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Written Question
Driving Licences: Reviews
Thursday 26th October 2023

Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish his Department's response to the Driving licensing review - call for evidence on opportunities for changes to the driver licensing regime.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The results of the Call for Evidence were published on 6 June 2023.

The results are being analysed and we will confirm the next steps in due course.


Written Question
Electric Vehicles: Charging Points
Monday 17th July 2023

Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of public electric vehicle charging points that have a speed of less than (a) 8kW and (b) 50kW.

Answered by Jesse Norman

Data on public electric vehicle charging devices in the UK, held by the Department for Transport, is sourced from the electric vehicle charging platform Zapmap.

The data supplied to the Department from Zapmap does not break down the speed of a public charging device as requested within this question.


Written Question
Driving Tests: Waiting Lists
Monday 17th July 2023

Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the current average waiting time for a practical driving test in each region.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s recovery measures have created over 39,000 extra car practical driving test slots each month, and, since April 2021, over 1 million additional test slots.

As of 10 July 2023, there were 547,076 car practical driving tests booked, and 39,535 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window.

The average waiting time for a car practical driving test nationally (June 2023 average) is 18.4 weeks.

  • England: 19 weeks
  • Scotland: 16.7 weeks
  • Wales: 14.5 weeks

Written Question
Driving Tests: Waiting Lists
Monday 17th July 2023

Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people waiting for a practical driving test.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s recovery measures have created over 39,000 extra car practical driving test slots each month, and, since April 2021, over 1 million additional test slots.

As of 10 July 2023, there were 547,076 car practical driving tests booked, and 39,535 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window.

The average waiting time for a car practical driving test nationally (June 2023 average) is 18.4 weeks.

  • England: 19 weeks
  • Scotland: 16.7 weeks
  • Wales: 14.5 weeks

Written Question
Active Travel: Finance
Thursday 6th July 2023

Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish his Department's assessment of the likelihood of meeting its objectives for increased active travel under confirmed funding levels for April 2021 to March 2025.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Government’s most recent assessment of progress against these and other objectives was set out in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy report to Parliament in July 2022, a copy of which is available in the House Libraries. The Department will provide an updated assessment in its next report to Parliament in due course.


Written Question
Motorways: Safety Measures
Monday 15th May 2023

Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 May 2023 to Question 182917 on Motorways: Safety Measures, in what format his Department holds data on the distance between emergency refuge areas on dynamic hard shoulder smart motorways; and if he will publish that data.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

National Highways holds extensive mapping data of assets across its network. However, this data is not held in the format requested.

The Stocktake and Action Plan in 2020 launched a new standard to achieve closer spacing of places of relative safety (PRS), at 0.75 mile where feasible, up to a maximum of one mile. This was made a requirement for new All Lane Running (ALR) smart motorways schemes which entered the design phase from November 2020.

Therefore, any ALR smart motorway scheme that entered the design phase after this date is required to meet these standards.


Written Question
Electric Vehicles: Charging Points
Wednesday 10th May 2023

Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data his Department holds on the number and proportion of electric vehicle charging devices (a) on roads and (b) in motorway service stations able to be used by only one vehicle make.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The information requested is not held.


Data on public electric vehicle charging devices in the UK held by the Department for Transport, is sourced from the electric vehicle charging platform ZapMap. This includes the number of public “charging devices” but the data does identify whether a device is capable of charging only one vehicle make.


Written Question
Motorways: Safety Measures
Wednesday 10th May 2023

Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many additional emergency refuge areas have been added to all lane running smart motorways in operation since January 2022.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Since January 2022, 108 emergency areas have been added to all lane running (ALR) motorways.


Written Question
Motorways: Safety Measures
Wednesday 10th May 2023

Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of all lane running smart motorways have places of relative safety spaced at an average of less than 0.75 miles apart.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Current design standards require places of relative safety to be spaced between 0.75 and 1 mile.


Written Question
Motorways: Safety Measures
Tuesday 2nd May 2023

Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of (a) all-lane running and (b) dynamic hard shoulder smart motorways have an emergency refuge area at least every (i) three-quarters of and (ii) one mile.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Currently just over a third of ALR smart motorways in operation have places of relative safety (PRS), including Emergency Areas, spaced at an average of less than one mile. The average spacing between PRS on operational ALR schemes is currently approximately 0.97 miles. National Highways does not hold the data available for dynamic hard shoulder (DHS) smart motorways in the format requested.

In the Government’s response to the Transport Select Committee in 2022, £390m was committed to constructing an additional 150 Emergency Areas to ALR smart motorways in operation over the duration of the second Road Investment Strategy to reduce the spacing between places to stop in an emergency in line with the new standard.