Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people have been disqualified or suspended from driving due to not holding a valid insurance policy over the last 12 months.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The courts are responsible for convicting and sentencing individuals for road traffic offences and notify the DVLA of any driving endorsement ordered following a conviction and sentence.
The offence of using a motor vehicle while uninsured is represented by DVLA offence code IN10. Should an individual be convicted of offence IN10 they could face a fine, 6 to 8 penalty points or a period of disqualification. There were 2,564 drivers between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025 where a disqualification was recorded against offence code IN10 on the driver record.
There is a possibility that there could be some records where someone has been disqualified for multiple offences where an IN10 was one of those offences, but the disqualification may not be recorded against IN10 in the statistics.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many pothole damage claims there were in 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport does not hold information on the number of pothole damage claims in 2025.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with major airports on tackling noise pollution.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Ministers and officials engage regularly with airports on a range of issues including noise pollution.
Major airports are required to produce noise action plans every five years. Current plans cover the period 2024-2028 and have been published on airports’ websites.
The government also sets noise controls at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. At other airports, appropriate noise controls should be set locally through the planning system.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps are being taken to improve regional transport.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Department is delivering improved regional transport through the £92 billion Spending Review settlement it received, driving the biggest boost to transport infrastructure in a generation and unlocking schemes that deliver for the taxpayer and support growth. In addition, where transport is devolved, the governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have received the largest ever block grants in real terms, giving them record funding to invest in their own priorities.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has considered offering incentives to employers to introduce more walking or cycling to work schemes.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Cycle to Work Scheme has helped millions of people choose a healthier, greener way to travel while boosting local economies and supporting jobs. The scheme provides a range of savings and other benefits to employers from their employees using the scheme within the rules set by HM Revenue and Customs, HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the time taken for driving tests and MOTs.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The national average waiting time in Great Britain (GB) for a car practical driving test in November 2025 was 22 weeks.
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 across GB. The agency is intensifying its efforts to reduce waiting times and improve access to driving tests that will break down barriers to opportunity as part of the government’s Plan for Change.
On the 12 November, the Secretary of State for Transport, updated the Transport Select Committee on the government’s ongoing response to high driving test waiting times in GB. Further information on the measures announced can be found on GOV.uk.
DVSA supervises the delivery of light vehicle MOTs in GB through its approved MOT garages. However, as these are private garages, DVSA does not collate overall average waiting time data for MOTs.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve electric vehicle charging provision.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
While transport in Northern Ireland is largely devolved to the Department for Infrastructure, the Department for Transport is supporting Northern Ireland’s transition to zero emission vehicles and has regular meetings to discuss the transition. Additionally, through Round 1 of the Levelling Up Fund, we are providing up to £3.27 million to upgrade and expand the electric vehicle charging network. Previously, two grants totalling £1.38 million were awarded under the On Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve regional air travel.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Regional airports serve our local communities and act as a gateway to international opportunities, alongside maintaining social and family ties and strengthening the bonds between the four nations.
The UK aviation market operates predominantly in the private sector. It is for airports to invest in their infrastructure to attract passengers and airlines, while airlines are well placed to deliver services to their customers by responding to demand for different routes.
The public service obligation (PSO) regulations enable the protection of existing domestic routes that are in danger of being lost. The government currently joint-funds three PSO routes into London from Derry/Londonderry, Newquay and Dundee.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with British Airways on reducing the number of cancelled flights.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The resilience of the UK aviation sector is key to its success. As UK aviation operates predominately in the private sector, it is the responsibility of industry to ensure appropriate contingency plans are in place to minimise potential disruption and cancellations.
My officials regularly engage with the aviation sector to discuss strategies in place to minimise disruption and cancellations and ensure resilience exists across the network to deliver for their customers. This involves regular communication with airlines, including British Airways, airports, ground handling agents and industry bodies.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve road safety outside schools.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The safety of our roads is an absolute priority for this Government.
Local authorities have a range of traffic management measures available to them to help improve safety outside schools including reducing speed limits, traffic calming, and introduction of a School Street where appropriate. On 19 November 2024 Active Travel England and the Department for Transport published joint School Streets Guidance. The guidance is available at School Streets: how to set up and manage a scheme - GOV.UK