Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving examiners started to practice in each month from July 2024 to the latest month for which figures are available.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The table below shows the number of recruited driving examiners (DE) who successfully completed training and were posted to a driving test centre, each month from July 2024 to February 2026.

Please note, the data shows the month DEs successfully passed training and does not necessarily represent when they first conducted a test as a DE. For example, a trainee DE might have passed training on the last day of any given month, but would not have conducted their first test until the following month.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to Question 117002 from the Rt Hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 March 2026 to Question 117002.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, which companies the Department is aware are exporting dual-use components from the United Kingdom to the Russian Federation; what dual-use components are being exported to the Russian Federation; and what representations have been received from (a) Ukraine and (b) NATO member states to HM Government on those exports.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The comprehensive sanctions put in place by HMG under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 following Russia's illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine mean that UK companies have been banned from exporting military or dual-use goods to Russia since February 2022. Any companies doing so would be subject to criminal penalties unless the goods are expressly exempted under Part 7 of the Regulations. Any representations from the Government of Ukraine, or NATO allies are the province of the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations to the Council of Europe regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We continue to work closely with the Council of Europe on a number of Ukraine-related initiatives, including the proposed establishment of the Claims Commission for Ukraine and the Special Tribunal on Crimes of Aggression Against Ukraine. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the UK has consistently raised Russia's aggression and its consequences within the Council of Europe, including at the Committee of Ministers and through engagement with the Secretary General.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps HM Government is taking to prepare for the G20 Summit in 2027.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Work is progressing in the normal way and further details will be confirmed in due course.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans her Department has to hold (a) discussions and (b) summits with the Government of South Africa on providing it with (i) aid and (ii) development.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Ministers and officials in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continue to work closely with their South African counterparts on a wide range of issues.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many times the Aerospace Growth Partnership has met since 4 July 2024; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential economic merits of the Aerospace Growth Partnership .

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Since 4 July 2024 the Aerospace Growth Partnership Board has met 12 times. Through our Industrial Strategy, government has committed to supporting the sector to increase its share of the global market from 10% to 15% and secure at least £35billion of additional private investment to industrialise technologies by 2050. The Aerospace Growth Partnership is a unique forum that helps bring together all parts of the UK's aerospace ecosystem with a common goal of delivering growth in the UK.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 120628, whether any Government department or agency holds documents released to the media in March 2025 in relation to the employment tribunal involving the Drax whistleblower.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office does not hold any documents released to the media in March 2025 in relation to the employment tribunal involving the Drax whistleblower. As this matter related to an employment tribunal at a private company, it is not a matter in which the Department was involved.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of contrails on its Airspace Modernisation Strategy.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Airspace Modernisation Strategy supports the aviation sector in reducing emissions through aircraft flying more direct routes.

Contrails arise from a combination of jet fuel combustion, air particles, water vapour and atmospheric conditions, and as such are considered through the Department’s work with the sector via the Jet Zero Strategy and Taskforce, which look at aviation decarbonisation holistically.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2026 to Question 122594, what her Department’s estimate is for the date by which trains for those services will be (i) modified and (ii) fully tested.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Chiltern subleases the trains that will be used on East West Rail from West Midlands Trains. The operators continue to work jointly with the train owner and the industry supply chain on the schedule for the final modifications which are expected to be delivered and tested in the coming months.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost will be of the Zero Emission Truck and Van funding package over its lifetime, including associated grant schemes.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The cost of this package is set out at: www.gov.uk/government/news/1-billion-to-cut-costs-for-businesses-drive-growth-and-clean-up-uk-roads

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2026 to Question 120035 on Intellectual Property Office; Environmental Protection, what the (a) capital cost and (b) estimated annual energy savings are of (i) the installation of new energy efficient boilers in the Intellectual Property Office warehouse facility and (ii) the replacement of air conditioning units with more efficient units.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Both the gas boilers at the Intellectual Property Office warehouse facility and the air‑conditioning units had reached the end of their operational life and required replacement. They have been replaced with more energy‑efficient systems to improve performance and reduce energy consumption. Further detail on capital costs and estimated energy savings is commercially sensitive and cannot be provided.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the total number of passenger rail journeys in Great Britain in 2025–26; what figure for passenger journeys underpins its estimate of subsidy per passenger journey for that year; and what her Department's estimates for underpinning passenger numbers are in the next five years.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Data relating to the total number of passenger rail journeys in Great Britain for 2025–26 is not yet available and is scheduled for publication in June. Historic data on journeys is published here: Passenger rail usage | ORR Data Portal.

Using the most recent ORR data available (2024-25), the subsidy per passenger journey is £8.21. This captures all journeys made with the 14 DfT operators. The subsidy figure includes Department for Transport’s support for the 14 DfT operators and Network Rail.

Finally, with respect to departmental estimates of underpinning passenger numbers over the next five years, the Department does not routinely publish forecasts of passenger numbers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2026 to Question 123237, whether her Department is considering the introduction of mandatory Restricted R plates or an equivalent post-test probationary scheme for newly qualified drivers in Great Britain.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Whilst we are not considering mandatory Restricted ‘R’ plates for newly qualified drivers in Great Britain, we are consulting on a Minimum Learning Period in England, Scotland, and Wales before learner drivers can take their test.

We know that introducing a Minimum Learning Period has potential to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries. This is why we are consulting on the introduction of pre-test measures and combining these with the post-test measures already in place through the New Drivers Act.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2026 to Question 116229 on Department for Business and Trade: Carbon Emissions and Sustainable Development, on what date did his Department (a) allocate funding to Mott MacDonald to review the Dominican Republic’s state-owned energy company's and (b) receive a copy of the review's findings.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

In 2024, the UK signed a Government-to-Government Arrangement with the Dominican Republic to help deliver infrastructure projects that promote mutual economic growth. My department awarded Mott MacDonald a contract to review the Dominican Republic's state-owned energy company's, Empresa de Generación Hidroeléctrica Dominicana, national energy masterplan. This provided recommendations to prioritise renewable energy projects aligned with national targets and opportunities for UK supply chain involvement. The funding was allocated to Mott MacDonald on 31 January 2025 and we received a copy of the review's findings on 31 March 2025.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104661, what estimate National Highways has made of the cost of constructing temporary slip roads at M6 junction 38.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

National Highways is currently assessing the latest proposals for temporary slip roads at M6 Junction 38 and will feedback on this in due course.

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 the M6 Lune Gorge works on (a) freight movements and (b) connectivity between England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

For most of the M6 Lune Gorge works, traffic, including freight, will continue to use the M6 via a contraflow arrangement, which has been assessed as providing sufficient capacity to avoid significant delays. National Highways does not anticipate significant changes to freight movements as a result.

A limited number of overnight and weekend full closures of the M6 will be required for safety reasons. For full closures between junction 38 and 39, traffic will use a fully signed diversion route via Junction 36 and the A6, A591 and A590, as agreed with relevant local highway authorities. This approach is intended to maintain connectivity between England, Scotland and Northern Ireland throughout the works.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 March 2026 to Question 122264, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the six-day minimum hire threshold on value for money for Departments using short-term hire vehicles; whether guidance has been issued to Departments on balancing value for money with the objective of increasing the proportion of zero emission vehicles under the Government Fleet Commitment; and what steps she is taking to ensure that efforts to meet the Government Fleet Commitment do not lead to increased costs.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government's policy is that all official travel must be efficient and cost-effective. Value for money of short-term vehicle hires is ensured through standard Government procurement and contract management processes.

Guidance on the GFC can be found on GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2026 to Question 122594, on what basis her Department determined that the delayed appointment of Chiltern Railways as operator for East West Rail Services was caused by the General Election in July 2024, and whether her Department has commissioned an independent assessment of the cause of the delay to that appointment.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The appointment of the operator for the first phase of EWR services was paused during the General Election campaign in July 2024. This Government then appointed Chiltern Railways as the operator in March 2025. The department has not commissioned an independent assessment of this specific delay to the programme.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of the M6 junction 38 closures on (a) local businesses, (b) tourism and (c) employment in Cumbria.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The M6 Lune Gorge bridge works are being undertaken to avoid future emergency interventions, such as unplanned closures or restrictions, which would have greater adverse impacts on local businesses, tourism and employment in Cumbria. These works will maintain the M6 as a safe and dependable corridor for freight, commerce and local communities for years to come.

National Highways has undertaken over 60 engagement sessions since 2023 to understand the local impact. National Highways is planning the works to minimise impact as far as possible and will continue to engage with local stakeholders to seek further mitigations where feasible.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2026 to Question 122592 on Electric Vehicles: Hire Services, when the review of the Greening Government Commitments framework will be completed.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 26 February to the hon. Member for Bristol Central to PQ UIN 114247.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to complete the review of the Greening Government Commitments, including the Government fleet commitment.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 26 February to the hon. Member for Bristol Central to PQ UIN 114247.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2026 to Question 123507 on Electric Vehicles, where the remaining amount of the committed £7.5 billion funding will be spent.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government is investing more than £7.5 billion in the transition to zero emission vehicles, as follows:

£4 billion on DRIVE35 to support zero emission vehicle manufacturing and R&D in the UK, to 2035.

£2 billion on the Electric Car Grant to cut to cost of new, affordable, and sustainably manufactured zero emission vehicles for consumers, to 2030.

£877 million for the Zero Emission Truck Grant and Zero Emission Van Grant to reduce the cost to businesses of buying new zero emission commercial vehicles, to 2030.

£600 million to support charging infrastructure, to 2030.

£120 million for the former Plug-in Van Grant in 2025.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what date (a) Mark Wild’s contract as Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd was signed, (b) his appointment was publicly announced and (c) he took up his role.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Mark Wild’s contract with HS2 Ltd was signed on 10 May 2024, his appointment was announced on 24 May 2024, and he started the role on 2 December 2024.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to Question 106942 from the Hon. Member for Widnes and Halewood.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

A response has been issued.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the written ministerial statement of 23 March 2026 on Rail Infrastructure, HCWS1433, when she next plans to publish an update on the progress of the HS2 reset.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As the Secretary of State indicated in her interim parliamentary report of 23 March 2026, the government intends to publish a more detailed update on the progress of the HS2 reset shortly.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2026 to Question 120920, what estimate she has made of the conversion rate from application to appointment in Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency driving examiner recruitment campaigns since July 2024; and what steps her Department is taking to improve conversion rates at each stage of the recruitment process.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has run 22 driving examiner recruitment campaigns since early 2021, nine of these have been launched since June 2024. DVSA analyses the success rates for each campaign and adapts its approach for the next one to improve the quality of candidate attracted initially, make sure it is selecting those with the necessary skills and minimise any aspects of the process which are causing applicants to drop out.  The process has been modified several times in the intervening period to maximise the numbers of people with the right skills and aptitudes being made a job offer.

DVSA attracts large numbers of applicants to the role of a driving examiner who are not always suited to it.  DVSA has a high drop out rate during the application process and the sift and selection process also removes significant numbers due to candidates not demonstrating the appropriate level of driving ability.

Across the nine campaigns since June 2024, DVSA received 16,331 completed applications and has made 1,139 job offers so far, with 724 people starting their training with DVSA and more with start dates agreed.

DVSA continues to make job offers from reserve lists from campaign 16 (March 2025) up to campaign 21 (December 25) and has yet to start making offers for people from campaign 22 as the assessments are still ongoing.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact on a) drivers of extending the electric car grant; and b) motorcyclists of the planned cessation of the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The £2 billion Electric Car Grant has been extended to 2030 to support drivers to purchase electric vehicles by reducing upfront costs. More than 90,000 people have already benefited from grants of up to £3,750 across 45 models.

In February 2025, we announced the decision to close the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant, which closed at the end of the 2025/26 financial year. Ending the £500 Plug-in Motorcycle Grant is not expected to have a significant impact on uptake of zero emission motorcycles or on riders. The Government, working with industry, will continue to monitor the development of the zero emission motorcycle market and the need for any further interventions on an ongoing basis.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with his Ukrainian counterparts regarding the fit of a) uniform and b) body armour for female soldiers in combat operations, and whether his Department has discussed lessons learnt from the Government of Ukraine.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence remains firmly committed to ensuring that all service personnel are equipped with appropriate and effective protective equipment. As part of this commitment, we are delivering an update to body armour for UK personnel through the Tactical Ballistic Plates project.

Procurement experts within the National Armaments Director group work closely with the Ministry of Defence's Op INTERFLEX Handling and Processing team, which collates feedback from Armed Forces of Ukraine personnel. This includes lessons from operational experience and female user feedback, which help to inform UK capability development.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many full-time equivalent driving examiners recruited by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) were (a) in post and (b) delivering practical car driving tests in i) January 2026, ii) February 2026 and iii) March 2026.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The answer to Question 122532, 20 March 2026, provides data for the months January 2026 and February 2026 respectively.

The table below shows how many full-time equivalent (FTE) driving examiners were in post, and out of those, how many were available to deliver practical car driving tests in March 2026.

* - Includes those who are in training to be a driving examiner.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has held discussions with the Royal Aeronautical Society since July 2024.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

My officials routinely engage with a broad range of aviation stakeholders, including the Royal Aeronautical Society, to support strong and effective collaboration between government and industry on aviation related matters.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she expects the procurement of the Washwood Heath Depot for HS2 to conclude.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department is going through their governance approval to conclude the procurement for Washwood Heath Depot (WWH). We expect to award the contract in the coming weeks.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff are employed by the HS2 Ltd Helpdesk.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Twenty FTE (Full Time Equivalent) staff are employed on the HS2 Ltd helpdesk.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2026 to Question 122525, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of click-throughs from (a) social media advertising and (b) DVSA job alert emails that resulted in (i) started and (ii) completed applications for driving examiner roles in the last 12 months.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

All driving examiner (DE) applications are made through Civil Service Jobs on GOV.UK. At the point of submitting an application on Civil Service Jobs no applicant source information is recorded.

Answer to Question 122526, 20 March 2026, provides details of subsequent surveys that might be completed by applicants.

Answer to Question 122526, 20 March 2026, also provided information on click through rates, but notes that it is not possible to say what number of these click throughs resulted in completed applications.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2026 to Question 122543 on Driving Tests: Recruitment, what data the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency collects on the source of applications for driving examiner roles at the point of application submission.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

All driving examiner (DE) applications are made through Civil Service Jobs on GOV.UK. At the point of submitting an application on Civil Service Jobs no applicant source information is recorded.

Answer to Question 122526, 20 March 2026, provides details of subsequent surveys that might be completed by applicants.

Answer to Question 122526, 20 March 2026, also provided information on click through rates, but notes that it is not possible to say what number of these click throughs resulted in completed applications.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2026 to Question 121310 on Roads: Closures, what plans her Department to make a formal national assessment of the potential impact of long-term road and bridge closures on small businesses; and what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on this issue.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The impacts of long‑term road or bridge closures on small businesses vary significantly depending on local circumstances and the mitigation measures put in place. Responsibility for managing and mitigating these impacts sits with local highway authorities, which are best placed to understand local conditions.

The Department for Transport’s Structures Fund will inject cash into repairing run down bridges, decaying flyovers and worn out tunnels across England, mitigating the need for road and bridge closures in the future.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2026 to Question 122545 on the Vehicle Certification Agency: Fees and Charges, whether her Department has produced internal estimates of the additional annual revenue expected from the proposed fee increases.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) recently consulted on changes to certain fees. As part of the fee setting process the government considers all the evidence provided as well as long standing principles included in Managing Public Money. Any fee changes require the consent of this House through a fee order. As is the standard practice, I will update the House in due course

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the written ministerial statement of 23 March 2026 on Rail Infrastructure, HCWS1433, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of reducing the operating speed of HS2 on passenger capacity.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Secretary of State has requested that Mark Wild look at ways to remove gold plating and complexity from the HS2 project, and if a slightly reduced specification could save time and money. We will not make the same mistakes of the past of making changes to scope without understanding all of the impacts, including on passenger capacity. We will not take any decisions until this work is complete.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many social and affordable homes are planned as part of the redevelopment of land at and around Euston associated with the HS2 programme.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We are working at pace with our Master Development Partner, Lendlease, on a Masterplan for Euston, with an emphasis on growth and delivering much needed housing, and will set out a clear plan in due course.

Further, the government has appointed Bek Seeley as the Chair to the Euston Housing Delivery Group, to understand the opportunities for thousands of new homes in the wider Euston area.

The Euston Housing Delivery Group is not pre-supposing the number of homes achievable but will robustly assess the scale of opportunity for housing around Euston.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times has the Drone Task Force met since 4 July 2024, which Ministers in Government Departments and private sector companies constitute it, and which a) countries and b) companies are they engaged with in seeking guidance on best practice from regarding the use of drones.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The Department does not recognise any body titled the “Drone Task Force”.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2026 to Question 123240, what contribution improved cycling facilities will make to balancing aviation sector growth.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Airports and their local stakeholders consider all transport options as part their surface access strategies, which cover staff as well as customers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to respond to Question 123167 from the Hon. Member for Maidstone and Malling.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

I refer the Right Honourable Member to the answer given on 31 March 2026.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 25 March 2026 to WPQ 121808, what proportion of the Customer and Communities Designated Fund within the Road Investment Strategy 3 is allocated to (a) HGV parking capacity and (b) driver welfare facilities; and what targets have been set for delivery of additional HGV parking spaces over the RIS3 period.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Further detail on RIS3 funding allocations will be set out by National Highways in its Delivery Plan.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to respond to Question 122529 from the Rt Hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Question 122529 was answered on 2 April 2026.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2026 to Question 116574, what minimum number of public electric vehicle chargepoints her Department considers necessary by 2030 to meet anticipated demand; and how she will determine whether delivery is on track in the absence of a defined benchmark.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

An estimate of potential future demand for chargers was originally published in the 2022 “Taking Charge: The National Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy” and was updated in 2024 to a range of 250,000 to 550,000 in 2030. Both the 2024 NAO ‘public chargepoints for electric vehicles’ report, and the Climate Change Committee 2025 Progress report, concluded that charge point rollout is on track.

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, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of introducing requirements for standardised battery state of health information on the (a) regulatory burden on (i) manufacturers and (ii) sellers and (b) used electric vehicle prices.

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.

Assessment of the impact of introducing these requirements will be included within the regulatory impact assessment accompanying any proposed legislation. Responses to the public consultation will be taken into account when completing this assessment.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the decision was first taken to withdraw Class 455 units from the South Western Railway network; and how many such units were withdrawn in each month from the date that decision was taken until the final unit was removed from passenger service.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As part of the 2017 South Western refranchising competition, First MTR announced on 20 June 2017 that it would procure a new fleet of Aventra trains to operate on the Waterloo suburban routes over which Class 455 units operated. The Class 455 units were originally intended to be returned to their owner by December 2020, however delays to the introduction of the replacement units under SWR’s previous ownership meant that withdrawals commenced later than planned with the first Class 455 being returned in May 2022 and the final unit being returned in March 2026. In the intervening period, units were returned progressively to their owner on a flexible basis as new Class 701 units were introduced.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when her Department will respond to the consultation entitled Changes to various permitted development rights for EV charging.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department ran a consultation between November 2025 and January 2026, seeking views on changes to permitted development rights for cross-pavement charging solutions and equipment housing. The Department will publish its response shortly.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2026 to Question 120940, on what date the update to the road freight values of time in the Transport Analysis Guidance will be published.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We are planning to publish the road freight value of travel time updates as definitive changes to the Transport Analysis Guidance on 28th May.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of (a) Australia’s National Freight Data Hub, (b) the United States’ Commodity Flow Survey and (c) the Republic of Korea’s Transport Database on (i) monitoring driver welfare, (ii) rest provision and working conditions and (iii) fatigue-related risk across the freight and logistics system.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As noted in the answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 120682, the Department for Transport recognises the value of international comparisons for its work, including (a) Australia’s National Freight Data Hub, (b) the United States’ Commodity Flow Survey and (c) the Republic of Korea’s Transport Database.

No formal assessments of the type described have been made for the comparators listed, but they are important parts of the Department's broad evidence base for policy making that supports freight and logistics and the wider transport system.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 March 2026 to Question 121180 on Network Rail: Assets, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the decline in the Composite Sustainability Index for rail assets on long-term network resilience; and what steps her Department is taking to address the deterioration in underlying rail infrastructure condition.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government is clear that Network Rail must ensure that network resilience is either maintained or improved during the current Control Period to an extent that is reasonable.

Network Rail assesses the resilience of the railway network on a continuing basis, under the oversight of the independent regulator, the Office of Rail and Road and has had a Weather Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation strategy in place since 2017.

Objectives for Great British Railways (GBR) in the next Funding Period regarding the condition of railway infrastructure will be a key element of Government’s considerations during the coming Funding Period Review. The impact of rail infrastructure condition on its resilience will be a part of this work. The condition of the network as assessed via the composite sustainability index metric does not necessarily correlate directly with levels of resilience.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people are currently engaged by her Department in roles providing political advice or support to Ministers; and how many such individuals are classified as (a) special advisers and (b) ministerial or other political appointees outside the special adviser classification, including those not formally designated as special advisers but undertaking equivalent functions.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department currently has (a) 5 special advisers, and (b) no ministerial or other political appointees.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's report entitled Department for Transport annual report and accounts 2024 to 2025, published on 22 July 2025, what expenditure is included under the category entitled Science, research and support functions, and if she will provide a breakdown of this spending by programme, activity, and delivery body for each year listed.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

‘Science, Research and Support Functions’ is an Estimate Line descriptor shown in the Statement of Parliamentary Supply within the 2024-25 Annual Report & Accounts. All costs recorded on this Estimate line are incurred by the Core department. A breakdown of the spending recorded in this Estimate Line for 2024-25 and 2023-24 is provided below.

Spending in 2024-25

Individual programmes incurring more than £5m spending in 2024-25, were:

• Bus Open Data Service (£11m, Capital DEL). This is the Department for Transport’s national digital platform that enables bus operators and certain local authorities to meet their legal obligations to publish bus service data. https://www.bus-data.dft.gov.uk/
• Road statistics survey and collection (£7m, Resource DEL) https://roadtraffic.dft.gov.uk/
• National Travel survey (£5m, Resource DEL)
  https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-travel-survey-statistics

Spending in 2023-24

Individual programmes incurring more than £5m spending in 2023-24, were:

• Bus Open Data Service (£13m Capital DEL).
• Road statistics survey and collection (£7m Resource DEL).
• National Travel Survey (£5m, Resource DEL).

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what date her Department will publish its annual report and accounts for the financial year 2025 to 2026.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department plans to publish its 2025-26 Annual Report and Accounts ahead of the Parliamentary summer recess.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time for a practical car driving test was in each month since January 2026 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 how many driving test centres (DTC) recorded a waiting time of 24 weeks for a practical car driving test for January, February, and March 2026.

The table below shows how many full-time equivalent (FTE) driving examiners (DE) were in post, and out of those, how many were available to deliver practical car driving tests in March 2026. The answer to Question 122532, 20 March 2026, provides data for February 2026.

* Includes those who are in training to be a DE

The national average waiting time (when a minimum of 10% of test slots are available) and the national median waiting time (the time between the first test booking and test taken) for a practical car driving test in January, February and March 2026 is shown in the table below.

The recent small increase in the national average waiting time was expected, and reflects test bookings running through the summer period, the busiest of the year, and a period of increased annual leave.

April’s data for all of the above will be available in May.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving test centres recorded the maximum waiting time of 24 weeks for a practical car test for each month since January 2026.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The table below shows how many driving test centres (DTC) recorded a waiting time of 24 weeks for a practical car driving test for January, February, and March 2026.

The table below shows how many full-time equivalent (FTE) driving examiners (DE) were in post, and out of those, how many were available to deliver practical car driving tests in March 2026. The answer to Question 122532, 20 March 2026, provides data for February 2026.

* Includes those who are in training to be a DE

The national average waiting time (when a minimum of 10% of test slots are available) and the national median waiting time (the time between the first test booking and test taken) for a practical car driving test in January, February and March 2026 is shown in the table below.

The recent small increase in the national average waiting time was expected, and reflects test bookings running through the summer period, the busiest of the year, and a period of increased annual leave.

April’s data for all of the above will be available in May.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 March 2026 to Question 122959 on Unadopted Roads: Research, what was the cost to the public purse of the research study her Department commissioned from Ipsos UK on the operation of sections 37 and 38 of the Highways Act 1980 and whether the current road adoption system remains fit for purpose since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Ipsos UK has been commissioned by the Department for Transport to conduct research into the operation of sections 37 and 38 of the Highways Act 1980 and to assess whether the current road adoption system remains fit for purpose. The total cost to the public purse of this research was £90,390.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2026 to Question 122445, what further proposals the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has developed to reduce the time taken to onboard driving examiner recruits; and if she will publish the (a) expected impact of each proposal on recruitment timelines and (b) planned implementation timetable.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to review its recruitment processes to improve the onboarding experience of new entrants. DVSA has streamlined its processes, which should see applicants move through the recruitment process more quickly.

Alongside this DVSA is also seeking to further increase its training capacity to allow successful candidates to move more quickly from campaign candidate lists onto training courses for new entrant driving examiners.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2026 to Question 122888 on High Speed 2 Line: Crewe, when her Department expects to complete the work required to develop plans for a North-South new line between Birmingham and Manchester.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Northern Growth Strategy set out the Government’s intention to ultimately deliver a full North-South new line between Birmingham and Manchester. We expect the delivery timelines for this line to follow the completion of HS2 and NPR.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what manual paper-based processes are in operation at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The vast majority of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main processes are digitised. Where any paper-based elements remain, DVSA continues to look to digitise these where possible. In a small number of cases, paper is used as part of processes where legislation requires or where digital is not practical for all users.

Examples of paper-based elements include:

• Pass certificates for all categories of driving test
• Applications to provide approved motorcycle training courses
• Evidence of a potential driving instructor’s (PDI) completed training and supervision, and declaration from sponsor
• Potential driving instructor (PDI) trainee licence and approved driving instructor (ADI) certificate of registration
• Out of pocket expense claims for a cancelled theory test or driving test.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 21 of her Department's report entitled Department for Transport annual report and accounts 2024 to 2025, published on 22 July 2025, if she will provide a breakdown of the £644 million expenditure on Sustainable travel, including (a) the projects and programmes funded and (b) the amount allocated to each.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Page 21 of the Annual Report & Accounts is the ‘Financial Overview’ report, which presents total departmental spending by Estimate Line. ‘Sustainable Travel’ is an Estimate Line descriptor shown in the Statement of Parliamentary Supply within the 2024-25 Annual Report & Accounts. This Estimate Line records spending incurred by the Core department and Active Travel England. A breakdown of the spending incurred in 2024-25 is provided in the table below.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many full-time equivalent driving examiners recruited by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency were (a) in post and (b) delivering practical car driving tests in each month since February 2026 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 how many driving test centres (DTC) recorded a waiting time of 24 weeks for a practical car driving test for January, February, and March 2026.

The table below shows how many full-time equivalent (FTE) driving examiners (DE) were in post, and out of those, how many were available to deliver practical car driving tests in March 2026. The answer to Question 122532, 20 March 2026, provides data for February 2026.

* Includes those who are in training to be a DE

The national average waiting time (when a minimum of 10% of test slots are available) and the national median waiting time (the time between the first test booking and test taken) for a practical car driving test in January, February and March 2026 is shown in the table below.

The recent small increase in the national average waiting time was expected, and reflects test bookings running through the summer period, the busiest of the year, and a period of increased annual leave.

April’s data for all of the above will be available in May.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 March 2026 to Question 122891 on Driving Licences: Medical Records, if she will set out (a) when the DVLA's new casework system will become operational, (b) when updates to its online service will be completed and (c) how many additional staff have been recruited since 4 July 2024 to deal with medical applications and answer telephone calls.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA) new drivers’ medical casework system became fully operational on 27 February 2026. It is expected to deliver significant improvements to the services provided to drivers with medical conditions.

The new drivers’ medical online portal for customers was launched on 31 March 2026. This service will be subject to continuous improvement and the next release is due in July 2026. The majority of customers can now apply online through the DVLA’s driver and vehicle account.

The DVLA has recruited an additional 43 staff, with a further 22 expected to join by the end of April 2026, in the drivers’ medical casework team and an additional 100 staff in its contact centre to deal with drivers’ medical calls. All these staff have been recruited in the last six months.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the DVSA has prepared a contingency plan for the operation of driving tests in the event of fuel rationing or wider fuel supply disruption.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has well-developed and tested contingency plans for a range of situations that could affect the provision of its services, including driving tests.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 116783, on Energy: Housing, what assessment his Department has made of the aggregate impact on total household energy consumption of voltage reduction technologies installed in domestic properties, taking into account (a) the proportion of appliances that are power-controlled and resistive, and (b) likely behavioural responses by consumers to any reduction in appliance performance.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The lowering of voltage only reduces electricity consumption with resistive appliances. a)The relative proportion of appliances that are power-controlled vs resistive is moving in favour of power-controlled appliances due to changes in technology. For example, filament bulbs, electric bar fires, immersion heating and older white goods are resistive, but more efficient LED bulbs, heat pumps, EV chargers and modern white goods with asynchronous motors are power controlled. b) The department has not conducted studies of consumer responses to poorer performance from their resistive appliances due to lower voltages.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2026 to Question 122592 on Electric Vehicles: Hire Services, whether her Department plans to break down the data by owned fleet and hired vehicles.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Data for the Greening Government Commitments framework for 2021-25, including the Government Fleet Commitment (GFC), was collected by Defra and published on GOV.UK. Reporting for the GFC was required for both owned fleet and hired vehicles as set out in the published reporting requirements. For the status of the next set of Greening Government Commitments I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 26 February 2026 to the hon. Member for Bristol Central, PQ UIN 114247.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of opening cycleways to horse riders.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

My Department has made no such assessment.

Local authorities are responsible for the provision of cycling infrastructure and for considering appropriate provision for horse riders. The Highway Code is clear that cycle tracks are not intended for use by horse riders and any such assessment would be for local authorities to make.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when her Department will publish updated guidance to local authorities on (a) setting local speed limits and (b) the deployment of speed and red-light cameras; and whether a timetable has been set for implementation.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

As previously stated, the Department will begin work on updating the Setting Local Speed Limits and Red Light and Speed Camera guidance shortly.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2026 to Question 111457, how much was allocated from the capital property change budget for infrastructure installation costs related to electric vehicle charging infrastructure in (a) 2024–25, (b) 2025-26 and (c) each year for the rest of the spending review.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Funding allocated from the Home Office capital property change budget for infrastructure installation costs associated with electric vehicle (EV) charging is as follows:

• 2024–25 (actual): £503,000
• 2025–26 (forecast): £604,000
• 2026–27 (forecast): £1.3 million
• 2027–28 (forecast): £1 million
• 2028–29 (forecast): £1 million

The allocations for 2027–28 and 2028–29 are currently indicative placeholder figures included within the existing project pipeline and may be subject to change. The current forecast allocation for 2026–27 remains £1.3 million. A review of the longer-term electric vehicle charging infrastructure delivery strategy for the remainder of the Spending Review period is ongoing.

The Government has set a target for all vehicles in the central government fleet to be zero-emission by the end of 2027. This transition predominantly impacts operational vehicles used by Immigration Enforcement, Border Force and Border Security Command.

To support this transition, Home Office Property Services has been commissioned to install EV charging infrastructure at Home Office buildings to enable the charging of electric fleet vehicles. The Electric Vehicle Charging Project (EVCP) was mobilised to deliver this infrastructure and is currently undertaking a strategic review to set priorities for the remainder of the Spending Review period.

The costs covered by this funding include the design and installation of charging points, associated legal fees where landlord agreements are required, and enabling works with local electricity distribution network operators.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of enforcement powers available to Trading Standards authorities at county level to take action against premises engaged in persistent breaches of consumer protection and trading laws; whether he has considered devolving powers to county-level Trading Standards authorities to enable them to apply for the closure of premises in cases of serious or repeat offending; and what discussions he has had with the (a) Home Office and (b) Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on aligning enforcement powers between licensing authorities, the police, and county-level enforcement bodies.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales are responsible for delivering trading standards services, aiming to ensure fair trading and safeguard both consumers and reputable businesses. Trading standards services operate independently from central government and enforce a wide range of laws, tailored to local needs.

Where issues impact on a wider group of consumers or businesses, or the detriment is particularly high, other regulators have power to take action. For instance, National Trading Standards plays a role in delivery of broader national and regional enforcement issues, supported by local trading standards services.

We keep this system under review, and the Department for Business and Trade is reviewing the current duties of Trading Standards to ensure that consumers remain protected from harm. My department is working with the Home Office, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and other Whitehall Departments in this work.

The Business Secretary and the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister recently wrote jointly to Cabinet colleagues to ask them to set out what further action they plan to take in this Parliament to address consumer harms in their areas, including on toughening enforcement actions against conduct and businesses that do the most harm to the community.

We will report back on this work in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed junction 38 closures on emergency service response times in Cumbria.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Decisions on emergency service responses and traffic management decisions for motorway roadworks are for emergency service responders and National Highways, respectively. They have the expertise to make decisions with regard to responder access, public safety and site constraints, based on individual circumstances.

No assessment has been made by the Home Office of the potential impact to emergency service response times from the proposed roadworks at Junction 38 of the M6 Motorway.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2026 to Question 121006, when the review of the highways maintenance funding formula will be completed; and if she will publish the outcomes of that review.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Any review would be conducted to align with the end of the period for which highways maintenance block allocations have already been made.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 March 2026 to Question 120168 on Immobilisation of Vehicles, how many immobilisation devices were unlawfully removed from a vehicle in (a) 2022, (b) 2023, (c) 2024 and (d) 2025.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The table below shows the number of immobilisation devices which were unlawfully removed from a vehicle in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2026 to Question 122594, when she expects driver training to have been completed for passenger services to commence on trains for the first EWR services between Oxford and Milton Keynes.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department is working closely with Chiltern Railways and other partners to conclude the remaining staffing arrangements required for the first East West Rail passenger services between Oxford and Milton Keynes. This includes training the 44 recruited train drivers. Passenger services will commence once train testing and driver training are complete and all necessary authorisations and agreements are in place. A start date for services will be announced as soon as it is possible to do so.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2026 to Question 122319, what performance metrics the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency uses to assess the effectiveness of recruitment campaigns for driving examiners; and what the outcomes were for each campaign in terms of (a) applications received, (b) candidates progressing to interview and (c) appointments made.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

On 31 March 2026, the Driver and Vehicle Service Agency (DVSA) had 1,604 full-time equivalent driving examiners (DE), the highest number since 2018 and 188 more DEs than on 30 April 2025.

The table below shows the number of total completed applications DVSA received, the number of applicants invited to interview, the number of applicants invited to the driving assessment stage, applicants recruited and placed on a training course and how many applicants successfully passed training for the 10 recruitment campaigns in each of the three financial years to date:

[note 1] - No of applicants invited to interview and driving assessment are the same as this was an assessment centre.

[note 2] - 26 applicants booked to a future training course. No applicants from this campaign have yet passed training.

[note 3] – DVSA continue to recruit from merit lists for these live recruitment campaigns. The final numbers for the recruitment campaigns shown are therefore not yet known.

For all Civil Service roles, after starting an application, an applicant must complete initial forms with their personal details and to confirm such details as to their right to work in the UK. For a DE role, there are further questions to assess eligibility for the role, including the age of the applicant, and whether they hold a driving licence. If an applicant meets the necessary eligibility requirements, they are then asked to complete a full application form for DVSA to sift and progress to interview if successful.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) Notices to Improve and (b) written instructions her Department issued to train operating companies for which the Department is the operator in relation to (i) service performance and (ii) financial control in each month since December 2025 up to and including the most recent month for which figures are available.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department's priority objectives for train operators are to improve performance and reduce financial subsidy. It does not routinely publish specific instructions made to operators.

We have asked train operators to reflect how they will deliver these priorities in their plans for the next five years. The output of those plans will be published in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the current shortage of train drivers, broken down by Department for Transport Operator area, in terms of a) total number of drivers required, and b) percentage shortfall against required establishment; and what steps her Department is taking to address these shortages in each area.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department works with DFT Operator to ensure all operators have the appropriate resource to deliver timetabled services robustly, including train drivers. All train operating companies have been asked to complete a 7-point traincrew resourcing proposal as part of their annual business plan. These plans cover staffing levels, recruitment, training, overtime and planning efficiency to improve reliability, including revising target establishment levels to support effective workforce planning. When we assessed train operating companies’ levels of driver resource in 2024 we found shortages and excessive reliance on rest day working.

The Department is also taking forward several measures to help the rail industry recruit new train drivers into the industry, including lowering the minimum age to be a train driver from 20 to 18 and working with Skills England and the rail industry to strengthen pathways for school leavers into train driving. This includes updating the Train Driving Level 3 Apprenticeship and developing a Rail Foundation Apprenticeship to be offered from the age of 16.