Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much of the Local Transport Grant will go to Surrey County Council in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In 2025/26, the Local Transport Grant (LTG) has been allocated to local transport authorities (LTAs) in the North and Midlands outside of areas that receive City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) funding. Therefore, Surrey County Council did not receive a Local Transport Grant allocation.
Surrey County Council will receive an Integrated Transport Block (ITB) allocation of £4.8m in 2025/26 to support local transport maintenance and enhancements.
The Spending Review 2025 confirmed a £2.3 billion investment in local transport through the LTG for smaller cities, towns and rural areas, which do not receive City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) or Transport for City Regions (TCR) funding. This investment brings LTG and ITB together into a consolidated fund. Surrey County Council will receive a £38.2m LTG allocation between 2026/27 and 2029/30.
All allocations for ITB and LTG are published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Spending Review, published on 11 June 2025, how much and what proportion of the funding allocated for rail enhancements will be allocated to upgrades on the South Western Railway network.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Following the Chancellors’s statement on 11 June we are now working to confirm our wider portfolio of rail enhancements, which will be published as part of the government’s commitment to set out its overall infrastructure pipeline.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking following the nationalisation of South Western Railway to improve (a) train services and (b) access to train stations in Woking.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
South Western Railway (SWR) services transferred into public ownership on 25 May. This was a watershed moment in our work to return the railways to the service of passengers. The new Managing Director of SWR will develop a detailed plan to improve performance and get new trains into service which will improve train services in the Woking area. There are no immediate plans to improve access to stations in Woking.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has considered improving pedestrian (a) access and (b) egress at Waterloo Station.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are a series of improvement works underway at Waterloo station to improve pedestrian access and egress, including the recent refurbishment of the lift to Waterloo Road and with further escalator works to be completed by summer 2026. Network Rail is currently working on a London Waterloo masterplan which is at early stages to transform Waterloo station and the surrounding area.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a temporary Blue Badge scheme.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Blue Badge scheme is primarily about helping people with a long-term disability that affects their capacity to access the goods and services they need to use. Anyone may be entitled to a badge if they meet the eligibility criteria.
The Department for Transport has previously issued local authorities with advice on how they could use existing powers to provide locally determined parking concessions within their areas. For example, some local authorities grant parking concessions to assist their elderly residents. The same powers could be used to help those with temporary disabilities.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the length of time for which a driving theory test certificate is valid.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It is important road safety knowledge and hazard perception skills are up to date at the critical point a person drives unsupervised for the first time.
The maximum duration of two years between passing the theory test and a subsequent practical test is in place to ensure a customer’s road safety knowledge and ability to identify developing hazards is current. This validity period is set in legislation, and the Government has no current plans to lay further legislation to extend it.
Ensuring learner drivers have current relevant knowledge and skills is a vital part of the learning to drive process as new drivers are disproportionately casualties on our roads. Learners therefore need to pass another theory test if their two-year theory test certificate expires.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to provide additional funding to highway authorities affected by the M25/A3 roadworks to cover the increased wear and tear and maintenance costs on diversion routes.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The strategic and local road networks are frequently used to support diversions for one another, typically without the need for compensation from either party. From the early stages of the project, extensive engagement was undertaken with Surrey County Council which is the main local authority impacted by the works. This included detailed discussions on diversion routes that would utilise Surrey County Council’s road network to support the scheme's delivery. The development of these diversion routes carefully considered local communities, road widths, weight and height restrictions, junction configurations, and other relevant constraints.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase the availability of approved driving instructor (ADI) tests; and if she will make it her policy to temporarily extend the two-year qualification period applicable after passing part one of the ADI.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) understands that waiting times remain high for approved driving instructor (ADI) tests and has a rolling programme of recruitment and training for ADI examiners.
Since December 2024, the DVSA has also made available weekend slots for ADI part 2 and part 3 tests.
When managing the book to hold list, DVSA’s deployment team will look at the part 1 expiry date to help prioritise trainee driving instructors whose expiration date is approaching.
The legislation requires that a part three test is booked, not taken, before the expiry of the part one test. The DVSA has put measures in place to support candidates whose part one pass is due to expire by allowing them to book a part three test online, or if no tests are available they can book a test to hold. Both of these options meet the regulatory requirements.
The two-year qualifying period is set in legislation and there are no plans to extend this.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
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 the extra cost of car insurance premiums faced by (a) all drivers and (b) those drivers who have not previously claimed.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government committed in its manifesto to tackle the high costs of motor insurance. Our cross-Government Motor Insurance Taskforce, launched in October, is comprised of ministers from relevant government departments and the Financial Conduct Authority and Competition and Markets Authority.
This Taskforce has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments aimed at stabilising or reducing the cost to all drivers, including those who have not previously made a claim on their motor insurance.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to review her Department's decision to reduce the maximum weight limits for volumetric concrete mobile plants; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of this policy on (a) the number of skilled jobs in the construction industry, (b) the size of the construction sector and (c) the environment.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The outcome of my Department’s review into volumetric concrete mixers was published on 18 March. This can be accessed at the following link:
gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/volumetric-concrete-mixers-review.