Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency's consultation entitled Improving car driving test booking rules, published on 28 May 2025, what her Department's planned timeline is for making changes to car driving test booking rules.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As part of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) plan to reduce driving test waiting times, announced in December 2024, the agency launched a call for evidence seeking views and experiences of booking and managing practical car driving tests, which received almost 27,000 responses. The DVSA analysed the evidence from this and developed proposals on improving processes.
On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced the consultation, following on from the call for evidence, had been fast-tracked.
As acknowledged in the announcement regarding these measures, DVSA understands the potential impact on learner drivers, including younger drivers, and the importance of helping learners pass quickly.
The consultation launched on 28 May. Views are being sought from the driver training industry, learner drivers and other interested parties. The consultation will close at 11:59pm on 23 July 2025.
The consultation has already seen a large number of responses. Once closed, and all responses analysed, DVSA will announce next steps as soon as possible.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
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 process for booking a driving test through the DVLA test booking system on the mental health of young people.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As part of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) plan to reduce driving test waiting times, announced in December 2024, the agency launched a call for evidence seeking views and experiences of booking and managing practical car driving tests, which received almost 27,000 responses. The DVSA analysed the evidence from this and developed proposals on improving processes.
On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced the consultation, following on from the call for evidence, had been fast-tracked.
As acknowledged in the announcement regarding these measures, DVSA understands the potential impact on learner drivers, including younger drivers, and the importance of helping learners pass quickly.
The consultation launched on 28 May. Views are being sought from the driver training industry, learner drivers and other interested parties. The consultation will close at 11:59pm on 23 July 2025.
The consultation has already seen a large number of responses. Once closed, and all responses analysed, DVSA will announce next steps as soon as possible.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the DVLA self-reporting process for (a) age-related and (b) other health conditions.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The law requires all driving licence holders, regardless of age, to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of any medical condition that could affect their fitness to drive. When renewing their driving entitlement at the age of 70, licence holders must declare that they can continue to meet the relevant medical standards, including eyesight. Failure to do so is an offence.
If a driver of any age notifies the DVLA of a medical condition, an investigation will be carried out. This can involve requesting additional information from the applicant or driver’s healthcare professionals or they may be asked to attend a medical examination or driving assessment.
In 2023, the DVLA carried out a call for evidence to seek views on the current legislative basis for establishing whether a person is medically fit to drive. The evidence gathered, including the process of self-declaration, is being fully considered.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the ongoing e-scooter trials, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of e-scooters on (a) the modal shift of transport away from private cars and (b) reducing traffic congestion in trial areas; and what estimate she has made of the number of collisions involving e-scooters.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The first national evaluation of the e-scooter trials was published in December 2022. This found that e-scooters increasingly replaced private motor vehicle or taxi use over time (from 12% of journeys in March 2021 to 21% in December 2021). 42% of e-scooter trips replaced walking journeys in December 2021, and 9% of e-scooter journeys in the same period would otherwise not have been made.
Statistics on road collisions are collected via data reported to the Department by police forces. Provisional estimates for the year ending June 2024 suggest that there were 1,194 casualties in collisions involving both private and rented e-scooters.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of the current caps on the values of fines available to local authorities outside London on driver behaviour.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No recent assessment has been made. A number of parking sector stakeholders conducted research recently into this complex issue, and it has been submitted to the Department. Officials will be reviewing the research and its findings in due course.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the number of vehicular accidents involving drivers who have not disclosed age-related health conditions on their driving license renewals in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This information is not held by the Department for Transport.
The Department’s data on road injury collisions is based on information reported to the police via the STATS19 data collection system. STATS19 does not capture information on the health conditions of those involved in collisions.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what meetings her officials had with the then hon. member for Mid Dorset and North Poole on flooding at Bakers Arms Roundabout on the A35 during the last Parliament; and what agreements were made to consider measures to resolve the issue.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has no record of meetings on this matter during the last Parliament.