Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of restricting NHS staff from striking.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
An impact assessment was completed and published online by the Department for Business and Trade on the Repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Services Levels) Act 2023. The Government has repealed these restrictions on striking National Health Service staff via the Employment Rights Act, which has come into effect with royal assent in December 2025. The impact assessment is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67129a858a62ffa8df77b3de/Impact_assessment_repeal_strikes_minimum_service_levels_act_2023.pdf
The Government will continue to work constructively with all NHS unions to avoid disrupting services for patients.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
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 the flight to Sierra Leone; which Ministers and senior officials approved the visit; how many officials travelled on that occasion and at what grade; what the cost was of the 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)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
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 on Department for Transport: Aviation, what the purpose was of each flight to Slovakia; 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)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
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 on Department for Transport: Aviation, what the purpose was of each flight to Tanzania; 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)
The Department for Transport (DfT) has supported the protection of UK nationals, UK economic interests and the resilience of global maritime trade by strengthening maritime security overseas, particularly in relation to terrorism and major security threats. DfT has acted to build and enhance international maritime security capacity by working collaboratively with partner states to improve compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, thereby reducing risk to the UK’s supply chains, energy routes and the UK‑registered and wider Red Ensign Group shipping fleet. In March 2025 two DfT officials (1 x Higher Executive Officer and 1 x Senior Executive Officer) visited Tanzania to deliver capacity development workshops, undertake port security surveys and participate in a Women in Maritime symposium.
The visit was approved by a Deputy Director (Senior Civil Servant) in DfT’s Transport Security Division in line with departmental policy. The total cost of the visit was £8,584.42.
As part of the planning process, consideration was given to whether the engagement could be conducted remotely or combined with other official travel. While some preparatory and follow up activity was undertaken virtually, aspects of the engagement required on site delivery and therefore could not be fully conducted remotely.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average processing time was for driving licence applications in each month since December 2025 up to and including the most recent month for which figures are available.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The table below shows the average number of working days taken to process driving licence applications made both online and not online
from January 2026 to date for both group 1 (cars and motorcycle) and group 2 (lorry and bus) applications.
| Group 1 | Group 2 | ||
Date | Online Applications | Non-Online Applications | Online Applications | Non-Online Applications |
Jan-26 | 1.3 | 4.8 | 1.0 | 3.2 |
Feb-26 | 1.2 | 6.2 | 1.0 | 4.5 |
Mar-26 | 1.2 | 7.0 | 1.0 | 5.1 |
Apr-26 (to 14/04) | 1.2 | 7.3 | 1.0 | 6.4 |
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2026 to Question 122317 on Railways: North of England, what the timetable is for (a) completing and (b) publishing a long-term strategy for the York area.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The decision was taken at the Spending Review to pause the project until a long-term strategy for the route can be developed further. The scheme will remain under review to ensure it can be delivered in the most effective way as part of a holistic strategy of investment.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving test centres are in operation; what their maximum testing capacity is; what the utilisation rate is of each centre; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to booking arrangements on (i) waiting times and (ii) test slot utilisation.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Answers to written questions 101471 of 6 January, 104860 of 22 January, 122532 of 25 March, and 124195 of 17 April 2026, respectively provide data on how many full-time equivalent (FTE) driving examiners (DE) employed by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) were (a) in post and (b) delivering practical car driving tests for each month from July 2024 to March 2026.
In March 2026, DVSA provided car practical driving tests from 318 driving test centres (DTC). The national average utilisation figure was 75.74% in that month. The attached spreadsheet (WPQ-00066952) provides the utilisation figures for all DTCs in the same period. The capacity of each DTC will vary depending on the services it provides and whether DEs work full or part-time.
DVSA takes a view of the number of DEs it needs, based on demand at a national level, then split down to test centre. The agency is working on a detailed view of DE requirements, based on demand forecast modelling at test centre level, rather than nationally. DVSA expects to have that view in summer 2026.
Utilisation of DE time measures how much of a DE’s available deployable working time is used to deliver driving tests, rather than individual effort or productivity.
The intention of the forthcoming changes to practical test booking arrangements will make the system fairer for genuine learners by reducing exploitation and churn. Other measures DVSA is deploying (such as recruiting more examiners and carrying out more overtime) are designed to improve waiting times and utilisation.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) driving examiners were employed by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency in each month since July 2024, (b) examiners were fully qualified and deployable in each of those months and (c) vacant driving examiner posts there were in each month for which data is available.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Answers to written questions 101471 of 6 January, 104860 of 22 January, 122532 of 25 March, and 124195 of 17 April 2026, respectively provide data on how many full-time equivalent (FTE) driving examiners (DE) employed by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) were (a) in post and (b) delivering practical car driving tests for each month from July 2024 to March 2026.
In March 2026, DVSA provided car practical driving tests from 318 driving test centres (DTC). The national average utilisation figure was 75.74% in that month. The attached spreadsheet (WPQ-00066952) provides the utilisation figures for all DTCs in the same period. The capacity of each DTC will vary depending on the services it provides and whether DEs work full or part-time.
DVSA takes a view of the number of DEs it needs, based on demand at a national level, then split down to test centre. The agency is working on a detailed view of DE requirements, based on demand forecast modelling at test centre level, rather than nationally. DVSA expects to have that view in summer 2026.
Utilisation of DE time measures how much of a DE’s available deployable working time is used to deliver driving tests, rather than individual effort or productivity.
The intention of the forthcoming changes to practical test booking arrangements will make the system fairer for genuine learners by reducing exploitation and churn. Other measures DVSA is deploying (such as recruiting more examiners and carrying out more overtime) are designed to improve waiting times and utilisation.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2026 to Question 122116, whether the Government has plans to establish a targeted national relief scheme specifically for disruption arising from roadworks.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has no plans to establish a targeted national relief scheme specifically for disruption arising from roadworks. Local authorities are responsible for managing and mitigating the impacts of roadworks in their areas.
The Government’s focus is on minimising disruption through stronger coordination, enforcement, and tools such as permit schemes and lane rental.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 April 2026 to Question 124238 on Electric Vehicles: Charging Points, how many applicants have successfully received funding under the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant for Households with On-Street Parking; and what the total value is of funding awarded under that scheme.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As of 1 January 2026, the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant for Households with On-Street Parking grant has funded 39 sockets with a grant value of £13,531. The grant funds the installation of charge points at residential properties with on-street parking if they are also installing a cross-pavement solution. This grant is in addition to the £25 million Electric Vehicle Pavement Channels Grant for local authorities.
The Government has consulted on measures to reduce planning permission requirements for cross-pavement solutions, further supporting households with on-street parking, and will be responding in due course.