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: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many visas a) her Department, b) the Vehicle Certification Agency, c) East-West Rail, d) National Highways, e) Network Rail, f) Trinity House, g) the Civil Aviation Authority and h) Crossrail International have sponsored since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Visa systems, outside of those specific to sponsored employment routes, do not capture the occupation or employer of an applicant and therefore it is not possible to give a comprehensive answer to this question. In addition, the department does not hold information sponsored employment routes for other employers.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve processing times for driving licence renewals involving medical assessments.
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: 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: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the time taken for driving tests and MOTs.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The national average waiting time in Great Britain (GB) for a car practical driving test in November 2025 was 22 weeks.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times across GB. The agency is intensifying its efforts to reduce waiting times and improve access to driving tests that will break down barriers to opportunity as part of the government’s Plan for Change.
On the 12 November, the Secretary of State for Transport, updated the Transport Select Committee on the government’s ongoing response to high driving test waiting times in GB. Further information on the measures announced can be found on GOV.uk.
DVSA supervises the delivery of light vehicle MOTs in GB through its approved MOT garages. However, as these are private garages, DVSA does not collate overall average waiting time data for MOTs.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to Oxfordshire County Council to develop and build the proposed Greenway route between Thame and Haddenham and Thame Parkway Station.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Spending Review in June 2025, which covers multiple years from 2026/27 onwards, allocated £616 million for Active Travel England to support local authorities to build and maintain walking, wheeling, and cycling infrastructure including dedicated cycling routes. This comes on top of £222.5 million announced in February 2025 for local authorities over 2024/25-25/26.
Active Travel funding supports local transport authorities with developing and constructing walking, wheeling and cycling facilities. Oxfordshire County Council has received £2,650,279 from the Consolidated Active travel fund 2025/6. However, it is up to local authorities to determine and put forward their local active travel infrastructure priorities for funding. As yet, ATE has not been asked to provide design assurance for this potential scheme.
ATE work closely with local authorities to ensure walking, wheeling and cycling routes are safe and accessible. ATE regularly provide design assurance services to local authorities who are planning and designing improvements to new or existing active travel facilities.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of traffic congestion on the economy.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department for Transport publishes transport analysis guidance to help assess the economic cost of congestion associated with different policy interventions. It also regularly publishes statistics on speeds, delay and reliability on different types of roads. However, it does not routinely assess the economic cost of congestion on the road network as a whole.
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 she has made of the number of potholes filled by local authorities in England in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
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. The Department does not hold data on the time taken by local highway authorities to repair reported potholes, but national guidance recommends that defects and potholes which require urgent attention should be made safe at the time of inspection or as soon as possible.
This year, local highway authorities were required to publish transparency reports setting out progress on highway maintenance, including the number of potholes they estimate they have filled in recent years. This information can be found on the websites of relevant local highways authorities.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average time taken by local authorities to repair a reported pothole was in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
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. The Department does not hold data on the time taken by local highway authorities to repair reported potholes, but national guidance recommends that defects and potholes which require urgent attention should be made safe at the time of inspection or as soon as possible.
This year, local highway authorities were required to publish transparency reports setting out progress on highway maintenance, including the number of potholes they estimate they have filled in recent years. This information can be found on the websites of relevant local highways authorities.
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.