Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has measurable targets for helping to reduce average motor insurance premiums.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government does not intend to commission a specific review into the motorcycle insurance market, as motor insurers are responsible for setting the terms and conditions of the policies that they offer. It is for them to decide the level of risk that they take in issuing any policy to a given applicant. Motor insurers use a wide range of criteria to assess the potential risk a driver or rider poses including the age of the applicant, the type of vehicle being insured, the postal area where the applicant lives and their driving or riding experience. The setting of premiums is a commercial decision for individual insurers based on their underwriting experience. The government does not seek to control the motor insurance market.
The Motor Insurance Taskforce focused on identifying actions that address the factors that contribute to the cost of claims and consequently, the cost of insurance premiums paid by drivers. Given the number of factors involved in pricing motor insurance, the government has not sought to estimate figures for individual consumer savings. However, the government is confident that the taskforce’s collective actions will help to reduce claims costs and, by extension, premiums.
The Government’s Road Safety Strategy was published on 7 January. Alongside the strategy, five consultations have been launched, one of which proposes reforms to motoring offences, including introducing tougher penalties for driving without insurance: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-penalties-for-motoring-offences
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that private parking companies provide adequate notice to individuals served with a fine regarding the period in which they must (a) pay or (b) appeal.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State has not had discussions with her cabinet colleagues on this matter. Private parking companies are the policy responsibility of the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress she has made on a strategy for integrating bus ticketing in England.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the value of greater integration between public transport modes, including in relation to ticketing, and will continue to work with local transport authorities, operators and passengers to improve the fares and ticketing offer for passengers across England.
Programmes currently under development in England recognise the aspiration for smart, multi-modal ticketing. This includes the Department for Transport working with representatives from the bus industry, Transport for West Midlands and Midlands Connect to develop a national technology solution to facilitate multi-operator ticketing on buses and trams, focusing on contactless bank card payments and enabling fares capping outside of London.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how the Railways Bill will ensure that access rights to the network are fair, transparent and enforceable, particularly where Great British Rail will both manage infrastructure and operate services.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The new access framework within the Railways Bill will ensure that GBR will determine the best use of the network capacity for all operators in accordance with its statutory duties. New legislation will include key safeguards for third party operators, ensuring that GBR’s decisions on network access are fair and transparent with a strong route of appeal to the ORR. GBR will be required to design and consult with industry on its access and use policy which will set out the processes and criteria on how it will take access and capacity allocation decisions, and on which the ORR will be a statutory consultee.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what analysis her Department has undertaken on the potential impact of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme expansion to maritime on the competitiveness of Northern Irish ports in attracting cruise business.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The domestic expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will only include emissions from international journeys, including cruises, produced while at berth in UK ports. This means, as outlined in the UK ETS expansion to domestic maritime Impact Assessment, that there is not expected to be any net loss of competitiveness for international cruise visits to UK ports relative to ports in the European Economic Area, where these emissions are already in scope of the EU ETS. As such, the impact is expected to be minimal.
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 82998, whether the Department plans to extend the HGV Parking and Driver Welfare Grant Scheme beyond March 2026; and what assessment has been made of the impact of project withdrawals, scope reductions and planning refusals on the delivery of additional HGV parking capacity.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are no plans for further windows of the HGV Parking and Driver Welfare Matched Funding Scheme (MFGS).
To date 16 projects have been withdrawn by the operators. It is estimated that this is a reduction of up to 177 proposed additional HGV parking spaces.
There are no significant impacts on the number of parking spaces where projects have undergone scope reduction.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to replace the number-plate eyesight test with a standardised, clinically validated vision assessment.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
There are no plans to replace the number‑plate eyesight test.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of other offences linked to vehicles with number plates that are non-readable by automatic number plate recognition systems.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
On-road enforcement of offences relating to the display of number plates and any potential links to other offences are a matter for the police. Therefore, no assessment has been made.
The Government understand the impact of number plate crime and is determined to tackle it. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime including the use of cloned and ghost number plates.
The Department welcomes the recent report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Transport Safety and is considering the report’s recommendations. Options to support more robust application and audit processes, which would enable tighter checks on number plate suppliers are also being considered.
The Government published its Road Safety Strategy on 7 January 2026, setting out its vision for a safer future on our roads for all. As part of this, the Department from Transport is reviewing motoring offences and has published a consultation which seeks views on the introduction of penalty points and vehicle seizure for the offence of “being in charge of a motor vehicle with an incorrect/altered/false number plate”.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Wales about (1) the adequacy of the two existing bridges over the Menai Strait to meet potential increased traffic arising from the construction of nuclear electricity generating facilities at Wylfa, and (2) whether the construction of those facilities will require a third bridge.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Responsibility for roads and highways matters in Wales is devolved and therefore this a matter for the Welsh Government to consider.
My department continues to engage positively with the Welsh Government on a range of cross-UK transport matters and remains willing to explore ways in which we can collaborate, support and share best practice.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what lessons learned from the financing of the Dartford River Crossing they have applied to their plans for the Lower Thames Crossing.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
A robust assessment of private investment options has been undertaken for the Lower Thames Crossing, with the short list outlined in the updated Funding Statement in February 2025. The RAB model has been chosen because it enables the private sector to deliver the scheme efficiently, reduces financial burden on taxpayers, harnesses the benefits of private investment, and ensures strong regulatory oversight to promote the interests of users. In developing the preferred financial model for the Lower Thames Crossing, the Government has drawn on lessons from the financing of previous road projects in the UK and abroad, including the Dartford River Crossing (Queen Elizabeth II Bridge). The RAB model shares a number of features with the Public–Private Partnership (PPP) structure used to fund that bridge infrastructure, but also includes a regulator to ensure that it is operated in a way that promotes user interests and is able to attract the level of investment required.