Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consideration has been given to the effects of her proposed road safety policies on people from both (a) younger and (b) older age demographics.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
In Great Britain, 17 to 24-year-olds remain one of the highest fatality risk groups, especially young men, both as car drivers and passengers. While drivers aged 17 to 24 represent a high proportion of collisions in Great Britain older car drivers are more likely to be killed or seriously injured per licence held, at least in part due to their frailty.
We know we need to get the balance right for our younger and older drivers, to support young people’s access to work, education, and social activities. and to ensure that older people can actively participate in society and retain their independence, while also keeping both younger and older drivers safe on the roads.
That is why, as part of the Road Safety Strategy, we launched consultations on the 7 January 2025 on introducing a minimum learning period for learner drivers and introducing mandatory eyesight testing for older drivers.
Government policies are developed with due regard to protected characteristics as outlined by law. To ensure this an Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) will be carried out in line with PSED throughout the policy development process. As part of the EIA, the impact of policy options on people with protected characteristics will be considered proportionately and appropriate measures will be taken where a negative impact of policy is identified.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of road safety policy on older people's (a) mobility and (b) independence.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
In Great Britain, 17 to 24-year-olds remain one of the highest fatality risk groups, especially young men, both as car drivers and passengers. While drivers aged 17 to 24 represent a high proportion of collisions in Great Britain older car drivers are more likely to be killed or seriously injured per licence held, at least in part due to their frailty.
We know we need to get the balance right for our younger and older drivers, to support young people’s access to work, education, and social activities. and to ensure that older people can actively participate in society and retain their independence, while also keeping both younger and older drivers safe on the roads.
That is why, as part of the Road Safety Strategy, we launched consultations on the 7 January 2025 on introducing a minimum learning period for learner drivers and introducing mandatory eyesight testing for older drivers.
Government policies are developed with due regard to protected characteristics as outlined by law. To ensure this an Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) will be carried out in line with PSED throughout the policy development process. As part of the EIA, the impact of policy options on people with protected characteristics will be considered proportionately and appropriate measures will be taken where a negative impact of policy is identified.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve flood resilience on (a) key arterial roads and (b) motorways in (i) Surrey and (ii) the South East.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National Highways manages the risk and impacts of flooding across England’s Strategic Road Network (SRN). It has a range of proactive controls and response measures, including a programme of targeted interventions for flood risk sites across the network, including the South East region. The third Road Investment Strategy will emphasise the need to improve the SRN’s resilience to future climate change, including new flood risk.
On local roads, the Government is providing local authorities with £7.3 billion of funding for local highway maintenance over the next four years, which supports measures to improve resilience. The Department is also working with the UK Roads Leadership Group to help local highway authorities understand and deal with the effects of climate change, including flooding.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of developing a national strategy for improving the long-term resilience of the local road network.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Following the publication of the Government’s Resilience Action Plan in July 2025, work is already underway to improve the short, medium and long-term resilience of the transport system, including the local road network, as part of the whole of society approach.
In December 2025, the Government published its Climate Adaptation Strategy for Transport, which now provides an overarching framework for improving the resilience of roads, rail and other transport networks to flooding and other climate risks. This includes commitments to introduce climate resilience standards by 2030, embed resilience into transport investment decisions, and work with sector bodies such as the UK Roads Leadership Group to support local highway authorities.
DfT also funds workshops delivered through the UK Roads Leadership Group to support capability‑building across the sector, and is updating the Well‑Managed Highway Infrastructure Code of Practice which will continue to reflect a risk‑based, resilience‑focused approach to asset management.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support is available to Surrey County Council to (a) trial and (b) adopt more durable road surfacing materials to tackle pothole formation on local road networks.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the importance of using durable materials and innovative techniques to reduce pothole formation and improve the long‑term condition of local roads.
Surrey County Council receives a significant allocation of highways maintenance funding from the Department for Transport, which can be used to trial new materials and construction techniques where that authority judges this to be appropriate. In November, the Government confirmed a record investment of £7.3 billion into local highways maintenance from 2026/27 to 2029/30. As part of this investment, Surrey County Council will be eligible to receive over £160 million in highways maintenance funding over the next four years.
The Department encourages and supports innovation in road surface repairs. It is updating the Code of Practice for Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure, to include new advice on matters such as surface treatments. The Department has also provided £30 million to the ADEPT ‘Live Labs’ research programme, enabling local authority-led consortia to trial innovative low-carbon ways of looking after their networks. One of the projects within the Live Labs programme is enabling novel resurfacing materials to be tested and evaluated through the Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads, led by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has undertaken of the effectiveness of local authority trials of innovative road surfacing materials intended to improve durability and reduce maintenance requirements.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government welcomes innovations that can help local highway authorities maintain their roads more effectively and efficiently.
The Department for Transport has provided £30 million to the ADEPT ‘Live Labs 2’ research programme, enabling local authority-led consortia to trial innovative low-carbon ways of looking after their networks. One of the projects within the Live Labs 2 programme is enabling novel resurfacing materials to be tested and evaluated through the Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads, led by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). A key part of this project is that it brings together and shares lessons from trials of road surfacing materials done by different local highway authorities, increasing the visibility of innovative solutions and helping authorities save money by reducing the need to repeat trials. Further information on these trials is available online, at:
https://kb.decarbonisingroads.co.uk/materials.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on national guidance for dealing with incidents involving lithium-ion batteries on the strategic road network.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport works closely with the Home Office and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on lithium battery safety. The Government has published guidance for roadside recovery operators working with electric vehicles, many of which contain a lithium battery. This guidance is applicable to incidents on the Strategic Road Network. National Highways continues to work with emergency services to ensure that any incidents are resolved as effectively as possible.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has been made of potential correlation between proposals to introduce a six-month learning period for learner drivers and efforts to reduce driving test waiting times.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Road Safety Strategy, published on the 7th January, includes consulting on a Minimum Learning Period before learner drivers can take their practical test.
A Minimum Learning Period is designed to prepare people better for a lifetime of safe driving by giving them more time to build up essential skills.
With more preparation for their test more people may pass first or second time, which could help reduce the waiting time for tests by reducing demand from learners booking to retake their test.
Introducing a minimum learning period could raise driving test pass rates and for every 1% increase in pass rate sustained over a year, around 40,000 test slots are freed up over the course of the year. Research suggests that a Minimum Learning Period may increase the pass rate by up to 7 percentage points.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of national standards and guidance for managing incidents on strategic road networks.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National Highways works closely with emergency service partners and other specialist responders to ensure England’s motorways and larger A-roads are as safe and reliable as they can be.
National Highways developed the Strategic Road Responders Agreement which partners in the police, fire and ambulance services have all signed up to.
This agreement identifies the CLEAR initiative (Collision, Lead, Evaluate, Act, Re-open) as a tool that responders commit to using and, in doing so, helps to minimise the impact of incidents and ensures national standards and guidance are available and understood.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with local authorities on preparedness for incidents involving new vehicle technologies on strategic road networks in (a) Surrey Heath constituency and (b) Surrey.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department actively engages with all Local Authorities, including Surrey County Council, when discussing preparedness and proposed measures to mitigate against incidents involving new vehicle technologies. National Highways regularly reviews and updates their processes and procedures to respond to any incidents involving new vehicle technologies on the strategic road network.