million pothole repairs per year; b) whether the Government is currently on track to meet that target in (i) 2025–26 and (ii) 2026–27; c) what steps she plans to take if delivery is below the level required to meet that commitment.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government’s record £7.3 billion investment over the next four years will bring annual funding for local authorities to repair and renew their roads and fix potholes to over £2 billion annually, doubling annual funding by 2029-30 compared to 2024-25 levels. This funding increase is enough to enable local authorities to fill millions of additional potholes in each year of this Parliament when compared to 2024-25. At the same time, the Department is also expecting local highway authorities to adopt best practice in highways maintenance, which includes a greater focus on preventative maintenance so that fewer potholes form in the first place and a greater focus on permanent pothole repairs to reduce the need for repeated and more costly temporary repairs.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2026 to Question 116554, whether her Department has corroborated the findings of Thatcham Research; whether any UK fire and rescue services have provided data on hybrid vehicle fire incidence rates; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that policy is based on transparent and independently verifiable evidence.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has not corroborated the findings of Thatcham Research, nor has it received data on hybrid vehicle fire incidents from Fire & Rescue Services. The Chief Scientific Advisors at the Department for Transport and Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government co-chair a regular Technical Steering Group, attended by Government officials, industry representatives, Fire & Rescue Service representatives, and academic experts to review current scientific literature relating to electric vehicle fires, identify gaps in understanding, and advise on how these may be addressed.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 118042, what alternative methods the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency uses to identify the source of applications for driving examiner roles.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All driving examiner (DE) applications are made through Civil Service Jobs on GOV.UK.
Whilst the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) cannot get details of applicant referral sources from the Government Recruitment Service, for campaigns up to November 2025, DVSA used the data available from the civil service recruitment standard applicants survey. This shows which advertising routes generate candidates, however the information does not give 100% coverage.
In December 2025, DVSA introduced a DVSA specific survey. This is sent to everyone who is offered an interview. This is then followed by another survey sent to anyone who successfully moves onto training. DVSA will cross-reference the data from these two surveys going forward, but for now DVSA has data for only one complete and one ongoing campaign.