Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has provided (a) funding and (b) advice to the European Federation for Transport and Environment since 4 July 2024.

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

The Department has not provided funding to the European Federation for Transport and Environment, but has met with them as part of routine official-level stakeholder engagement.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has conducted modelling since July 2024 on the potential revenue that could be raised from a weight-based system of Vehicle Excise Duty for cars.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is a tax on vehicles used or kept on public roads. Different rates apply to cars, vans, motorcycles and heavy goods vehicles, and the rate for each vehicle is calculated according to a range of factors, such as its date of first registration, weight, or CO2 emissions.

The Government annually reviews the rates and thresholds of taxes and reliefs at fiscal events, and in doing so considers a wide range of factors including complexity, value for money, and administrative burdens for tax payers. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the public finances.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the impact of the introduction on Rule H1 on the behaviour of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists since January 2022; what assessment she has made in trends in the level of defensive behaviour among vulnerable road users; and what the evidential basis is for concluding that the hierarchy improves safety outcomes for all road users, including motorists.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The previous Government updated the Highway Code in 2022 to improve road safety for people walking, cycling and riding horses including the introduction of a hierarchy of road users.

New rule H1 set out that ‘those in charge of vehicles that can cause the greatest harm in the event of a collision bear the greatest responsibility to take care and reduce the danger they pose to others. This principle applies most strongly to drivers of large goods and passenger vehicles, vans/minibuses, cars/taxis and motorcycles. Cyclists, horse riders and drivers of horse drawn vehicles likewise have a responsibility to reduce danger to pedestrians. None of this detracts from the responsibility of ALL road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders, to have regard for their own and other road users’ safety.’

The previous Government did not initiate any assessment of their introduction of Rule H1.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government will specify a minimum pass mark for any safeguarding test required for taxi and private hire vehicle drivers.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department’s existing statutory guidance recommends that licensing authorities should require taxi and private hire vehicle drivers to undertake safeguarding training. Licensing authorities are responsible for deciding the content and format of such training, including whether it includes a test with a minimum pass mark.

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, currently being considered by the House of Lords, seeks to provide a power for the Secretary of State to set in regulations requirements that must be met for any taxi or private hire vehicle licence to be issued and held.

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, 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 Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

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.

Excise

Found: Leigh Ingham (Labour, Stafford) (added 28 Oct 2024; removed 17 Nov 2025) 16 of 31 (51.6%) Jerome Mayhew