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.
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 staff in her Department (a) did not retain employment following completion of their probationary period and (b) had their probationary period extended in each of the last five years.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport’s probation policy and guidance advises managers on the steps to take to assess a new employee’s suitability for the post and to provide support to enable them to succeed. It also advises on the steps to take where performance, attendance or conduct are not satisfactory. This can include exiting the employee or extending their probation to provide further evidence for a final decision on their suitability. The table below shows how many employees of the central Department for Transport (DfTc) did not retain employment following completion of their probationary period or had their probationary period extended.
As requested this information is provided for the last five 5 years, noting that 2025 data covers 1 January to 24 October 2025.
| Dismissal - Probation Failure | Extended Probation |
2021 | 5 | <5 |
2022 | <5 | <5 |
2023 | 7 | 0 |
2024 | 8 | <5 |
2025 (to 24 Oct 2025) | 6 | <5 |
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of updating section 8.1.1 of her Department's guidance entitled MOT inspection manual: cars and passenger vehicles, updated on 11 August 2025, to make it mandatory for MOT test centres to assess for exhaust noise.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Excessive vehicle noise can be a serious disruption to people’s lives. This is why it is included in the MOT as an inspection of exhaust silencers and noise deafening material as well as a subjective assessment of excessive noise upon revving the vehicle. The MOT tester will fail the vehicle if they deem the exhaust noise is unreasonably above the level expected from a similar vehicle in average condition.
The Department and the DVSA included a question about noise testing using decibel meters in a 2023 call for evidence about updating the MOT. Responses highlighted both the benefits of identifying excessively noisy vehicles and the difficulty of testing with decibel meters in a noisy garage environment.
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: 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: 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: 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 staff in her Department are recorded as having a (a) mental health condition and (b) physical disability, broken down by grade.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Following a thorough search of our paper and electronic records, I have established that the information you requested is not held by this Department. This is because it is not a requirement of the department to hold reasons for disability.
The Department invites employees to self-declare their disability status using pre-defined criteria, including ‘prefer not to say’. Of the employees who have chosen to complete their data as of the 30th of September 2025, 238 individuals have recorded their status as disabled in the central Department for Transport.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the impact of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate on average airline ticket prices in (a) 2025, (b) 2026 and (c) each of the next ten years.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave on 23 October 2025, to Question UIN 78707 page 61 of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate Final stage Cost Benefit Analysis, covers estimates on air fares.
We recognise the importance of protecting consumers from excessive costs, and this principle is embedded in both the SAF Mandate and the Revenue Certainty Mechanism.
The SAF Mandate includes a built-in review process, enabling Government intervention if costs become excessive. Meanwhile, the Revenue Certainty Mechanism helps reduce the cost of producing SAF in the UK by lowering the cost of capital for domestic plants.
To ensure the Mandate remains aligned with technological and commercial developments, it will be continuously monitored, including its impact on consumers. Formal reviews will be published at least every five years, with the first scheduled for 2030. These reviews will also ensure continued alignment with broader government policies and strategies.