Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to increase the availability of parts 2 and 3 of the driving instructor test.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is continually recruiting in to fill its ADI examiner vacancies and increase the capacity for additional part two and part three tests.
DVSA has recently undertaken a campaign to recruit an additional 10 examiners this financial year with additional campaigns planned for 2026-27.
DVSA recommends trainee instructors use the ‘Book to Hold’ service. All tests must be paid for at the time of booking, including where tests are booked to ‘hold’. This gives DVSA an accurate picture of where demand is, and it can then ensure that it deploys its examiner resources in the right areas. Once approved driving instructor examiner programmes have been finalised, DVSA will contact those on the hold list in the order they booked their test to hold to arrange a test whilst also mindful of regulatory deadline for the qualification process.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, by how much they plan to reduce their Department's budget to help fund the digital ID scheme.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Digital Identity policy is in development, with a dedicated team inside the Cabinet Office working to develop the proposals.
Costs in this Spending Review period will be met within the existing Spending Review settlements. We are inviting the public to have their say in the upcoming consultation as we develop a safe, secure, and inclusive system for the UK. No final decisions will be made until after the consultation.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if the Government reconsider the national concessionary fares scheme to reflect pressures on tourist areas like Bournemouth, where local authorities must fund concessionary travel for tourists who are eligible bus pass holders.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Under the statutory elements of the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS), Travel Concessionary Authorities (TCA) must reimburse bus operators for all concessionary journeys starting within their boundaries, irrespective of whether the concessionary passholder making the journey is resident in the TCA area. ENCTS funding is part of the non-ringfenced Local Government Finance Settlement provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government. A daytime population metric, which includes domestic tourists, is included in the allocation formulae.
The ENCTS costs around £795 million annually in reimbursement costs to bus operators and any changes to the statutory obligations would need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.
The Government is investing in bus services long-term and has confirmed over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services over the remainder of the spending review period. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council will be allocated £17 million under the LABG from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in addition to the £6 million they are already receiving this year. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers, including helping to fund concessionary travel locally.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many jobs were created in the past twelve months through the Support for Maritime Training fund.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are strongly supportive of the Support for Maritime Training fund (SMarT). 680 new cadetships were supported by SMarT in the financial year 2023/24. There are approximately 1500 cadets currently in training.
Statistics for the 2024/25 financial year are expected to be published on 25th February. The Department for Transport does not hold data on the number of jobs created through SMarT.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of nationalising the M6 Toll road.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are currently no discussions underway about nationalising the M6 Toll. The M6 Toll sits outside of the Strategic Road Network managed by National Highways and is owned and operated by private entity Midland Expressway Ltd (MEL).
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the powers conferred by the Harbours Act 1964, as amended by the Transport and Works Act 1992, allow Ministers to amend the text of primary legislation by Harbour Revision Order.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Harbour Revision Orders (HROs) are normally initiated by a harbour authority, but the Secretary of State can seek to impose a HRO under the Harbours Act 1964. The department is consulted on all HRO applications, but the Secretary of State does not have the power to directly amend orders that have been applied for by a harbour authority.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the availability and quality of facilities for HGV drivers, including secure parking, welfare facilities and overnight rest areas; and what assessment has she made of the implications of the current provisions for driver welfare.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The HGV Parking Matched Funding Grant Scheme (MFGS) was launched in 2022 to fund investment in: HGV driver welfare facilities, lorry parking provision, site security, and decarbonisation. The scheme is supporting truck stop operators across 30 counties in England.
Through the MFGS 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.
The National Survey of Lorry Parking, which was published on 29 September 2022, is the Department for Transport’s primary evidence base on the availability of HGV parking facilities. The survey showed an average shortage across England of around 4,500 HGV parking spaces for the month of March 2022 and identified driver concerns with the quality of welfare facilities and security of lorry parks. A further National Survey of Lorry Parking is planned for 2026.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when any assessment by National Highways of temporary slip roads at Junction 38 of the M6 was undertaken; and whether the findings of that assessment informed the current construction programme.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether National Highways undertook a detailed assessment of the potential to construct temporary slip roads to allow Junction 38 of the M6 (northbound and southbound) to remain open for the duration of the Lune Gorge bridge replacement works; and whether that assessment was completed before the current construction programme was designed and approved.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the up-front technology and systems investment costs required for Network Rail and National Highways to deliver the efficiency gains assumed in the regulated settlements.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Technology and systems investments are integral to delivering efficiencies within Network Rail’s plan for Control Period 7. Significant investments have been made in specific technology and systems programmes, for example £930 million on Digital Signalling, £215 million on Electrical Safety and Delivery, and £185 million on Project Reach which aims to secure external investment to upgrade Network Rail’s telecoms infrastructure through utilising private sector funding. These investments are made to drive Network Rail's delivery against its overall strategic objectives, one of which is efficiency.
For National Highways, the upfront technology and system costs required to support efficiency delivery and performance outcomes will form part of the overall investment plan to be confirmed when RIS3 is published in March 2026.