Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing (a) registration, (b) geofencing and (c) remote identification requirements for (i) drones and (ii) drone components in order to improve (A) traceability and (B) enforcement.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government is delivering the following reforms in the Unmanned Aircraft (Amendment) Regulations 2025.
(a) All drones weighing 100g or more with a camera must be registered from 1st January 2026.
(b) Drones weighing 250g or more must have geo-awareness requirements from 1st January 2026. Then, from 1st January 2028, Geo-awareness requirements will apply to all drones weighing 100g or more with a camera.
(c) Drones weighing 250g or more must have remote identification (RID) requirements from 1st January 2026. Then, from 1st January 2028, RID will apply to drones weighing 100g or more with a camera.
These reforms will improve traceability because they will enforce the registration of a RID “digital numberplate” that can be linked to a registered operator. Geo-awareness and RID will help law enforcement to target the actively non-compliant drones that have switched off RID and are ignoring geo-awareness alerts of airspace restrictions, therefore reducing the volume of incidents and length of investigation for suspicious drone activity.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who will be responsible for conducting the (a) economic and (b) environmental analysis of Heathrow Airport expansion.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has commenced the review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) and will lead on conducting the economic and environmental analysis that supports that document. This will be in collaboration with other government departments and other expert bodies as appropriate.
As announced, we will also seek the independent view of the Climate Change Committee, and the Secretary of State will be writing to the Climate Change Committee shortly to set this out.
Before Heathrow expansion can proceed, a scheme promoter must also prepare and submit a full Environmental Statement as part of the Development Consent Order application.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2025 to Question 82986 on Aviation: Alternative Fuels, how many UK-based sustainable aviation fuel production facilities have (a) commenced construction and (b) reached final investment decision.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The only commercial scale SAF producer in the UK is P66’s Humberside Refinery. Through the Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF) we have awarded over £198m to 21 UK SAF projects. Information on these projects is published on gov.uk.
There are a wide range of SAF projects across the UK using different technologies and at different stages of development. However, much of the information on the development of fuel projects that DfT holds is commercially sensitive.
Our policies are both ambitious and pragmatic to the realities of the SAF industry. The SAF Mandate entered into force on 1 January 2025. In its first year, the mandate requires that SAF constitute 2% of total fossil jet fuel supplied, increasing to 10% by 2030 and 22% by 2040. Provisional data suggests the UK was already on track, with SAF accounting for approximately 2% of aviation fuel supplied in 2024.
On the supply side, we are creating the right environment to support the future construction of UK SAF production plants through measures such as the UK’s pioneering SAF Clearing House, AFF, and legislation to provide investor confidence via a Revenue Certainty Mechanism.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of rejoining the EU's European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Through our regular engagement with the aviation industry, we are aware of the operational implications following the loss of access to the EU’s European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service.
The Department continues to work with the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, which is leading the Government’s business case on a future Satellite Based Augmentation System, to ensure that the aviation requirements are understood and considered as part of the decision-making process.
Asked by: Claire Hazelgrove (Labour - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans her Department has to expand eligibility of the England National Concessionary Travel Scheme to (a) carers and (b) companions of (i) older and (ii) disabled people.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age, currently sixty-six. The ENCTS costs around £700 million annually, and any changes to the statutory obligations, such as expanding eligibility, would need careful consideration for the scheme’s financial sustainability
Local authorities in England have the power to use local resources to fund further concessions in addition to their statutory obligations, for example, offering companion passes or lowering the age of eligibility.
The government has confirmed over £1 billion for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country, of which Gloucestershire County Council has been allocated £8 million. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services for passengers can be used in whichever way they wish, including enhancing the concessionary travel offering in the local area.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2025 to Question 84798 on Driving Licences, how many code 70s were issued in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The number of GB driving licences issued in exchange for a licence issued in a non-UK country (which will have code 70 shown on the licence) in each of the last ten years is shown in the table below:
Calendar Year | Number of non-GB licences exchanged for a GB one |
2016 | 175,055 |
2017 | 170,477 |
2018 | 150,431 |
2019 | 161,653 |
2020 | 123,690 |
2021 | 117,525 |
2022 | 146,672 |
2023 | 137,662 |
2024 | 117,721 |
2025 (to 30 Sept) | 67,056 |
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.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she has taken with relevant stakeholders to help tackle illegal car sales.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
While the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has no powers to govern how cars are bought and sold, it does play a key role in maintaining accurate records of vehicles and their registered keepers to support wider efforts to tackle vehicle-related crime. It is a legal requirement to notify the DVLA when a vehicle is bought or sold.
The latest available data shows that more than 93 per cent of vehicle keepers are contactable and traceable from the information held on the DVLA’s records. Of the remainder, around six per cent are in the motor trade where a vehicle may legitimately have no registered keeper.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 84695 on Bus Services: Fares, when her Department expects to complete its evaluation of the £3 single bus fare cap scheme; and whether she plans to publish that evaluation in full once it is finalised.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport is currently undertaking an evaluation of the £3 single bus fare cap and its impacts, with the full report expected to be published next year.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many performance reviews were undertaken for staff in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last five years; in how many cases performance was rated as unsatisfactory or below; how many staff left as a result of such a rating; and what proportion of full-time equivalent staff this represented.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We have provided a response based on the number of submitted reviews over the entirety of a complete performance year (April 1 to March 31), for performance years 2024/25, 2023/24, 2022/23, 2021/22, 2020/21. This has been split, where possible, between Department for Transport (DfT) core and its agencies (Active Travel England (ATE), Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA)). In addition, data has been split by Senior Civil Servants (SCS) and delegated grades (Grade 6 and below), as performance is managed differently.
The information provided does not include employees that have been marked as out of scope for review, and where figures within each business unit are below 5, these have been withheld for identification protection under S40(2) of the FOIA.
TOTAL REVIEWS CONDUCTED
Year | DfTc | DVLA | DVSA | MCA | VCA | ATE | SCS |
2024/25 | 10760 | 70181 | 14372 | 4005 | 666 | 209 | 281 |
2023/24 | 6815 | 69824 | 12669 | 4228 | 585 | N/A | 284 |
2022/23 | 10364 | 70408 | 17430 | 4169 | 634 | N/A | 271 |
2021/22 | 10915 | 62607 | N/A | 4261 | 737 | N/A | 243 |
2020/21 | 9587 | 65827 | N/A | 4409 | 515 | N/A | 232 |
NUMBER OF UNSATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE RATINGS
Year | DfTc | DVLA | DVSA | MCA | VCA | ATE | SCS |
2024/25 | 92 | 605 | 72 | 30 | <5 | <5 | 13 |
2023/24 | 55 | 462 | 67 | 43 | <5 | N/A | 9 |
2022/23 | 106 | 379 | 115 | 50 | <5 | N/A | 11 |
2021/22 | 118 | 148 | N/A | 51 | <5 | N/A | 11 |
2020/21 | 86 | 148 | N/A | 69 | 7 | N/A | 12 |
NUMBER OF DIMISSALS AS A RESULT OF PERFORMANCE AND FTE PROPORTION
Year | DfTc | DVLA | DVSA | MCA | VCA | ATE | SCS | TOTAL (FTE proportion for whole group) |
2024/25 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | 2 (0.01%) |
2023/24 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
2022/23 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | 7 (0.05%) |
2021/22 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
2020/21 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | N/A | <5 | 2 (0.01%) |
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Engineering Recommendation G100: Technical Requirements for Customers’ Export and Import Limitation Schemes, published in July 2016, what steps she is taking to encourage District Network Operators to accept new EV charging technologies.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to enabling innovative electric vehicle (EV) charging technologies, including smart charging and vehicle-to-grid (V2G), to reduce energy bills and support the decarbonisation of our energy system.
Engineering Recommendation G100 is the responsibility of the Distribution Network Operators (DNOs). It is regularly updated to facilitate connections, while ensuring they do not adversely impact on customers or the local electricity network.
As set out in the Clean Flexibility Roadmap published in July 2025, Ofgem and DESNZ are considering with industry how to improve grid connection processes and technical interoperability for V2G to ensure they are fit for purpose. This includes working with DNOs in relation to the grid codes which set out the technical requirements for connecting V2G systems.
More widely, Ofgem is working to improve the connections experience for all customers in its end to end review of connections.