Department for Transport

I have since issued a written ministerial correction to clarify that the Department allocated approximately £8 billion for local highways maintenance in England over the period 2021/22 to 2025/26 alongside an explanation of what funds this figure takes into account.

It is not possible to determine the proportion of this that was spent specifically on pothole repairs by local highway authorities as it is for these authorities to assess which parts of their network need repair and to determine and deliver their maintenance programmes. The Department has earlier this year introduced new reporting requirements which require each local highway authority to publish a transparency report on their maintenance programme on their website. In these reports, local highway authorities were also required to provide an estimate of the number of potholes that they filled in previous years.

In real terms, highways maintenance funding in 2025/26 is around £300 million higher than in 2019/20.

City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) payments began in 2022/23. Since 2022/23, approximately 85% of funding has been allocated to areas outside of areas eligible for CRSTS funding. This figure is exclusive of highways maintenance funding and Integrated Transport Block funding that has been consolidated into CRSTS funding for 2025/26. The Department has not split out how much of this funding is for highways maintenance as, by the nature of the funding, it is consolidated transport funding for local authorities to decide how best to use.

The £448 million funding will primarily be allocated through open competitions rather than direct grants to select coastal towns or cities. The competitions are designed to support maritime businesses including those in the UK’s coastal communities. Detailed competition scopes and assessment criteria will be published alongside competition announcements during the funding period.

Department for Transport officials regularly meet representatives of the road haulage industry to discuss a wide range of issues impacting the industry. Meetings of industry forums at which road freight representatives were present include:

Meetings of the Freight Council on 7 April, 24 June and 6 October 2025

The Freight Workforce Group meetings on 23 October 2024 (as the People and Skills Group) and on 30 April, 5 June and 17 September 2025.

The Road Freight Industry Engagement Group meetings on 25 July 2024, and on 27 February, 29 April, 26 June and 23 September 2025.

In addition, officials hold ad hoc meetings with road haulage businesses and trade associations to discuss issues raised by the sector, including those relating to costs.

We want to ensure the evaluation of the trials is as robust as possible, while remaining proportionate to the scale of the scheme. The 1,000 participants per trial will allow the Department to gain valuable insights into how passengers engage with this technology, their perception of it, how it is working, and what improvements could be considered in future. We are confident the limited trial approach will allow us to effectively evaluate this.

My Department remains committed to supporting international research, for example, through encouraging UK participation in Horizon Europe, and as an active participant in the International Transport Forum, including supporting research projects on decarbonisation and sustainable mobility. To date, there has been no specific discussion with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology on setting up a cross-government mechanism to support the UK in participating in international research partnerships on these topics.

The Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate and its compliance requirements apply only to manufacturers of new cars and vans, not to logistics or coach businesses, but we recognise the importance of supporting businesses across the economy as they transition to zero emission. That is why the Government confirmed in August vital funding to support the uptake of electric vans and trucks, with the plug-in van and truck grant offering discounts of up to £25,000.

A completed order is defined as logged on the grant portal, registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), and delivered to the customer within nine calendar months. The Department does hold provisional order data for the total 2025-26 scheme year.

As of 23 October, a provisional total of over 27,800 Electric Car Grant orders have been placed since launch. The Department expects to hold completed data for the 2025-26 financial year in line with the definition of completion: nine months following the end of the 2025-26 financial year (January 2027).

No assessment has been made of the average cost per new HGV parking space delivered by the HGV Parking Matched Funding Grant Scheme, as costs can vary significantly based on location and extent of work required.

The total amount of funding contractually committed to improvement projects by this scheme, as of 23 October, is £13,849,303.45 of which £10,172,066.38 has been spent to date.

Up to 1,500 parking spaces will be created alongside wider improvements including to security, welfare facilities such as showers, toilets and dining facilities and decarbonisation measures.

Local authorities are at different stages with their Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) projects and chargepoint deployment more widely. The first LEVI projects have now signed contracts and some are starting to install chargepoints. Local authorities are responsible for determining appropriate timetables for their projects in line with their chargepoint strategies. They are required to update the Department quarterly on project progress, including completed chargepoint installations. Installation rates will increase as more projects enter delivery and continue over the next few years.

Since 2017, the Plug-in Motorcycle grant has supported 13,349 motorcycles.

The Department does not collect data on the location of vehicle assembly.

The Department cannot provide breakdown of support to an individual manufacturer due to commercial sensitivity.

The government recognises there is a desire for more detail on the long-term future of the properties acquired for HS2, following the lifting of safeguarding along the former Phase 2 Eastern Leg and the announcement of the planned disposal programme for Phase 2 properties in July this year.

The government is currently procuring a specialist agent to lead development of a disposal strategy and to deliver the programme. The programme will start on the former Eastern Leg. We expect to begin sales on the open market from Spring 2026 onwards. We aim to dispose of surplus property in a sensitive and sensible way in compliance with Treasury rules. We will ensure that wherever possible tenancies can come to their natural end and that we do not flood local markets.

The Department is working closely with Chiltern Railways and other partners to confirm a start date for the service. We are looking forward to commencing services as soon as all necessary authorisations and agreements are in place. Passenger services will commence once train testing and driver training have been completed.

Through the HGV parking and driver welfare grant scheme the Department and industry partners are projected to deliver up to £35.7m of joint investment to enhance truck stops across England. This significant investment is in addition to joint investment by National Highways and industry of up to a further £30 million, aimed at improving lorry parking facilities along the strategic road network.

There are no plans for further windows of the HGV Parking and Driver Welfare Matched Funding Scheme.

Funding for further lorry parking improvements is planned for the third road investment strategy (RIS3) as part of the Customer and Community Designated Funds, subject to confirmation National Highways RIS3 settlement.

The implementation of Minimum Service Levels (MSLs) legislation by the last Government only worsened industrial relations. This was particularly evident in rail, where it exacerbated the national disputes, which had seen two years of widespread strikes and disruption to millions of passengers.

MSLs legislation is being repealed under the Employment Rights Bill (ERB). The Government has consulted numerous stakeholders about the ERB, including trade unions.

The approach recommended to assess benefits from road investment schemes is set out in DfT’s Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG), which is based on HMT’s Green Book Guidance. This sets out the best practice guidance on assessing and evaluating policies, programmes and projects. The guidance is regularly reviewed and updated to reflect new evidence.

How long benefits may last will be very much dependent on the nature of the scheme, the local area and the strategic objectives being sought. TAG recommends, therefore, that infrastructure schemes should do bespoke analysis using transport modelling. These models, such as the types described in TAG, allow benefits to be calculated based on various behavioural responses expected. For instance, where infrastructure improvements decrease the cost, time and inconvenience of using that infrastructure, transport users may decide to use that infrastructure, change their destinations or activities, or change their mode of travel.

TAG recommends an appraisal period that is linked to the life of the infrastructure asset. This allows accounting for the foreseeable costs and benefits over that time horizon, where they are expected to occur. The appraisal period is usually for 60 years after scheme opening, which is used reasonably consistently in the sector. Allowances may be made for infrastructure that is expected to have longer-lasting benefits and costs after 60 years. TAG recommends that, in such cases, the analysis may cover up to a 100-year appraisal period from scheme opening as a sensitivity test. This is the recommended treatment, since large uncertainty is a feature of the very-long-term, and costs and benefits are heavily discounted in this period.

The benefits of road travel, in particular transport user benefits, can indeed deteriorate for each road user as congestion reoccurs. TAG methods allow for this, utilising the modelling previously mentioned. The “counterfactual” position is important here. This is the state of transport conditions in the case where there is no investment. Benefits are counted across the entire transport network, including non-road travel. Even where the road in question may reach the levels of congestion seen today, benefits, albeit potentially weaker, are still expected to occur even over long-time horizons, when considering the operation of the whole network. For example, traffic may reroute from previous local bottlenecks, some decongestion on public transport services may occur, and so on. In the counterfactual, people would effectively see higher costs/time/inconvenience of reaching the destinations they desire, or indeed become ‘priced off’, the transport system providing them with lower access to opportunity. Again, local conditions are important in understanding the precise source of such benefits.

DfT assesses the benefits and costs of transport interventions using our published Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG), which is based on HMT’s Green Book Guidance. This covers a wide range of social, environmental and economic impacts of transport investment. We use transport models to understand how non-road interventions will interact with the existing network, and the pattern of passenger demand. This will reflect users changing their route or mode of travel to make use of the new project.

Our forecasts of travel demand, on which these appraisals are based, take account of the expected locations of housing and jobs in the future. For major schemes, we also model how land uses may change in response to the investment – for example, housing developments near new or improved railway stations. There is a significant body of evidence linking transport connectivity and jobs, which our appraisals take account of. Currently, this tends to be small component of appraised project benefits. We are undertaking research to improve how we predict and value transport’s impact on unemployment, which is likely to increase magnitude of these appraised benefits in deprived areas.

TAG recommends an appraisal period that is linked to the life of the infrastructure asset. This allows accounting for the foreseeable costs and benefits over that time horizon, where they are expected to occur. The appraisal period is usually for 60 years after scheme opening, which is used reasonably consistently in the sector. Allowances may be made for infrastructure that is expected to have longer-lasting benefits and costs after 60 years. TAG recommends that, in such cases, the analysis may cover up to a 100-year appraisal period from scheme opening as a sensitivity test. This is the recommended treatment, since large uncertainty is a feature of the very-long-term, and costs and benefits are heavily discounted in this period.

Southeastern, Northern Trains Limited and Transpennine Trains are responsible for the specification of the new trains which are being procured and we would expect them to include the needs of passengers including the use of mobile phones on trains. The Department is currently developing a Rolling Stock and Infrastructure Strategy that will set out the approach to rolling stock for GBR in the future.

As part of the Spending Review planning, the Department considered the productivity improvements for all travellers, including business travellers, that will arise from providing faster more reliable internet connectivity on trains. This was undertaken in in accordance with our transport appraisal guidance. And as a result, the Department was successful in securing funding to deploy low earth orbit satellite (LEO) technology for onboard Wi-Fi on mainline trains.

Trials using LEO have proven this technology provides high speeds – up to 200 megabits per second, enabling passengers to receive a much better mobile connection through the on-train Wi-Fi than they receive today.

This Government takes road safety seriously. We are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads.

We are considering a range of policies under the new strategy; the first for 10 years. This includes the case for changing motoring offences such as drink driving.

We intend to publish by the end of the year.

Parliamentary Questions and their answers are publicly available on the parliament website.

The Department continues to maintain close relationships with the US on transport innovation. We welcome bids by UK academics to the NSF-UKRI Lead Agency Opportunity and are happy to offer letters of support to suitable proposals.

The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is determined to support local highway authorities in adopting new and innovative technologies to maintain and improve their highway networks in a way that is cost effective and reduces carbon impacts.

While no estimate has been made of the potential cost and carbon savings achieved through using recycled materials, graphene additives, Elastomac and other innovative road repair technologies, the Department for Transport is taking a range of action that will support these sorts of innovative solutions.

This year, the Government made available an additional £500m for local highways maintenance. 25% of that uplift is subject to local highway authorities demonstrating how they are complying with best practice in highways maintenance, including in relation to adopting innovative technologies and reducing carbon impacts.

The Department has also funded Live Labs 2, a three-year, £30 million programme designed to support the local highways sector to adopt innovation and reduce its carbon impacts. Projects funded under the programme include the trialling and demonstration of sustainable materials and processes, such as warm-mix asphalts and asphalt modifiers, and the creation of toolkits and databases so that all local highway authorities can access findings and lessons learned from the programme.

The Department is also supporting a new Carbon Leadership Programme, which will support local highway authorities in benchmarking the carbon intensity of their operations and gain insights into actions they could take to reduce carbon emissions.

Finally, the Department is currently updating the Code of Practice for Well Managed Highways Infrastructure. This update will ensure the Code reflects the latest best practice on innovative and low-carbon road repair technologies.

The Department for Transport does not hold responsibility for enforcement, this is a matter for police forces.

The last paid THINK! drug driving campaign ran in 2015, to coincide with a change in drug driving legislation. To address an increase in drug driving casualties over the last decade, THINK! are finalising a new drug driving campaign to launch later this year.

Please find drug driving campaign expenditure since 2023 below:

All campaigns are rooted in insight and will use pre and post campaign tracking to measure effectiveness, including immediate impact on recognition, recall, engagement and planned or considered behaviour change. These learnings are used to adapt and evolve future strategy.

The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is determined to support local highway authorities in adopting new and innovative technologies to maintain and improve their highway networks.

This year, the Government made available an additional £500m for local highways maintenance. 25% of that uplift is subject to local highway authorities demonstrating how they are complying with best practice in highways maintenance, including in relation to adopting innovative technologies to more effectively repair potholes and improve local road condition.

Local highway authorities have a duty, under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, to maintain the highways network in their area. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as it is for each individual local highway authority to assess which parts of its network need repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances and best practice guidance. Whilst the government has no powers to override local decisions in these matters, it nonetheless encourages the adoption of best practice and innovative technologies.

This Government takes road safety seriously. We are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads.

We are considering a range of policies under the new Road Safety Strategy; the first for ten years. This includes the case for changing the motoring offences, such as drink driving.

We are considering concerns raised by campaigners and bereaved families.

We will set out more details in due course.

The Department does not hold data relating to the number of collisions caused by LED highlights specifically.

The Department’s published road casualty statistics include figures for the number of collisions where ‘vision affected by dazzling headlights’ was recorded as a contributory factor by a police officer attending the scene. In 2023, the latest year for which this data is available, there were 216 reported injury collisions with this factor assigned.

The Government knows that a modern public transport network is vital to providing access to services and keeping communities connected. The Government is already providing funding to local authorities to help them deliver improved local transport and bus services. This includes over £700 million to support and improve local bus services in 2025/26 as part of over £1 billion confirmed at the Autumn 2024 Budget. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council have been allocated £6 million of this funding.

At the Spending Review, we confirmed additional funding each year from 2026/27 to maintain and improve bus services and will announce individual multi-year allocations for local authorities later this year.

This investment sits alongside the Government’s Bus Services Act 2025, which became law on 27 October. This legislation will put the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities that rely on them right across England.

The Spending Review also confirmed £2.3 billion through the Local Transport Grant over the Spending Review period for local transport improvements in places outside areas receiving Transport for City Regions settlements. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council has been allocated nearly £20 million of this funding over the financial years 2026-2030.

There is a robust operator licensing system administered by independent Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain who act as gatekeepers to the industry. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) supports this process by providing compliance and enforcement information, both as part of gatekeeper checks and in relation to existing operators. Traffic Commissioners have the authority to take regulatory action against licence holders, including suspending or revoking licences, if it is found that an operator does not hold the correct licence type or fails to meet the required standards.

DVSA carry out a number of enforcement interventions to ensure heavy goods vehicle operators hold the correct licences.

Specific sanctions relating to no or incorrect operator licenses include:

• Impounding activity: DVSA impounded 45 vehicles in 2024/25 and 18 year to date, this is for heavy goods vehicles (or passenger carrying vehicles) being used without an operator’s licence

• Prosecutions: DVSA successfully prosecuted 31 operator licence offences in 24/25 with 17 years to date. These figures are for cases that have resulted in court.

DVSA is continuing to invest in new technology to support enforcement activities and deliver more effective and efficient compliance checks. This includes using vehicle technology to provide information, without having to stop the vehicle.

There is a robust operator licensing system administered by independent Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain who act as gatekeepers to the industry. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) supports this process by providing compliance and enforcement information, both as part of gatekeeper checks and in relation to existing operators. Traffic Commissioners have the authority to take regulatory action against licence holders, including suspending or revoking licences, if it is found that an operator does not hold the correct licence type or fails to meet the required standards.

DVSA carry out a number of enforcement interventions to ensure heavy goods vehicle operators hold the correct licences.

Specific sanctions relating to no or incorrect operator licenses include:

• Impounding activity: DVSA impounded 45 vehicles in 2024/25 and 18 year to date, this is for heavy goods vehicles (or passenger carrying vehicles) being used without an operator’s licence

• Prosecutions: DVSA successfully prosecuted 31 operator licence offences in 24/25 with 17 years to date. These figures are for cases that have resulted in court.

DVSA is continuing to invest in new technology to support enforcement activities and deliver more effective and efficient compliance checks. This includes using vehicle technology to provide information, without having to stop the vehicle.

There is a robust operator licensing system administered by independent Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain who act as gatekeepers to the industry. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) supports this process by providing compliance and enforcement information, both as part of gatekeeper checks and in relation to existing operators. Traffic Commissioners have the authority to take regulatory action against licence holders, including suspending or revoking licences, if it is found that an operator does not hold the correct licence type or fails to meet the required standards.

DVSA carry out a number of enforcement interventions to ensure heavy goods vehicle operators hold the correct licences.

Specific sanctions relating to no or incorrect operator licenses include:

• Impounding activity: DVSA impounded 45 vehicles in 2024/25 and 18 year to date, this is for heavy goods vehicles (or passenger carrying vehicles) being used without an operator’s licence

• Prosecutions: DVSA successfully prosecuted 31 operator licence offences in 24/25 with 17 years to date. These figures are for cases that have resulted in court.

DVSA is continuing to invest in new technology to support enforcement activities and deliver more effective and efficient compliance checks. This includes using vehicle technology to provide information, without having to stop the vehicle.

The British Transport Police are responsible for policing the railway in England, Scotland and Wales and they record the number of incidents of violence and abuse against rail workers. Analysis by the Department of Violence Against the Person offences shows in 2022/23 there were 5.1 violence against person offences per 1 million passenger journeys of which 1.3 were against staff, in 2024/25 this proportion of staff was 1.4.

The Department does not hold data for other modes of transport.

We are committed to ensuring that public transport is safe for passengers and staff. There is no place for abuse or violence against any worker, and we are supporting industry to develop practical interventions to keep workers safe.

We must also ensure that when staff are victims of crime they are supported through the reporting and investigation process. The Department’s analysis also showed 1 in 4 investigations are discontinued because of the victim declining or withdrawing support for a prosecution and we are undertaking further work with rail industry to understand why this is the case.

Existing public communication activity for zero emission vehicles has not incurred any additional costs to the Department for Transport (DfT) and has been delivered by internal DfT staff as part of existing communications roles. Any other paid public communication activity has been delivered via the total Clean Energy Mission where the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is the lead Department and budget holder.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) initially assessed the current driver testing standards in Moldova in December 2022.

When DVSA receives an application from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency under the mutual exchange of driving licences, DVSA carries out an evaluation from its own panel of subject matter experts. This panel has the expertise in each of the categories of driving test and licence exchange being applied for. External evaluation is not sought as part of this process.

Most airports in the UK are managed and operated as private businesses, and the provision and charging of car parking at airports (including drop-off and pick-up charges) is a matter for the airport operator as a commercial business to manage and justify.

However, DfT expects car parking at airports, such as Manchester, to be managed appropriately and consumers treated fairly.

Assessment of the potential impact of Farnborough Airport’s increased weekend flight operations is a matter for Rushmoor Borough Council as the local planning authority responsible for considering the airport’s planning application.

The size of public safety zones at aerodromes is based off the annual commercial air traffic movements. This can extend to 1,500 metres from landing thresholds for those airports with 45,000 or more movements, which includes Farnborough airport. While overall policy is set by the department, administration is via the Civil Aviation Authority and implementation via local planning authorities. There are no current plans to review this approach.

The availability and independent verification of aircraft noise data from Farnborough Airport is a matter for Rushmoor Borough Council.

Farnborough Airport Company Limited has published information through their Annual report and Roadmap to Net Zero 2030 document on the environmental impacts, such as carbon emissions, of the airport and other parts of the company. These documents discuss the company’s adherence to a range of legal requirements concerning the environment. DfT has not verified the information within the reports.

When a GB driving licence is issued in exchange for a licence issued in a non-GB country, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) add a ‘Code 70’ to the driver’s record to indicate that the driving licence was obtained through an exchange. Also, the driver record and the photocard driving licence display the country in which the exchanged licence was issued, the driving categories that the licence holder is entitled to drive and the start dates for each category.

To be eligible to exchange a foreign licence for a GB equivalent, the applicant would have to have passed their test in a European Union/European Economic Area country or a country designated for driving licence exchange.

GA Trains Limited took over ownership of operations on the Greater Anglia route on 12 October 2025 and is now in its transitional phase to embed the new Services Agreement requirements. During this transitional phase GA Trains Limited will continue to publish information on performance against targets for punctuality, reliability, service quality and customer satisfaction that were used prior to the transfer before moving to the revised targets required under the Services Agreement. Performance will be reported and published in a periodic and moving annual average basis.

To ensure communities have access to the local railways, this Government is committed to improving accessibility, customer support, and helping to remove barriers to travel for all users of public transport.

Accessibility is an important part of ensuring communities can access local railways, which is why we will soon be publishing an Accessibility Roadmap that sets out how we will deliver a more accessible railway in the lead up to Great British Railways.

The Government also looks to connect communities directly with their local train operators through initiatives such as the Customer and Communities Improvement Schemes which aims to fund community-led projects that deliver a positive social impact in local communities across the country.

The Department also provides support for the Community Rail Network and Partnerships. Community Rail initiatives take many forms across Great Britain, united by a common goal of improving accessibility, connecting people, and bringing the railway into communities. Community Rail Partnerships deliver projects which bring benefits to local communities through social, environmental and economic growth.

There are no current plans to review railcards in advance of the transition to Great British Railways, however Great British Railways will have the opportunity to take a fresh look at the justification of the eligibility and restrictions of some railcards.

Any long-term changes or concessions made to rail fares policy will require balancing against the potential impacts on passengers, taxpayers and the railway.

Additionally, there are many local concessionary passes that are valid on National Rail, this includes the Devon and Cornwall Railcard, which have been introduced by local authorities and train operators.

There are no current plans to review railcards in advance of the transition to Great British Railways, however Great British Railways will have the opportunity to take a fresh look at the justification of the eligibility and restrictions of some railcards.

Any long-term changes or concessions made to rail fares policy will require balancing against the potential impacts on passengers, taxpayers and the railway.

Additionally, there are many local concessionary passes that are valid on National Rail, this includes the Devon and Cornwall Railcard, which have been introduced by local authorities and train operators.

The Government is investing over £4.5 billion to help industry and consumers transition to zero emission vehicles. The £650 million Electric Car Grant has supported around 30,000 drivers to choose an electric vehicle since its launch in July.

As of 1 October 2025, the Government and industry have supported the installation of 86,021 publicly available charging devices (including 17,354 rapid charging devices), an increase of 23% year on year. In September 2025, battery electric vehicles represented over a fifth (23.0%) of new UK car registrations, and the UK now has the largest market share for electric cars of any major European economy.

As announced at the Spending Review, we are allocating £616 million in capital funding over the next four years to help local authorities deliver high-quality infrastructure for both cyclists and pedestrians.

In the case of e-scooters, those that are private owned remain illegal to use on the road.

In our e-scooter rental trials, we have allowed e-scooters to use the same road space as bikes. This means e-scooters are allowed on the road, except motorways, and in cycle lanes and tracks, where possible.