Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Airspace modernisation, published on 22 October 2024, whether her Department and the Civil Aviation Authority plan to deploy the Scottish cluster's airspace change proposal first.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government’s priority is to deliver the benefits of airspace modernisation alongside the critical technology upgrades to the UK’s air traffic control systems. The Department for Transport is working closely with Edinburgh and Glasgow airports, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and NATS to ensure that the airports can continue to make progress with their Airspace Change Proposals in line with the CAA’s airspace change process. The next stage in this process is for the airports to consult on their proposals.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
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 abolishing peak fares for rail passengers.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are overhauling the fares and ticketing system to make it easier for passengers to trust that they are buying the right ticket and getting the best fare, with the move to Great British Railways passengers will be able to receive a more consistent offer across the network.
The amount of taxpayer subsidy provided to the railway industry has increased from under a quarter in 2018/19 to almost half of total income following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2023/24. We need to balance affordability for both passengers and taxpayers as we reform fares and deliver Great British Railways, ensuring everyone gets a fair deal.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress her Department has made on reducing driving test wait times for test centres in Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
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.
There are two driving test centres (DTCs) in the Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey constituency, which are Elgin, and Grantown on Spey.
As of August 2025, the average waiting time in weeks for Elgin was 19.5 weeks, and for Grantown on Spey 21.8 weeks.
On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that DVSA will take further actions to reduce driving test waiting times across the country.
Further information on these actions and progress on the DVSA’s plan, which was set out last year, can be found on GOV.UK.
DVSA continues to run recruitment campaigns for new driving examiners (DE).
From recent recruitment in Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, DVSA has had one new DE begin in Elgin. From the most recent campaign, two potential new DEs are at the employment offer stage of the process.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
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 a public information campaign for drivers of vehicles fitted with daytime running lights of the need to manually switch on their rear lights when weather conditions necessitate.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Road vehicle lighting is governed by combination of national and international regulations. As per the advice in the Highway Code drivers must use appropriate vehicle lighting for the prevailing conditions and should ensure that they are familiar with the operation of all vehicle controls.
No assessment has been made of the merits of a public information campaign to support the correct use of daytime running lamps.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to engage with Distribution Network Operators on (a) grid connections and (b) the standardisation of electric vehicle charging.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department for Transport engages regularly with Distribution Network Operators, and with National Grid, on work related to accelerating the delivery of electric vehicle (EV) charging. This includes discussions on power capacity, grid infrastructure, and standardisation required to meet growing demand for EV charging.
In December 2024, the Government published the outcome of a review on improving the grid connection process for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. In March, I met with Distribution Network Operators and other industry groups to understand industry’s perspective on improving EV charging on the Strategic Road Network (England’s motorways and major A roads).
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to engage with (a) devolved governments, (b) local authorities and (c) regional transport partnerships to share best practice on electric vehicle charging strategies and implementation.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles engages regularly with devolved governments, local authorities and regional transport partnerships on a range of issues related to improving electric vehicle charging. This includes work through the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund which is supporting local authorities to scale up local EV charging provision across England. Support includes £381m of funding, one-to-one guidance, regional workshops and an online knowledge repository to share practice. This is in addition to a dedicated electric vehicle training course, completed by over 150 local authority officers to date.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
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 including renewable electricity in the Renewal Transport Fuel Obligation.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department for Transport continues to review all policy options that may support the continued rollout of public electric vehicle chargepoints. This includes reviewing the potential for inclusion of electricity in the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish the carbon assessment for the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The ZEV Mandate remains the Government’s largest single carbon saving measure. The carbon impacts of the ZEV mandate were summarised within the cost benefit analysis published alongside the original legislation.
On 7 April 2025, the Government announced policy changes to the ZEV Mandate to further support the UK’s automotive industry. The policy changes are expected to have a minor carbon impact when compared to the savings delivered by the ZEV Mandate as a whole. We estimate a 1% decrease (-4.2 Mt CO2) in CO2 savings from the original ZEV mandate (420 Mt CO2) across 2024 to 2050. A breakdown of this carbon analysis has been published alongside the government response.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she considered making an environmental impact assessment on the decision to ban volumetric concrete mobile plants in 2028.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As part of its consideration of the evidence, the Department for Transport has assessed the potential environmental impacts in accordance with the Environment Act 2021 which requires Ministers of the Crown to have ‘due regard’ to the environmental principles policy statement when making policy.
Current exemptions to weight limits for VCMs will expire in 2028. This policy is being maintained.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many meetings (a) she, (b) the Minister for Future of Roads and (c) her officials have had with (i) hon. Members and (ii) trade associations that contributed to the Government's review on Volumetric concrete mixers prior to announcing the findings of that review.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
My Department engaged with hon. Members and industry stakeholders through correspondence prior to the announcement. In addition, industry and interested parties were given the opportunity to present views and evidence on this topic as part of the Call for Evidence between October and December 2023.
Temporary exemptions to weight limits for VCMs will expire in 2028. This policy is being maintained.