Asked by: John Grady (Labour - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the DVLA is taking with local councils and police to remove abandoned vehicles (a) without road tax and (b) that are SORN registered from public roads.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) operates a comprehensive package of measures to tackle unlicensed vehicles. These range from automatic number plate recognition cameras, wheelclamping and the removal and impounding of unlicensed vehicles.
The DVLA works closely with the police and local authorities to address such vehicles at local levels and to share intelligence. As well as any enforcement action that may be taken by the DVLA, the law also allows local authorities and police forces to work in partnership with the DVLA to tackle unlicensed vehicles by giving them the power to immobilise or impound unlicensed vehicles identified in their areas. These are known as devolved power partners.
The DVLA’s database highlights every unlicensed vehicle that is not subject to a Statutory Off-Road Notification (SORN) and automatically recognises when a keeper becomes non-compliant so that enforcement action can take place.
The DVLA’s wheelclamping contractor also provides ANPR services that provide enforcement coverage across every district in the UK. The DVLA also uses its own fleet to locate unlicensed vehicles and take direct action where appropriate. Members of the public can report unlicensed vehicles to the DVLA online at https://www.gov.uk/report-untaxed-vehicle .
The removal of abandoned vehicles is the responsibility of the relevant local authority. The police also have the powers to remove immediately any vehicle that is causing an obstruction, is likely to cause danger or is broken down or abandoned without lawful authority.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding is available to increase options for active travel involving schools in South Shropshire constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
On 10 December, the Department announced over £626 million of funding to support active travel across England, including walking and cycling to schools. Of this funding, Shropshire Unitary Authority, of which South Shropshire is a part, has been allocated £2,004,847 over 2026/27 to 2029/30.
In addition, Active Travel England provided £191,121 to support Bikeability cycle training in Shropshire over 2024/25, with a similar level expected for 2025/26. The Bikeability programme delivers a range of cycle training activities aimed at giving school children the skills and confidence to cycle on the road. Future funding for Bikeability will be announced in early 2026.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data her Department holds on the number of electric vehicles registered in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
At the end of June 2025, the number of licensed vehicles that were battery electric was 10,789 in Lincolnshire.
We do not readily hold the respective figure for South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
It is important to note, vehicles are allocated to geographic location according to the postcode of the registered keeper. The address does not necessarily reflect where the vehicle is located. This is especially true for large fleets kept by companies involved with vehicle management, leasing or rentals.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the expected completion date of the current phase of HS2.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Mark Wild, the new Chief Executive of HS2, is undertaking a comprehensive reset of the Programme which will provide a realistic budget and schedule to deliver the remaining works.
Given the complexity of conducting a reset whilst maintaining in-flight delivery, sufficient time must be given to accurately inform a robust range of when HS2 services will commence. The Department will update Parliament once this work is completed.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much taxpayer money in total has been spent on HS2 since its inception to the latest date for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department regularly reports on HS2 expenditure through 6-monthly reports to Parliament. As we set out in the latest report published in July 2025, the total overall costs incurred up to the end of April 2025 on HS2 are £40.5 billion (in nominal prices), including expenditure on the former Phase 2.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential implications for Government policies of trends in the level of street clutter on the character of urban areas.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Management of local roads, including placement of fixed street furniture such as signs, benches, bins and cycle racks, is the responsibility of local traffic authorities. Neither good traffic management, nor good streetscape design is helped by over-provision and clutter. The Department’s good practice advice in the Traffic Signs Manual and the Manual for Streets stresses the importance of designing streets in such a way as to reduce clutter. These are available at the following links:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-signs-manual
www.gov.uk/government/publications/manual-for-streets.
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of the engineering work carried since October 2022 to reduce flooding of the track near Chipping Sodbury, and what, if any, further work is planned.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The work Network Rail has completed to date has significantly improved the resilience of the track at Chipping Sodbury during flooding events. Resilience levels for closure have been raised from 36mm to 73mm of rainfall for a 5-day consecutive period. This work delayed the flooding impact of Storm Claudia in mid-November significantly, with flooding above railhead occurring only after 76mm of rain, providing an extra 27 hours of resilience and operational railway at Chipping Sodbury.
Network Rail plans to spend a further £1.45m on further measures at Chipping Sodbury starting in 2026/27, which will include removing some long-standing restrictions to discharging water, reinstatement and renewal of pumps at both tunnel portals, and ground investigation and monitoring work.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average processing time was for driving licence renewals involving medical assessments in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The table below shows the average number of working days taken to process driving licence applications where a medical condition needed to be investigated before a licence could be issued for both group 1 (cars and motorcycles) and group 2 (lorry and bus) licences.
| Group 1 | Group 2 |
Dec 2024 | 45.32 | 46.65 |
Jan 2025 | 46.1 | 46.29 |
Feb 2025 | 42.65 | 40.55 |
Mar 2025 | 45.48 | 40.64 |
Apr 2025 | 41.64 | 43.49 |
May 2025 | 42.34 | 41.46 |
Jun 2025 | 48.08 | 37.85 |
Jul 2025 | 54.42 | 39.06 |
Aug 2025 | 49.33 | 41.72 |
Sept 2025 | 52.5 | 49.04 |
Oct 2025 | 78.36 | 55.78 |
Nov 2025 | 80.27 | 47.71 |
Driving licence applications where a medical condition(s) must be investigated before a licence can be issued can take longer as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is often reliant on receiving information from third parties, including medical professionals, before a licence can be issued.
The DVLA is currently rolling out a new casework system which is expected to deliver significant improvements to the services provided to drivers with medical conditions. When fully implemented, this will provide improved turnaround times, increased capacity and automation, higher levels of digital functionality and digital communication. The DVLA is also planning to launch a new medical services platform which will enable more customers to transact online and will increase the use of email communication.
Applicants renewing an existing licence may be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing they can meet specific criteria. More information can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inf1886-can-i-drive-while-my-application-is-with-dvla.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will review the £10,000 price threshold applied to electric motorcycles for the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Plug-in Motorcycle Grant will continue at the same price threshold. The grant will close at the end of the 2025/26 FY or when budgets have been exhausted, whichever comes first.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will review the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant and extend it beyond April 2026.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Plug-in Motorcycle Grant will continue at the same price threshold. The grant will close at the end of the 2025/26 FY or when budgets have been exhausted, whichever comes first.