Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2026 to Question 113313 on Driving Instruction: Vacancies, how many of those positions were individually advertised, how many were (a) full-time, and (b) part-time, and where those individual positions were advertised on GOV.UK.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

All driving examiner (DE) vacancies are advertised on Civil Service Jobs on GOV.UK. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has run block recruitment campaigns for multiple roles across the driving test centre network in England, Scotland and Wales, repeatedly since 2021. DVSA has not run any campaigns for individual posts.

As stated in the answer to Question 113313, all DVSA examiner roles are open to applications from people seeking full-time, or part-time, employment.

DVSA also has a careers page on GOV.UK which highlights the DE role. This page directs any interested candidates wishing to apply, to live DE recruitment campaigns on Civil Service Jobs.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2026 to Question 107147 on Hybrid Vehicles: Safety, if he will place a copy in the Library of the insurance industry analysis; and what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of that analysis.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The analysis was conducted by Thatcham Research on behalf of the insurance industry. Although key findings have been summarised in published material, the full analysis is not publicly available.

As a result, it is not possible to place a copy in the library, and no assessment has been made of the effectiveness of that analysis.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78719 on East West Rail Line, when she expects (a) train testing, (b) driver training and (c) general works to be completed in order for the new station at Winslow to open.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department is working closely with Chiltern and other partners to confirm a start date for the first EWR services between Oxford and Milton Keynes.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the annual cost was of the Competition and Markets Authority’s Sustainability Taskforce in 2024–25, including a) staff costs, b) external consultancy costs and c) other programme expenditure.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

For financial year 2024-25 the annual cost of the Competition and Markets Authority’s Sustainability Taskforce was £342,983.19. This includes £342,306.01 in staff costs and £677.18 in other programme expenditure covering travel and subsistence.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department will achieve an average 5% annual real-terms reduction in resource spending between 2025-26 and 2028-29.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Spending plans for the period from 2025-26 to 2028-29 were agreed with HM Treasury as part of the Spending Review 2025 settlement and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-review-2025-document.

They were amended as part of the Autumn Budget 2025 and can be found at [page 146] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/Budget_2025.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many standards checks of approved driving instructor trainers have been carried out in each of the last five years; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of periods of more than five years without quality assurance checks on training quality.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

DVSA does not have a separate standards checks for trainers of ADIs. If a driving instructor wishes to train driving instructors, they do not need an extra qualification.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2026 to Question 108301, what the cost was of applying the temporary Bee Network promotional livery to that Northern train; and whether that cost was met by (a) her Department, (b) the train operator, (c) Great British Railways Transition Team and (d) Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The cost of applying the temporary Bee Network promotional livery to the Northern train was met by Transport for Greater Manchester.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what role her Department has in overseeing the safety and adequacy of compulsory pilotage arrangements in UK waters; and whether her Department holds or reviews records relating to pilotage incidents involving vessels operating under compulsory pilotage.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The assessment and provision of pilotage services are matters for Competent Harbour Authorities (CHAs). Given the local knowledge and experience necessary, as well as wide variations between ports, they remain best placed to assess what arrangements are necessary.

The Department has responsibility for the effective and efficient functioning of the legislative framework and is content that current arrangements under the Pilotage Act 1987 remain fit for purpose. The Department does not hold any records relating to pilotage. However, these may be reviewed should there be an incident requiring investigation by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch and/or the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Excise