Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department has taken to prevent the (a) block booking and (b) reselling of driving tests in Dunfermline and Dollar constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests across the country, including in the Dunfermline and Dollar constituency.
DVSA encourages learner drivers to only use the official GOV.UK website to book and manage their driving test. The DVSA has published advice aimed at learner drivers warning them of the risks of using third party services/apps to book a practical driving test. Further information can be found on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/news/learner-drivers-warned-about-the-risks-of-driving-test-cancellation-finders.
On 28 May, DVSA launched a public consultation on improving the rules for booking car driving tests. The consultation closed on 23 July. DVSA is reviewing the feedback given and will announce next steps as soon as possible. Further information on the consultation can be found at:
DVSA deploys bot protection to help stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly. These applications, however, are constantly evolving and changing, and DVSA’s work on this is ongoing.
On 6 January 2025, DVSA introduced new terms and conditions for use of the service driving instructors and trainers use to book and manage practical driving tests for their pupils.
Since this change DVSA has issued 237 warnings, 377 suspensions, and closed 880 business accounts.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) warnings, ( b) suspensions and (c) business account closures the DVSA has issued for misuse of its booking service in 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests across the country, including in the Dunfermline and Dollar constituency.
DVSA encourages learner drivers to only use the official GOV.UK website to book and manage their driving test. The DVSA has published advice aimed at learner drivers warning them of the risks of using third party services/apps to book a practical driving test. Further information can be found on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/news/learner-drivers-warned-about-the-risks-of-driving-test-cancellation-finders.
On 28 May, DVSA launched a public consultation on improving the rules for booking car driving tests. The consultation closed on 23 July. DVSA is reviewing the feedback given and will announce next steps as soon as possible. Further information on the consultation can be found at:
DVSA deploys bot protection to help stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly. These applications, however, are constantly evolving and changing, and DVSA’s work on this is ongoing.
On 6 January 2025, DVSA introduced new terms and conditions for use of the service driving instructors and trainers use to book and manage practical driving tests for their pupils.
Since this change DVSA has issued 237 warnings, 377 suspensions, and closed 880 business accounts.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to stop learner drivers from using third parties to book their driving tests.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests across the country, including in the Dunfermline and Dollar constituency.
DVSA encourages learner drivers to only use the official GOV.UK website to book and manage their driving test. The DVSA has published advice aimed at learner drivers warning them of the risks of using third party services/apps to book a practical driving test. Further information can be found on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/news/learner-drivers-warned-about-the-risks-of-driving-test-cancellation-finders.
On 28 May, DVSA launched a public consultation on improving the rules for booking car driving tests. The consultation closed on 23 July. DVSA is reviewing the feedback given and will announce next steps as soon as possible. Further information on the consultation can be found at:
DVSA deploys bot protection to help stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly. These applications, however, are constantly evolving and changing, and DVSA’s work on this is ongoing.
On 6 January 2025, DVSA introduced new terms and conditions for use of the service driving instructors and trainers use to book and manage practical driving tests for their pupils.
Since this change DVSA has issued 237 warnings, 377 suspensions, and closed 880 business accounts.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the waiting list for a car driving test was at the DVLA test centre in Dunfermline for each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.
The table below shows the waiting time in weeks for a car driving test at Dunfermline driving test centre for each of the last 12 months.
August 2024 | 10.8 |
September 2024 | 12.6 |
October 2024 | 14.5 |
November 2024 | 14 |
December 2024 | 13.2 |
January 2025 | 14.3 |
February 2025 | 18 |
March 2025 | 23.6 |
April 2025 | 24 |
May 2025 | 24 |
June 2025 | 24 |
July 2025 | 24 |
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help increase the use of green fuels in the transport system.
Answered by Mike Kane
Our policies are reducing emissions from surface transport, primarily through supporting renewable fuel used in road transport. We are also supporting the production and use of sustainable aviation fuel with the SAF Mandate introduced in January, the Advanced Fuels Fund supporting UK producers, and a revenue certainty mechanism to help unlock investment in UK projects.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with stakeholders on the potential impact of US trade policy on the (a) level and (b) speed of production of sustainable aviation fuel in the UK.
Answered by Mike Kane
The government is helping encourage the production of SAF in the UK in a number of ways. We are helping to derisk SAF projects by legislating to introduce a revenue certainty mechanism and announced £63m of funding through the Advanced Fuels Fund to help grow the UK supply of SAF. We continually monitor changes to wider global trade strategies, ensuring they are factored into policy development and delivery.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with the National Wealth Fund on support for the production of sustainable aviation fuel.
Answered by Mike Kane
The Department for Transport maintains regular engagement with the National Wealth Fund (NWF) with discussions focussing on, amongst other things, sharing information and knowledge on issues facing the transport and associated sectors. In March, the Chancellor confirmed the government’s strategic priorities for the NWF over this Parliament, explicitly mentioning low carbon fuels.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential for the former coal power station site at Longannet to be used in the production of third generation sustainable aviation fuel.
Answered by Mike Kane
The government is encouraging the production of SAF at sites across the UK in a number of ways. We are helping to derisk SAF projects by legislating to introduce a revenue certainty mechanism. The government has also announced £63m of funding to help grow the UK supply of SAF through the Advanced Fuels Fund.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to support the introduction of hydrogen-powered aircraft.
Answered by Mike Kane
The government recognises the potential decarbonisation and growth benefits that new forms of zero-emission aircraft using hydrogen could provide.
The Department for Business and Trade is co-investing with industry through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme in R&D on aerospace technology, including projects focussed on hydrogen-powered aircraft. The Budget confirmed a five-year extension to the ATI programme with nearly £1bn of funding.
Supported by Department for Transport funding, the Civil Aviation Authority is also expanding its Hydrogen in Aviation Regulatory Challenge this year.
The Jet Zero Taskforce, convening representatives from government, industry, and academia, has established a dedicated Task and Finish group to review barriers to the commercial operation of zero-carbon hydrogen aircraft.
In addition, as Minister for Aviation I have recently met with the Hydrogen in Aviation Alliance regarding the potential for commercial hydrogen-powered aircraft.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had recent discussions with relevant industry stakeholders on the potential introduction of hydrogen-powered aircraft for passenger use.
Answered by Mike Kane
The government recognises the potential decarbonisation and growth benefits that new forms of zero-emission aircraft using hydrogen could provide.
The Department for Business and Trade is co-investing with industry through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme in R&D on aerospace technology, including projects focussed on hydrogen-powered aircraft. The Budget confirmed a five-year extension to the ATI programme with nearly £1bn of funding.
Supported by Department for Transport funding, the Civil Aviation Authority is also expanding its Hydrogen in Aviation Regulatory Challenge this year.
The Jet Zero Taskforce, convening representatives from government, industry, and academia, has established a dedicated Task and Finish group to review barriers to the commercial operation of zero-carbon hydrogen aircraft.
In addition, as Minister for Aviation I have recently met with the Hydrogen in Aviation Alliance regarding the potential for commercial hydrogen-powered aircraft.