Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2025 to WPQ 98745, how many (a) vehicle owners and (b) people on the Register of Number Plate Suppliers have been (i) charged, and (ii) convicted of offences connected with illegal number plates in the last four years.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not hold information about the number of vehicle keepers who have been convicted for number plate offences as enforcement of number plates offences is a matter for the police.
The DVLA does not have the relevant powers to take forward prosecutions of number plate suppliers. Such prosecutions are taken forward by the police and Trading Standards.
The DVLA’s enforcement officers work with the police and Trading Standards to carry out educational and compliance visits to registered number plate suppliers. Enforcement officers carry out inspections to check working practices and inspect number plates on the premises. Enforcement officers can also inspect records held, take copies and/or seize the records.
The DVLA’s enforcement officers carry out intelligence led enforcement activities to tackle a wide range of offences, actively working with partners to investigate potential offences. While the DVLA does not take forward prosecutions, its enforcement officers may attend court as an expert witness in any such proceedings.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what has been the change in the volume of sustainable aviation fuel production in the UK between 2019 and 2024.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We do not hold statistics on volumes of SAF produced in the UK. SAF volumes are reported to the Department by fuel suppliers to discharge their obligations under the SAF mandate, and between 2019 and 2024, under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). SAF is not yet produced globally at a large scale. In the UK the only commercial scale SAF producer is at Phillips 66’s Humberside refinery.
Looking forward, the Government is taking decisive action to scale up UK SAF production. From 1 January 2025, the SAF mandate came into effect, setting a clear trajectory for growth – 10% of UK aviation fuel is required to be SAF by 2030 and 22% by 2040. To help deliver this, £63 million in grant funding has been allocated through the Advanced Fuels Fund for the current year to support UK SAF plants, with continued support for SAF production through to 2029/30. We have also introduced a SAF Bill that will establish a Revenue Certainty Mechanism, giving investors confidence to build and operate SAF facilities in the UK.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assesment she has made of the potential impact the Windsor Framework on the operations of the Civil Aviation Authority.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
While the Windsor Framework does contain provisions related to the movement of people, animals and goods, including by air, we assess that the Windsor Framework has no direct impact on the UK-wide regulatory role of the Civil Aviation Authority.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the level of use of illegal number plates between 2021 and 2025.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not hold data on the level of use of illegal number plates. On road enforcement is a matter for the police.
The DVLA works with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime.
The law requires that anyone who supplies number plates for road use in the UK must be registered with the DVLA. It is a legal requirement for suppliers to carry out checks to ensure that number plates are only sold to those who can prove they are entitled to the registration number. Number plate suppliers must also keep records of the plates they have supplied. Selling a number plate without carrying out these required checks carries a maximum penalty of a fine of £1,000 and the potential removal from the Register of Number Plate Suppliers (RNPS).
The DVLA is considering options to ensure a more robust, auditable RNPS process which would enable tighter checks on number plate suppliers.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to WPQ 94153, what discussions she has had with representatives of the road haulage industry to help ensure sufficient capacity exists to meet demand given the change in numbers declaring insolvency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Department for Transport officials regularly meet representatives of the road haulage industry to discuss a wide range of issues impacting the industry. These meetings include the Freight Council and the Road Freight Industry Engagement Group.
In addition, officials hold ad hoc meetings with road haulage businesses and trade associations to discuss issues raised by the sector, including those relating to the capacity of the industry.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to WPQ 95613. whether she has had confirmation from Stellantis that all vehicles have been checked, declared safe to drive and returned to owners.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Stellantis have advised the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) they have dealt with the majority of vehicles. They have currently rectified circa 122,000 of an estimated 148,000 on the road overall.
Stellantis are also taking further steps to ensure greater awareness to ensure the remaining vehicles are reworked, including integration with DVSA’s MOT reminder service and also looking at strategies regarding further mailings to vehicle owners who have not yet engaged with Stellantis.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many occasions in the past three years has cargo being transported in UK waters been found to contain oil sourced in or through Russia.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK Government constantly monitors UK waters to uphold the safety of mariners, the marine environment and the UK’s national security, which includes monitoring of ships that are suspected of being associated with the movement of Russian oil.
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), ships of all States have the right, subject to conditions laid down in UNCLOS, to innocent passage through UK territorial sea (the sea within 12 nautical miles of the UK coastline). As the UK is party to UNCLOS, the UK Government adheres to international maritime law and protects the passage rights of vessels transiting through UK waters.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with Stellantis on the (a) recall and (b) check of (i) Citroën and (ii) DS Automobiles branded cars potentially affected by a airbag safety fault.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As set out in the answer to Question 74957 on 9 September, the Secretary of State wrote to Stellantis to express serious concerns about the customer impact of the stop-drive recall currently affecting Citroën and DS Automobiles cars in the United Kingdom.
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency officials continue to have regular engagement meetings with representatives from Stellantis about the Citroën/DS recall and continue to support Stellantis, prioritising safety while minimising economic and social impact.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if the Future of Flight Industry Group will consider air taxi routes in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Scotland.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Future of Flight Industry Group is the joint government and industry group for the future of flight in the UK. It acts as a senior decision-making body and provides insights to support the delivery of Future of Flight policy and recommendations on how to address challenges and opportunities facing the industry. One of the group’s aims is to deliver the objective of commercial electric vertical take-off and landing operations from 2028.
Whilst civil aviation is a reserved matter for the UK government, local transport is devolved.
Decisions on specific routes will be taken by industry, in consultation with devolved administrations, regional bodies and local authorities, within a framework that ensures accountability and supports the development of Future of Flight in a way that benefits communities.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps is she taking to support the development of electric vertical take off and landing vehicles in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport (DfT) is committed to the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry and to delivering on the future of flight objectives, which include piloted commercial electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) operations from 2028.
The Future Flight Challenge was a £300m investment programme designed to support the development of new aviation systems — including electric and autonomous aircraft, drones, advanced airspace management, and supporting infrastructure. This year, over £4.4m of investment is funding projects to demonstrate progress towards commercialisation of Future of Flight technologies. These investments included projects in devolved administrations, such as SATE 1 and SATE 2, which explored the application of eVTOL aircraft.