Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of amending Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to include cats as an animal that drivers are required to stop and report an incident when they are involved in a collision.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Under section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, a driver is required to stop and report a collision involving specified animals including horses, cattle, asses, mules, sheep, pigs, goats or dogs, but not cats or wild animals. This requirement arises from their status as working animals rather than as domestic pets. To introduce such a measure within the provision of section 170 would require primary legislation
There are no plans to amend section 170 of the Road Traffic Act to make it mandatory for drivers to report road collisions involving cats.
Having a law making it a requirement to report road collisions involving cats would be very difficult to enforce and we have reservations about the difference it would make to the behaviour of drivers, who are aware that they have run over a cat and do not report it.
Although there is no obligation to report all animal deaths on roads, drivers should, if possible, make enquiries to ascertain the owner of domestic animals, such as cats, and advise them of the situation.
Since June 2024, all cats in England over 20 weeks of age must be microchipped and registered on a compliant database, unless exempt or free-living. This will make it easier for National Highways and local authorities to reunite cats with their keeper.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of updating the collection of STATS19 national collision statistics to allow for differentiation between e-bikes, bikes and motorcycles within collisions.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Currently the recording of e-bikes within STATS19 follows the relevant legislation, the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983, with officers encouraged in the STATS19 guidance (known as STATS20) to use an accompanying free text field to provide further details where possible.
The Standing Committee on Road Injury Collision Statistics (SCRICS), which oversees the STATS19 collection, is currently reviewing the recording of vehicle and propulsion types within STATS19 with a view to providing better guidance to reporting police officers on the classification of e-bikes.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what dates South Western Railway plans to retire its fleet of Class 455 electric multiple units; and what plans it has to maintain current levels of passenger capacity on their retirement.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Southwestern Railway is planning to retire the Class 455 fleet by the end of December 2025. The Arterio fleet introduction programme will fully occupy all of the previously formed Class 455 diagrams.
Since May the number of new trains in service has quadrupled. The Arterio trains will provide 50 per cent increased capacity compared to the current 455 fleet in service. They will also provide accessible toilets, air conditioning, charging points at every seat, real-time information screens, onboard wi-fi and walk through carriages.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to work with transport operators to mitigate the risks posed by cyber attacks.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport (DfT) works across Government to introduce relevant standards, guidance, and policy to ensure the cyber security and resilience of our essential services.
DfT uses both policy and regulatory levers to support the transport sector to effectively manage cyber risk and assist the sector to secure its networks and systems. We work closely with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), operators across all four modes of transport, and others to continuously assess and mitigate emerging cyber threats to the sector.
As Competent Authority under the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations 2018 for road, rail and maritime and joint Competent Authority for aviation with the Civil Aviation Authority, DfT regulates transport Operators of Essential Services (OES) to ensure that services which are most critical to the British public are compliant with relevant cyber standards. We will use the forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill (CSRB) to strengthen our regulatory powers, improve incident reporting, and expand the type of entities in scope.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the terms of reference are of her Department’s investigation into the possible use of defeat devices by automotive manufacturers; how many brands and models are in the scope of the investigation; when she expects that investigation to conclude; and what steps her Department is considering taking against manufacturers who have been found to have broken the rules.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The DVSA’s investigations are being conducted under their obligations as the delegated the market surveillance authority within Regulation (EU) 2018/858 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
There are currently 95 vehicle models from 28 brands under investigation.
Due to the nature of the investigations, it is not possible to say when they are expected to conclude.
The investigations are focused on achieving real-world improvements in air quality. Non-compliant manufacturers will be required to rectify their vehicles and bring them into compliance with the relevant emissions regulations. If enforcement action is required, it will be taken in line with DVSA’s published enforcement policy.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on reducing the level of bike thefts.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State for Transport has not had any recent discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on reducing the level of bike thefts but I am aware that cycle theft is a major problem, particularly where expensive cycles are concerned, and that the fear of having a bike stolen can act as a serious deterrent to those who might otherwise want to take up cycling.
Active Travel England is providing funding for local authorities to introduce secure cycle parking. Ultimately, enforcement of cycle theft is an operational matter for the police.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2024 to Question 6277, what progress her Department has made on agreeing an exchange agreement with Kosovo.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has obtained further information that was required from the Kosovan Embassy to progress a driving licence exchange agreement with Kosovo. This agreement remains subject to public consultation and the introduction of domestic legislation and this work is ongoing.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Q146 of the oral evidence given by the Secretary of State to the Transport Committee on 23 April 2025, HC 346, when the National Highways’ safety action plan for 2025-26 will be published.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The safety action plan will form part of National Highways 2025-26 delivery plan for the Interim Settlement which will be published in the coming months.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of seeking an agreement with the European Union on the mutual recognition of (a) qualifications and (b) licenses for (i) pilots, (ii) flight crew and (iii) aircraft engineers.
Answered by Mike Kane
The Government has been clear that it will work to reset the relationship with Europe, to strengthen ties and tackle barriers to trade. Establishing an effective personnel licensing regime that supports UK aviation remains a priority for us, and the UK is keen to establish closer cooperation on personnel licensing where possible to ease the current burden on UK and EU personnel.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 33910, how many staff were employed at the Fraud team at the DVSA at the end of (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, (d) 2022 and (e) 2023.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The table below shows the number of people employed within the Counter Fraud & Investigation team at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency for the years ending 2019 to 2024.
Year-end | Headcount | Full Time Equivalent (FTE) |
Dec 2019 | 48 | 47.26 |
Dec 2020 | 48 | 46.47 |
Dec 2021 | 50 | 49.25 |
Dec 2022 | 48 | 47.25 |
Dec 2023 | 48 | 47.6 |
Dec 2024 | 65* | 59* |
*In 2024-25, the team dedicated to investigating fraud in the driver theory and practical test schemes was doubled as a result of additional funding provided by the Department for Transport.