Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of skills shortages in the vehicle repair and salvage sector on (a) road safety, (b) insurance costs and (c) repair times, in the context of increasing vehicle complexity.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In October 2024, we formed the motor insurance taskforce, which worked across government, bringing together departments and independent regulators to understand the complexities of the market and to agree a set of actions to help stabilise and reduce premiums. The final taskforce report was published on 10 December 2025.
Member departments included the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Education, who as part of the taskforce, are acting to address the broader factors that contribute to the cost of claims.
This includes transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will offer greater flexibility to employers and learners and support the industrial strategy. For example, government is providing £182m over the next 3 years to develop engineering skills to allow the development of short courses specially targeted at engineering skills to support the advanced manufacturing, clean energy and digital sectors. It will also fund the rollout of 14 new Technical Excellence Colleges (TEC), including four in Advanced Manufacturing and related sectors.
There has also been an increase in vehicle technicians, mechanics and electrician apprenticeships with nearly 13,000 completed in the last 5 reported years and 4,000 of these in the latest year, 2024/25. The number of EV-trained technicians is also increasing through industry-led measures such as upskilling and continuous professional development.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to review existing guidance on the categorisation and repair of written-off vehicles, in the context of advancing vehicle technologies, including electric and hybrid vehicles.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has no plans to promote awareness of vehicle write-off categories or to make the Association of British Insurers’ (ABI) Code of Practice for the Categorisation of Motor Vehicle Salvage (‘Code of Practice’) statutory. This is because the code is owned and was established by the motor insurance industry through the ABI, as part of their efforts to improve road safety by ensuring that unsafe vehicles do not end up back on the roads.
There is already guidance titled ‘Scrapping your vehicle and insurance write-offs’ which can be found at gov.uk, this includes information on vehicle write-off categories and how and when to inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
The Government also has no plans to review existing guidance with regards to electric and hybrid vehicles. The latest version of the ‘Code of Practice’, published in May 2025, includes guidance on ‘High Voltage (HV) Battery Electric Vehicles (Over 60 Volts)’.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what considerations her Department has given to placing the ABI Salvage Code of Practice on a statutory footing.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has no plans to promote awareness of vehicle write-off categories or to make the Association of British Insurers’ (ABI) Code of Practice for the Categorisation of Motor Vehicle Salvage (‘Code of Practice’) statutory. This is because the code is owned and was established by the motor insurance industry through the ABI, as part of their efforts to improve road safety by ensuring that unsafe vehicles do not end up back on the roads.
There is already guidance titled ‘Scrapping your vehicle and insurance write-offs’ which can be found at gov.uk, this includes information on vehicle write-off categories and how and when to inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
The Government also has no plans to review existing guidance with regards to electric and hybrid vehicles. The latest version of the ‘Code of Practice’, published in May 2025, includes guidance on ‘High Voltage (HV) Battery Electric Vehicles (Over 60 Volts)’.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to raise public awareness of vehicle write-off categories.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has no plans to promote awareness of vehicle write-off categories or to make the Association of British Insurers’ (ABI) Code of Practice for the Categorisation of Motor Vehicle Salvage (‘Code of Practice’) statutory. This is because the code is owned and was established by the motor insurance industry through the ABI, as part of their efforts to improve road safety by ensuring that unsafe vehicles do not end up back on the roads.
There is already guidance titled ‘Scrapping your vehicle and insurance write-offs’ which can be found at gov.uk, this includes information on vehicle write-off categories and how and when to inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
The Government also has no plans to review existing guidance with regards to electric and hybrid vehicles. The latest version of the ‘Code of Practice’, published in May 2025, includes guidance on ‘High Voltage (HV) Battery Electric Vehicles (Over 60 Volts)’.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department worked with the Home Office in the development of the Government’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
My Department has been closely involved in the development of the Government’s Violence Against Women and Girls (Freedom from Violence and Abuse) Strategy, which includes nine commitments to help improve safety for women and girls on the transport network. These commitments focus on prevention, early intervention and response, and align with the Government’s ambition to halve VAWG within a decade.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how her Department plans to promote the National Year of Reading within early years policy and strategy during 2026 and beyond.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Newbury to the answer of 16 February 2026 to Question 111973.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to address the decline in populations of British wild birds.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are committed to delivering our statutory biodiversity targets which will support the recovery and conservation of native wild birds.
Nationally, Government actions to restore and create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat by 2042, along with projects funded through Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme, will support the conservation and recovery of a wide range of bird species. Within the farmland environment, Environment Land Management schemes include actions that provide food, shelter, and nesting habitat for a range of bird species.
In addition, to support delivery of our statutory species targets, Defra is developing a detailed Threatened Bird Recovery Plan which aims to improve the coordination, and drive the delivery, of actions to recover our most threatened bird species.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what processes are in place to identify and manage conflicts of interest involving members of the board of AWE.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
AWE operates within an assured framework of corporate governance arrangements to ensure that the company conducts its business ethically, transparently and in the public interest.
As part of these arrangements, all AWE Board members are vetted for potential professional conflicts of interest and are subject to the highest levels of security vetting. A register of interests is updated at each AWE Board meeting to ensure that no Board member facing a conflict of interest participates in related discussions or decision making.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of workforce planning and recruitment practices at AWE in recent years.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I am taking a keen interest in the negotiations and continue to urge dialogue, meaningful consultation and a constructive resolution between AWE and Prospect.
The Ministry of Defence keeps AWE’s processes under regular review to support the delivery of crucial defence outputs, both now and in the future.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the progress of consultations between AWE and Prospect.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I am taking a keen interest in the negotiations and continue to urge dialogue, meaningful consultation and a constructive resolution between AWE and Prospect.
The Ministry of Defence keeps AWE’s processes under regular review to support the delivery of crucial defence outputs, both now and in the future.