Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what additional resources his Department has made available to the DVLA to help it clear the backlog of driving licence renewals and applications.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The quickest and easiest way to apply for a driving licence is by using the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online service. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their licence within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. To help reduce waiting times for paper applications, the DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has secured extra office space in Swansea and Birmingham. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here.
On 4 February, there were 178,926 driving licence renewal applications that had taken ten weeks or more. The vast majority of these are applications where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued to ensure the required medical standards are met. In December, the Department for Health and Social Care asked the DVLA to stop sending medical questionnaires (excluding vocational applications) to NHS doctors in December and January to allow the NHS to focus all efforts on the vaccination booster programme. While referrals to doctors have now resumed, this has had an impact on turnaround times. It is important to note that the large majority of these drivers will be able to continue driving under Section 88 of the Road Traffic Act while they are waiting for their application to be processed.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to tackle the delays in the DVLA's handling of driving licence renewals and applications.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The quickest and easiest way to apply for a driving licence is by using the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online service. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their licence within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. To help reduce waiting times for paper applications, the DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has secured extra office space in Swansea and Birmingham. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here.
On 4 February, there were 178,926 driving licence renewal applications that had taken ten weeks or more. The vast majority of these are applications where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued to ensure the required medical standards are met. In December, the Department for Health and Social Care asked the DVLA to stop sending medical questionnaires (excluding vocational applications) to NHS doctors in December and January to allow the NHS to focus all efforts on the vaccination booster programme. While referrals to doctors have now resumed, this has had an impact on turnaround times. It is important to note that the large majority of these drivers will be able to continue driving under Section 88 of the Road Traffic Act while they are waiting for their application to be processed.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps people can take to escalate a complaint where the Housing Ombudsman has (a) acknowledged but not provided further response to an individual initiating a formal complaints process and (b) not responded to an official complaint from an hon. Member on the lack of response to their constituent.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Housing Ombudsman resolves disputes between social housing residents and their landlords. The service is free to residents, independent of Government and impartial. The Housing Ombudsman Service receives a high volume of cases and is working to deal with them as quickly as possible. In 2020-21, the average time taken to complete an investigation was 5.2 months, down from 5.8 months in 2019-20.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to support the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman investigate the backlog of cases that are awaiting review.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) is independent of the Government and reports directly to Parliament. The Ombudsman has informed ministers that he has already written to the hon. Member on this matter.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of nuclear energy in (a) improving the UK’s energy security and (b) achieving net zero; and what steps he plans to take to raise awareness of that contribution.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Analysis published by BEIS with the Energy White Paper (EWP) [1] in 2020 shows that, alongside significant amounts of wind and solar, a stable, low-cost electricity system to meet net zero will also require other forms of low-carbon power, including nuclear, to complement the intermittency of those technologies.
As outlined in the Net Zero Strategy[2] published in October 2021, we need to continue to deploy all known low-carbon technologies at scale over the next decade to ensure optionality is maintained, whilst developing new options to mitigate delivery risk and reduce costs. The Government has confirmed that it aims to reach a Final Investment Decision on at least one large-scale nuclear project this Parliament and recently announced £210m for Rolls-Royce’s Small Modular Reactor design. We will also publish a roadmap for new nuclear in 2022. It will focus on what is needed to support the deployment of further new nuclear in the UK. I was proud to host an event about nuclear energy in the UK Pavilion at COP26 and my officials are working with industry to build on that momentum.
[1] https://www.govuk/government/publications/energy-white-paper-powering-our-net-zero-future.
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/net-zero-strategy.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what policy framework his Department plans to implement to support the development of modular reactors to ensure that nuclear energy is part of a low-carbon hydrogen production mix.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution included a commitment of up to £385 million for an Advanced Nuclear Fund to develop a domestic Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design and to demonstrate innovative Advanced Modular Reactors (AMR) by the early 2030s. Both of these reactor technologies have the potential to produce low carbon hydrogen using electricity and/or heat via increasingly efficient electrolysis, or in the case of AMRs via higher temperature additional production routes.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to increase the production of green hydrogen from nuclear energy.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In the Hydrogen Strategy, the Government noted that both existing and future nuclear technologies have the potential to provide low-carbon hydrogen. The Government consulted in 2021 on a range of policies to support low-carbon hydrogen production and will publish relevant responses in 2022.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will commit to using UK fuel for reactors in the UK and provide certainty to organisations through the nuclear supply chain.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK is a world leader in the nuclear fuel cycle, and this is testament to the highly skilled workforce currently employed at the Springfields and Capenhurst sites, and the wider UK supply chain. Earlier this month, I visited Springfields to see first-hand the important work taking place, including at the Oxide Fuels Complex.
The Government recognises the importance of continued commercial operation of such facilities to deliver low carbon energy. In the recent Spending Review we confirmed up to £75 million, to be used alongside sector co-investment, to preserve and develop the UK’s nuclear fuel production capability. With this funding we will move a programme forward to address all our fuel-related priorities, helping to develop the UK fuel supply chain to power the reactors of today and advanced nuclear in the future.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Army's headquarters in the North West at Weeton Barracks will be (a) completed and (b) operational.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave him on 14 October 2020, to Questions 100945, 100946 and 100947 where I said that, on current plans, HQ North West is scheduled to be re-located from Fulwood Barracks, Preston to Weeton Barracks in the summer of 2025.
However, my hon. Friend will be aware that the Army is working to implement the outcomes of the Integrated Review, including designing a force that is fit to face future threats. The Secretary of State for Defence will be making an announcement in due course which will provide more detail, including how any changes required as part of this transformation may affect current planned relocations.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made on the establishment of the Army's headquarters in the North West at Weeton Barracks.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave him on 14 October 2020, to Questions 100945, 100946 and 100947 where I said that, on current plans, HQ North West is scheduled to be re-located from Fulwood Barracks, Preston to Weeton Barracks in the summer of 2025.
However, my hon. Friend will be aware that the Army is working to implement the outcomes of the Integrated Review, including designing a force that is fit to face future threats. The Secretary of State for Defence will be making an announcement in due course which will provide more detail, including how any changes required as part of this transformation may affect current planned relocations.