Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking with the (a) police and (b) Home Office to help tackle (i) unlicensed drivers obtaining vehicles though registration loopholes and (ii) vehicles disappearing from systems but still using the roads.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) takes the accuracy of its vehicle register seriously. It is crucial that registered keeper details are accurate for road safety and law enforcement purposes. The latest available data shows that more than 92 per cent of vehicle keepers are contactable and traceable from the information held on the DVLA’s records. Of the remainder, six per cent are in the motor trade which means that there will be no registered keeper details on the vehicle record.
The DVLA works closely with a range of key stakeholders on these important issues. The DVLA gathers information and intelligence regarding illegal and improper conduct and will follow up any notifications of fraudulent activity with the relevant authorities. The DVLA also sends the police ‘vehicle of interest’ reports so that the police can use automatic number plate recognition cameras to identify potential offenders. These reports include vehicles which have no registered keeper details, no insurance or no valid MOT.
Evidence of identity, which can be a passport, driving licence or utility bill, must be presented when a vehicle is being registered for the first time. However, to ensure that services remain both easy for customers to use and cost effective for taxpayers, there are no plans to introduce checks when a vehicle subsequently changes hands. It would be very difficult for ordinary members of the public to verify or authenticate the identity documents being provided to them when selling their vehicle privately.
It is already an offence to provide false or misleading information or to use a vehicle on the road without a valid driving licence. The police have existing powers to seize vehicles which are not complying with legal requirements.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to use digital technologies in Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency services to improve driver identity verification during vehicle (a) registration and (b) ownership transfer.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) takes the accuracy of its vehicle register seriously. It is crucial that registered keeper details are accurate for road safety and law enforcement purposes. The latest available data shows that more than 92 per cent of vehicle keepers are contactable and traceable from the information held on the DVLA’s records. Of the remainder, six per cent are in the motor trade which means that there will be no registered keeper details on the vehicle record.
The DVLA works closely with a range of key stakeholders on these important issues. The DVLA gathers information and intelligence regarding illegal and improper conduct and will follow up any notifications of fraudulent activity with the relevant authorities. The DVLA also sends the police ‘vehicle of interest’ reports so that the police can use automatic number plate recognition cameras to identify potential offenders. These reports include vehicles which have no registered keeper details, no insurance or no valid MOT.
Evidence of identity, which can be a passport, driving licence or utility bill, must be presented when a vehicle is being registered for the first time. However, to ensure that services remain both easy for customers to use and cost effective for taxpayers, there are no plans to introduce checks when a vehicle subsequently changes hands. It would be very difficult for ordinary members of the public to verify or authenticate the identity documents being provided to them when selling their vehicle privately.
It is already an offence to provide false or misleading information or to use a vehicle on the road without a valid driving licence. The police have existing powers to seize vehicles which are not complying with legal requirements.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the number of vehicles that are using roads that have no known registered (a) keeper and (b) owner.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) takes the accuracy of its vehicle register seriously. It is crucial that registered keeper details are accurate for road safety and law enforcement purposes. The latest available data shows that more than 92 per cent of vehicle keepers are contactable and traceable from the information held on the DVLA’s records. Of the remainder, six per cent are in the motor trade which means that there will be no registered keeper details on the vehicle record.
The DVLA works closely with a range of key stakeholders on these important issues. The DVLA gathers information and intelligence regarding illegal and improper conduct and will follow up any notifications of fraudulent activity with the relevant authorities. The DVLA also sends the police ‘vehicle of interest’ reports so that the police can use automatic number plate recognition cameras to identify potential offenders. These reports include vehicles which have no registered keeper details, no insurance or no valid MOT.
Evidence of identity, which can be a passport, driving licence or utility bill, must be presented when a vehicle is being registered for the first time. However, to ensure that services remain both easy for customers to use and cost effective for taxpayers, there are no plans to introduce checks when a vehicle subsequently changes hands. It would be very difficult for ordinary members of the public to verify or authenticate the identity documents being provided to them when selling their vehicle privately.
It is already an offence to provide false or misleading information or to use a vehicle on the road without a valid driving licence. The police have existing powers to seize vehicles which are not complying with legal requirements.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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 unlicensed drivers acquiring vehicles without mandatory (a) identity, (b) licence and (c) company checks during ownership transfers on risks to public safety.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) takes the accuracy of its vehicle register seriously. It is crucial that registered keeper details are accurate for road safety and law enforcement purposes. The latest available data shows that more than 92 per cent of vehicle keepers are contactable and traceable from the information held on the DVLA’s records. Of the remainder, six per cent are in the motor trade which means that there will be no registered keeper details on the vehicle record.
The DVLA works closely with a range of key stakeholders on these important issues. The DVLA gathers information and intelligence regarding illegal and improper conduct and will follow up any notifications of fraudulent activity with the relevant authorities. The DVLA also sends the police ‘vehicle of interest’ reports so that the police can use automatic number plate recognition cameras to identify potential offenders. These reports include vehicles which have no registered keeper details, no insurance or no valid MOT.
Evidence of identity, which can be a passport, driving licence or utility bill, must be presented when a vehicle is being registered for the first time. However, to ensure that services remain both easy for customers to use and cost effective for taxpayers, there are no plans to introduce checks when a vehicle subsequently changes hands. It would be very difficult for ordinary members of the public to verify or authenticate the identity documents being provided to them when selling their vehicle privately.
It is already an offence to provide false or misleading information or to use a vehicle on the road without a valid driving licence. The police have existing powers to seize vehicles which are not complying with legal requirements.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to introduce mandatory verification of a (a) valid driving licence and (b) company number at the point of vehicle ownership registration.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) takes the accuracy of its vehicle register seriously. It is crucial that registered keeper details are accurate for road safety and law enforcement purposes. The latest available data shows that more than 92 per cent of vehicle keepers are contactable and traceable from the information held on the DVLA’s records. Of the remainder, six per cent are in the motor trade which means that there will be no registered keeper details on the vehicle record.
The DVLA works closely with a range of key stakeholders on these important issues. The DVLA gathers information and intelligence regarding illegal and improper conduct and will follow up any notifications of fraudulent activity with the relevant authorities. The DVLA also sends the police ‘vehicle of interest’ reports so that the police can use automatic number plate recognition cameras to identify potential offenders. These reports include vehicles which have no registered keeper details, no insurance or no valid MOT.
Evidence of identity, which can be a passport, driving licence or utility bill, must be presented when a vehicle is being registered for the first time. However, to ensure that services remain both easy for customers to use and cost effective for taxpayers, there are no plans to introduce checks when a vehicle subsequently changes hands. It would be very difficult for ordinary members of the public to verify or authenticate the identity documents being provided to them when selling their vehicle privately.
It is already an offence to provide false or misleading information or to use a vehicle on the road without a valid driving licence. The police have existing powers to seize vehicles which are not complying with legal requirements.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2025 to Question 51961 on Abellio Greater Anglia and c2c: Standards, if he will list the (a) metrics (b) incentives and (c) penalties applicable to public sector train operators.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Public sector operators will have to meet rigorous, bespoke performance standards and earn the right to be called Great British Railways. They will be held to account for their performance against metrics including punctuality, reliability, customer experience and satisfaction, service quality, financial performance, environmental performance and minimising rates of ticketless travel. Performance against metrics will be regularly reported to the Department and many metrics will also be published, including at train stations.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2025 to Question 51962 on Abellio Greater Anglia and c2c: Standards, what her planned timeline is for the improvements to Cambridge South Station; when the Transport and Works Act Order for the project was issued; when did construction begin; and when it is expected to be completed.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Transport and Works Act Order for Cambridge South was granted in December 2022, and construction work began on site in February 2023. We expect the new station to open early in 2026; an exact date will be confirmed later in the year.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make a comparative assessment of (a) levels of passenger satisfaction and (b) the number of trains on that have run on time on (i) Northern Rail, (ii) C2C and (iii) Greater Anglia in the last 12 months.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A comparison with Northern is not appropriate as this Government inherited that operation with a long running industrial dispute that the previous Government had taken no steps to resolve. We hold Northern, c2c and Greater Anglia to account for their performance through a variety of contractual measures (including the quality of service, punctuality and how they are managing customer satisfaction).
Train performance data can be found on the ORR website and satisfaction data is published by Transport Focus at the following websites:
https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/
https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/insight/rail-passenger-scorecard/
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to (a) ensure the consistency of the passenger experience on trains on (i) C2C and (ii) Greater Anglia services after they have been nationalised and (b) establish penalties for those responsible for poor passenger experience.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Bringing passenger services into public ownership will ensure services are focused on delivering for passengers, not shareholders. Our priority is to deliver a smooth and safe transition of c2c’s and Greater Anglia’s services into public ownership this year, with no disruption to passengers. We expect public-sector operators to focus relentlessly on improving reliability, punctuality and other aspects of the service that matter most to passengers, and we will hold them to account for doing so.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is planning to take to improve the (a) C2C and (b) Greater Anglia rail networks.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Cambridge South station project will deliver a new four-platform station on the West Anglia Main Line between the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and Southern Fringe development area. Consideration of further improvements to the C2C and Greater Anglia networks will be informed by Spending Review 2025.