Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help support people to purchase affordable electric charging points for existing homes in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
To further accelerate the uptake of EVs, the Government offers grants to support the installation of chargepoints in residential and commercial properties. The Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant supports the provision of chargepoints for residents in flats and rented accommodation with grants of up to £350. SMEs and residential landlords can also claim car park grants of up to £15,000 and £30,000 per site towards the cost of infrastructure works and chargepoints.
Additionally, on the 13 July, the Government announced the £25m Electric Vehicle Pavement Channel grant to further support local authorities in England to adopt pavement channels. This will allow EV drivers to access their domestic electricity tariffs by safely connecting a home EV charger to their vehicle parked on-street and adds to published local authority guidance and chargepoint grants.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 62375 on Buses: Safety Belts, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of 3-point seat belts on passenger safety.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Road Safety Observatory, supported by the Department for Transport, summarises and reviews research on road safety, including seat belts. It identified research indicating that 3-point seat belts in vehicles can reduce the serious injury rate by 60% compared to being unrestrained. There is no specific assessment for buses.
The Road Safety Observatory synthesis on seat belts is available from the RoSPA website and can be found at the following link:-
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Zero Emissions Vehicle mandate on (a) car dealerships and (b) the automotive sector in (i) rural areas and (ii) Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The ZEV Mandate requirements only apply to vehicle manufacturers and not to car dealerships. However, we continue to consider views from dealership representatives on the transition.
I am aware that one of the UK’s micro volume manufacturers is based in Yeovil. The Government recognises that micro volume manufacturers face additional challenges in decarbonising at the pace of the ZEV Mandate trajectory, and exemptions are in place for these manufacturers until 2035.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of mandating three point seatbelts to be fitted on coaches in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) other rural areas.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport is committed to improving road safety and incidents involving buses and coaches are rare – national casualty statistics indicate that they are one of the safest forms of road transport.
Vehicle construction regulations are applied nationally, rather than on a constituency or other geographic basis, and have required all buses and coaches to be fitted with seat belts since 2001, except for those designed and authorised to carry standing passengers.
In large vehicles where the deceleration forces of a collision are generally lower than for smaller vehicles, a lap belt only is permitted providing other design criteria are met to prevent or limit injury. In smaller vehicles, or where these other design criteria cannot be met, a three-point belt is required.
International vehicle construction requirements, including those covering seat belts, are developed through the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, where they are kept under review to ensure they evolve to continuously drive forward vehicle safety.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of completing a road safety strategy for Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
This Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. My Department is developing a Road Safety Strategy and are considering a variety of measures which will have national reach. More details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to ensure that at least 50 per cent of the revenue from the lane rental scheme is reinvested in (a) road resurfacing and (b) pothole repairs.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Charges for works that overrun are already set at up to £10,000 per day. The Government announced in December that we will apply overrun charges to weekends and bank holidays. We also announced that local authorities operating lane rental schemes will be required to spend 50% of surplus lane rental charges on highway maintenance, The regulations implementing these changes will be laid later in 2025. They will also double the level of fixed penalty notices available for some street works offences.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to increase the level of overrun charges for utility companies responsible for delayed road repairs.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Charges for works that overrun are already set at up to £10,000 per day. The Government announced in December that we will apply overrun charges to weekends and bank holidays. We also announced that local authorities operating lane rental schemes will be required to spend 50% of surplus lane rental charges on highway maintenance, The regulations implementing these changes will be laid later in 2025. They will also double the level of fixed penalty notices available for some street works offences.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to introduce overrun charges for utility companies undertaking road repairs on weekends and bank holidays.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Charges for works that overrun are already set at up to £10,000 per day. The Government announced in December that we will apply overrun charges to weekends and bank holidays. We also announced that local authorities operating lane rental schemes will be required to spend 50% of surplus lane rental charges on highway maintenance, The regulations implementing these changes will be laid later in 2025. They will also double the level of fixed penalty notices available for some street works offences.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to increase local authorities' powers to inspect roads that have temporarily been reinstated by utility companies conducting roadworks more frequently.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Local highway authorities already have powers to inspect both temporary and permanent reinstatements for compliance with the DfT's technical standards (the specification for the reinstatement of openings in the highway). Since 2023, a performance-based inspections regime has been in place which means those companies who fail inspections are inspected more than those who comply. As companies pay for inspections, there is also a strong financial incentive for them to meet standards.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to reduce the time within which utility companies conducting roadworks must ensure that roads are permanently repaired to six months.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Utility companies can put temporary reinstatements in place following works to re-open roads to traffic whilst, for example, waiting for specialist materials which may be specified by local authorities such as a particular type of paving stone. Permanent reinstatements must be put in place within 6 months. The DfT has no plans to change these arrangements.