Ivanhoe Line: Restoration

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 28th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Amanda Hack (North West Leicestershire) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered restoration of the Ivanhoe Line.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey.

I am pleased that colleagues have joined me for what I believe is the first ever debate solely about the Ivanhoe line—a train line that would reopen a direct passenger link between Leicester and Burton upon Trent. The line has a long history. Before the 1830s, Coalville did not exist; it was known as Long Lane and included the four medieval parishes of Whitwick, Hugglescote, Snibston and Swannington. When William Stenson, the proprietor of coalmines in Whitwick, returned from a trip on the Stockton and Darlington railway, he carefully studied the land between Long Lane and Leicester. Taking into account the mines in Ibstock and Bagworth, he planned the line of a possible railway.

Stenson enlisted the help of George Stephenson, “the father of railways”, who delegated the construction of the Swannington-to-Leicester railway to his son, Robert. It became the sixth steam railway in the country, linking Leicester and Long Lane so that coal could easily be transported between the two. Some estimate that around the same time the town became known as Coalville. The line traditionally transported coal before it was opened to passengers.

Fast forward to the 1960s, when what was then called the Ivanhoe line was closed during the infamous Beeching cuts of 7 September 1964. Since then, there have been many campaigns to get it fully back up and running, especially as it remained open to freight traffic until only recently.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I congratulate the hon. Lady on bringing forward this matter. I spoke to her before the debate, and I now rise to support and encourage her.

I hail from a rural constituency that once had a railway line but now has none whatsoever. Sometimes the bottom line is not the financial one, and sometimes obligations need to extend to more than profit margins. Does the hon. Lady agree that there must be an obligation —if necessary, a statutory obligation—to provide a rail service in isolated areas?

[Amanda Hack]

I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. Later in my speech, I will talk about how we can connect our communities, which is really important.

Lack of maintenance on the Ivanhoe line led to the gradual withdrawal of freight services, although the private section, from Bardon Hill quarry to the rail network, is still operational; in fact, the quarry has recently extended its lease. There was an opportunity to get the line up and running in the 1990s, but any hope of doing so was thwarted by the break-up of British Rail when it was privatised. Throughout all this change, there has been continuous local pressure to deliver a passenger rail service for my constituents. The most recent business case was supported under stage 1 of the restoring your railway fund, of which Lord Hendy, the Minister of State for Rail, was the chair.

The project originated from a successful bid by the Campaign to Reopen the Ivanhoe Line, or CRIL, and was one of the 12 projects nationally to receive restoring your railway development funding. I want to take a moment to thank everybody from CRIL for all their hard work to get to this stage.

The project, which was in phase 1 of restoring your railways, was for a partial reopening from Coalville to Burton upon Trent, with stations at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Castle Gresley and Coalville. That would have finally reconnected two of the largest towns not connected to the rail network: Coalville and Swadlincote. Those two towns have also seen the highest growth in homes and employment in the last decade. The east midlands has grown by 8%, yet my constituency of North West Leicestershire has grown by 12% and South Derbyshire has grown by 13%.

UK Bus Manufacturing

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 27th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, as always, Dr Murrison, and I say a special thank you to the hon. Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank) and the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) for highlighting this topic and securing the debate. There is a potential for UK-wide investment, which will pay UK-wide dividends. I am pleased to see the Minister in his place, and I wish him well in his role. I know that he will give very confident and positive answers to our questions.

The constituency of the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim encompasses Ballymena and is strongly linked to buses. He will be aware that I have supported and cheered on Wrightbus for many years and will continue to do so because, as he rightly said, bus manufacturing is a UK-wide project, which Strangford plays her part in. While primary assembly is done in Ballymena, the Northern Irish manufacturing sector is highly integrated. It is common for precision engineering firms in the Strangford constituency to act as tier 2 or tier 3 suppliers, providing specific components such as metal fabrications or electronic systems to larger manufacturers. As Members in this Chamber know, we need the small cogs as well as the big ones for the engine to power up, so there is a role for us all to play across many of our constituencies in relation to that.

The fact is that the reputation for Northern Ireland crafted vehicles is top class; it is no exaggeration to say that we are world leaders in the field. The hon. Member for Falkirk said that his bus companies are leaders in the field, and they are. It is a collective goal that we are trying to achieve. That we are world leaders is undoubtedly down to the investment and support of local bus makers such as Wrightbus. The hon. and learned Member for North Antrim set the scene in relation to Wrightbus. He set out how it has advanced to where it is today, and told us of the key role that it plays. Its submission to the Business and Trade Committee made it abundantly clear how supporting the manufacturing sector can help others in the United Kingdom.

I find it so interesting that the global bus market is worth around $21 billion and that some 3 million buses are used for public transport. To meet global net zero goals, all buses—or at least the vast majority of them—will need to switch to zero emission alternatives by 2050. There is a great desire for the new, green-friendly electric buses. If a bus is going to last for 15 years, that commitment needs to be made now, so maybe the Minister can give us some idea of what is going to happen in relation to that.

As Members may know, the average lifespan of a bus is 15 years, which means that bus operators and local authorities are now making investments in the decarbonisation of their fleets. According to those projections, global sales of zero emission buses are due to rise from 112,000 in 2022 to 670,000 in 2027. That is massive—it would be a growth of six times in a period of five years. As a result, there is a major export opportunity for the UK bus manufacturers to sell zero emission buses in a growing global market.

To do that, Wrightbus needs Government support, not simply financially but promotionally. The Government must ensure that firms throughout Europe can order with confidence from this very niche but very successful firm. I believe that more can and must be done by the Government to provide that security, and that begins with investment in the facility. I am confident that every investment of time and money will pay dividends throughout this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

I thank hon. Members for the motion and give my wholehearted support once again, knowing that a rising tide lifts all ships. Northern Ireland has historically carried out high-level manufacturing in the air, in the sea and on land, and each of those industries has potential for so much more. I hope that, from today, we begin to realise that potential.

Airport Drop-off Charges

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 13th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

As always, Ms Vaz, it is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship. I thank the hon. Member for Bolton South and Walkden (Yasmin Qureshi) for leading today’s debate on this matter. It is an important issue, as others have said and will say after me.

Back home, this has been a topic of conversation with my constituents. Air travel has become much more usable and cheaper than it has been in the past, but that means that many people travel through Belfast City airport, Belfast International airport and City of Derry airport—they are all used. I have heard numerous complaints from constituents about changes to pick-ups and drop-offs at airports in Northern Ireland, so it is important for me to be here and to get our perspective across.

I share other Members’ concerns about drop-off charges. They seem a little drastic and unfair, and many people have complaints about them. The traffic wardens in Newtownards are very zealous—even evangelical—and they get their money. We get complaints about parking tickets on private land, and by and large we have been able to fight them, but people cannot fight the CCTV at Belfast City airport or Belfast International airport.

I fly out of Belfast City airport on Mondays to come here, and I go back on Thursdays. It is a great airport and has had some recent updates; it covers mostly regional flights, but some are international. According to my constituents, the drop-off area has a minimum price of £4 for up to 10 minutes. It used to be that there was no charge at all. Is it a revenue earner for the airport? I suspect it is, but the staff may tell me differently. If people stay longer, the charges increase as follows: it is £6 for 10 to 20 minutes, £20 for 21 to 30 minutes, and £25 for 30 to 60 minutes. If people’s planes are delayed, they had better not forget their cards, because they will be digging deep that night.

Similarly, at Belfast International airport, it costs up to £3 for 10 minutes. If someone’s car stalls on the way round, they are in trouble, because the price will increase. Airports have CCTV everywhere, and people cannot get away with dropping somebody off, because the airport has them on CCTV. They can expect a £60 fine. If someone thinks they can do it the sharp way—perhaps the car is still moving as they jump out—it does not matter, because they will be fined

One thing that annoys me greatly at the airport is flight delays and cancellations. What happens to the person who thinks, “I’m just going to pick them up,” and then looks at the screen and says, “Oh, it’s 15 minutes late”? Guess what? They owe more money.

[Adam Jogee]

Further to the hon. Gentleman’s description of the situation at Belfast City airport, I found out on Sunday, when my mother-in-law dropped me off from the long-stay car park, that it is free for the first 10 minutes. The point that my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher) made about accessibility is important, because the long-stay car park is further away and there is no canopy. We all know about the liquid sunshine for which Ulster is well known. [Interruption.] Liquid sunshine, not rain. If someone is not as able-bodied as others, or if they have children, bags and all the rest, it is more difficult for them to get into the terminal. The accessibility point extends not just to the east midlands, but right across the United Kingdom.

[Jim Shannon]

I thank the hon. Member for sharing his experiences of Belfast City. It is a good airport, by the way. I am just saying, “Follow the rules, and make sure the timings are right.” The planes are sometimes cancelled, and more often than not they are delayed, which seems to be a fact of life now. Some may say that the clue is in the name: “drop-off”. The plan is not to be there for long, but we all know that it takes a little time for people to get their cases, say goodbye to loved ones or pay taxis. It has been argued that the first 10 minutes should be free, which is fair. If drop-offs and pick-ups are made financially inaccessible for people, they will double-park and potentially cause congestion, which poses a safety risk.

One thing that strikes me is that Belfast international airport has a 15-minute free drop-off in the long-stay car park. It is only a short walk to the terminal, but it does not suit everybody. There is £3 to £5 fee for less than 10 minutes. There is certainly a case for the fees to be regulated, and I look forward to the Minister’s response. Sometimes we can use compassion and understand that it is not always easy for someone to drop people off and get on their way. To give an example, one of my constituents moved to Scotland for university when she was 18. She has been living there for nine years now and is working as a nurse. It is always lovely when she comes home, but saying goodbye is the hardest. She tells me that she wants to say goodbye—she wants to give people a hug and a kiss, and to say cheerio—but guess what? The clock is ticking, and that long goodbye could be a very costly one.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

My hon. Friend mentions compassion and understanding —and the lack of it. He reminds me that many years ago, when I was on the Transport Committee, we met a certain chief executive of Ryanair who is not noted for his compassion and understanding. He made it absolutely clear to us MPs that he did not care—I will not use the expletive—if passengers had to crawl over broken glass to get to the airport. Compassion and understanding need to be shown by the airport operators, because they certainly will not be shown by Ryanair.

[Jim Shannon]

Absolutely.

The moral of the story involving the young lady, who happens to come from Newtownards, is: “Don’t get too emotional at the airport, because the clock is ticking.” People might find that £3 or £5 has become £10 or £20. If they reach for a hanky and cannot find one, they are in deep trouble.

Airport drop-off fees are increasingly becoming a burden on ordinary passengers, taxi drivers and local residents, and that is not to mention the extortionate air fees. When flying from Belfast to the mainland, we pay the highest flight charges in the whole of the United Kingdom. We might be on the periphery of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, but we are an integral part of it, and we should be shown fairness when it comes to prices.

We recognise that airports need to manage congestion and maintain facilities—I understand that—but the charges must be fair and transparent. There are calls to look at them again, and I look to the Minister for a positive response that will encourage not only us regular travellers but, more importantly, constituents of mine who are regular travellers, who tell me about the airport charges all the time. It is time to address them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 8th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Simon Lightwood]

The Bus Services Act empowers local leaders to choose the model that works best for their area. It includes a measure on socially necessary local services. Under that new measure, local transport authorities with an enhanced partnership will be required to identify local services that are considered socially necessary. They will need to put in place requirements that must be followed before any services can be changed or cancelled.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

There is room for one more on the bus. I call Jim Shannon.

[Jim Shannon]

I thank the Minister for his answers to the seven questions on the Order Paper about buses. The Holy Bible refers to seven as the perfect number. If we are to improve local bus services, we need to improve the type of buses that are manufactured, make them energy efficient, and provide an hourly service. What discussions has the Minister had with Wrightbus in Northern Ireland about the production of more electric buses? Will he acknowledge the superior quality of those buses, and the company’s capacity to deliver high-quality buses, which are best of British, at a good price?

[Simon Lightwood]

There are 14 questions now, Mr Speaker. The hon. Gentleman will be aware that I launched the bus manufacturers expert panel, which is working with mayoral combined authorities, manufacturers and operators to ensure that British manufacturers have the best possible chance of success in the United Kingdom and abroad.

Network Rail Timetable Changes: Rural Communities

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 9th December 2025 Westminster Hall

[John Lamont]

The hon. Lady makes an excellent point. Many rural communities depend on train services, bus services and public transport links because there are no alternatives. If the timetables, trains and services do not run on time, they have an even greater impact because there is no alternative compared with what happens in larger towns and big cities where, if one service does not turn up, people can jump on alternatives without too much trouble. For our constituencies—I think my constituency might be marginally bigger than the hon. Lady’s—it has a disproportionate impact.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. If there is a change in the rail service and how it works, there has to be something to take its place, at least in the short term in the rural communities that he and the hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead (Rachel Gilmour) represent, and in those that I represent as well. There must be a bus service that can fill the gap and at least help to get people from A to B. I think in particular of those who have health appointments and those who have to get somewhere by a certain time. If the bus service is not there, that is a problem for those of us who live in rural areas and do not have a car. We really need to have a bus service to fill the gap.

[John Lamont]

The hon. Gentleman makes another excellent point. The argument put forward by Network Rail and LNER is that there will be alternative services, but it involves connecting to other trains. As I will go on to describe, if someone is disabled or an older person, the idea of making a connection is in itself sometimes daunting, and if they miss the connection the consequences can be far greater compared with the consequences for those of us who are perhaps more frequent travellers.

I use Berwick-upon-Tweed station regularly to travel to Westminster. The trains are well used and busy, so the decision to reduce services and make travel more complex does not make sense. Since the final timetable was published in September, I have been pleased to work cross-party with the hon. Member for North Northumberland (David Smith), whom I am pleased to see in his place. We met with Network Rail and LNER in September, so that they could explain why they had taken the decision to cut the number of services, on which our constituents rely.

I would like to thank Councillor Rosemary Mackenzie of Berwick-upon-Tweed town council for her campaigning on this issue, and Councillor Carol Hamilton from the Scottish Borders council and Councillor Richard Wearmouth from Northumberland county council for their work.

M6: Junction 38

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Monday 1st December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)]

It is a great privilege to secure a debate on a matter that is causing immense anxiety across Westmorland and beyond. National Highways is planning to close and replace seven bridges that carry the M6 motorway over the Lune gorge in Cumbria. Those S-joint bridges are reaching the end of their lifespan and we recognise that this work has to be done.

The wider Lune gorge project proposes bridge replacements, overnight closures, weekend shutdowns and contraflow systems operating at sometimes as little as 30 mph. Crucially, the plan also entails the closure of the southbound junction at Tebay for 18 months, followed by the closure of the northbound junction for a subsequent 18 months. We argue that the junction 38 closures are not necessary, that there are clear alternatives such as temporary slip roads, and that insufficient attention has been paid to those alternatives. All the while, National Highways intends to keep heavy traffic moving through rural diversion routes and has, astonishingly, not produced a full impact assessment for the project—no assessment of the impact on the road network and no assessment of the impact on the wider community.

I do not think it is just parochial hyperbole when I say that the Lune gorge is without doubt the most spectacular and beautiful stretch of the UK’s motorway network, so I suspect that when the Department for Transport and National Highways looked at that stretch of the M6 while weighing up the project in its early days, they were struck more by the scenery and far less by the very significant population that depends on junction 38 and therefore did not give them very much serious consideration at all. Local communities rely on junction 38 for access to work, school, health services, business and the operation of the local economy.

The current plan will devastate local businesses—whose model is often completely reliant on proximity to the M6 and the junctions north and south—effectively isolating the community from the motorway for three years within a wider programme of four to six years of ongoing disruption. It also puts the safety of my constituents at risk, given that emergency services’ access to our communities will be severely curtailed for years on end. I recently spent time with our wonderful ambulance crews, who were keen that I should emphasise this point especially.

The impact on our communities will be enormous. The key effects are first and foremost on the village of Tebay itself, but there will also be an impact on a much wider area. Seven bridges carry the M6 itself, and they need replacing—I get that. The eighth bridge, across the M6, which also requires replacement, carries the A685 connecting Tebay with Kendal, 12 miles away, and is the only remaining link between the two when the M6 junction is closed. As a community, we campaigned hard to persuade National Highways not to close this bridge at the same time as the other seven, and we are grateful that National Highways has changed its mind on this point. I thank everyone who campaigned hard with us to achieve this success, which means that Tebay, Orton, Ravenstonedale, Kirkby Stephen and other villages will now at least have one connecting road to Kendal; otherwise, residents taking their children to school, and commuters, would have faced an additional 250 miles a week for an 18-month period.

Having said that, the A685 is a winding, narrow, single carriageway running for 12 miles from Tebay to Kendal, and for 18 months, all local traffic will be dependent on it, meaning a huge increase in traffic going through Tebay, Grayrigg and Kendal in particular. My first ask of the Minister is to ensure that this traffic is managed along the whole of this route and that the A685 Lawtland House bridge is strengthened and kept safe through this time, when this already weakened bridge will be facing massively increased usage, carrying an enormous volume of traffic displaced from the M6. The towns of Kirkby Stephen and Kendal are already at capacity and breaking point when it comes to traffic management and cannot withstand a motorway’s worth of displaced traffic; they cannot withstand it at all, but they certainly cannot withstand it regularly and for years on end.

Westmorland and Furness council is set to lose £39 million a year due to the new, ironically-titled fairer funding 2.0 settlement—a staggering 13% cut to its budget. It will therefore not have the funds to expand traffic management in consideration of the volume of traffic to keep those roads safe and flowing securely. Incidentally, this is a financial settlement that puts at risk the council’s crucial investment in the town of Barrow, which is critical to the UK’s defence capability, including our nuclear deterrent. I would be grateful if the Minister took this matter up separately with his colleagues the Secretaries of State for Defence and for Housing, Communities and Local Government. This cut would be a colossal strategic own goal for the Government—one they would rightly get the blame for—but there is still time to reverse it.

For this debate, though, the key point I want the Minister to focus on is that the closure of junction 38 southbound and then northbound, for three years in total, will be catastrophic for our communities. It can and must be avoided.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

rose—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. Mr Shannon, this is a very narrow debate, specifically on junction 38 of the M6. I seek an assurance that your intervention relates only to that.

[Jim Shannon]

It is more than that, Madam Deputy Speaker; it is about the main thoroughfare for lorries and traffic going to Stranraer and then to Larne. It is about that road and that junction. [Laughter.] No, it is a fact. I have talked to those who transport agrifood goods from Northern Ireland to the north of England and Scotland and back again. This debate is wide; its subject will impact not just the local area, but all the businesses in Northern Ireland that need lorries to bring their food in and take their food out. The agrifood sector will be impacted greatly.

[Tim Farron]

The hon. Gentleman is a world-standard crowbar applier in this place, but that was not a crowbar—that was very relevant. England’s connectivity with Ireland via Stranraer is utterly affected by what is happening at junction 38. He is absolutely on the money, and I am very grateful for his point.

We must avoid the closures of these junctions. Let us start with one group who are mentioned regularly and helped rarely: at a time when they are already facing so many threats and pressures, the closures will be a logistical nightmare for our farmers, who will face rising fuel costs, some land being made inaccessible to them, and threats to animal welfare as they have to make more arduous journeys throughout this three-year period.

Secondly, given the Government’s priority of seeking economic growth, the junction closures are also a huge risk to our multibillion-pound tourism economy. Tailbacks north and south and the junction closures will mean that some of the 20 million visitors we have each year will vote with their feet, putting many of the 60,000 hospitality and tourism jobs in our county at risk, and further damaging the UK’s fiscal position.

Local businesses will be hit by the closures, including—I do not think this is parochial hyperbole either—Britain’s finest service station, Westmorland services at Tebay—

Grove Park Railway Station

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 26th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Janet Daby (Lewisham East) (Lab)]

I am grateful for this Adjournment debate on the merits of upgrading Grove Park train station, a historical station that has served the local community for 150 years. Originally opened in 1871 to serve rural communities and local farmers, the station helped to kickstart the development of the thriving neighbourhood that we know today. At the turn of the century, the area gained fame through its connection to Edith Nesbit’s beloved novel “The Railway Children”, which drew inspiration from the surrounding landscape. I remember watching the film adaptation as a child, as a teenager and as an adult. I am delighted that the film has this amazing link to my constituency.

Grove Park station has grown to meet the community’s changing needs. From its origins as a small rural station, it has become a vital transport hub with five platforms, connecting local residents to central London and the wider south-east. However, the station has been left to deteriorate and requires significant investment if it is to continue serving the community that has grown and developed around it. I am sorry to say that the station feels grubby and dirty. There is what appears to be a makeshift roof along most of the inside walkway. Weeds have been known to grow inside the walkway. There is no style, no pattern and no one colour to the walls of the station. Frankly, it is unpleasant, and I know that Southeastern can do much better.

My residents and local businesses deserve better. I have spoken to many of them, including a local hairdressers, the local nail salon, the café next door, the Harris chemist and the other café, the Filling Station Café. These are the people who, along with me, have been driving this campaign. I thank the over 100 constituents who signed the petition that I submitted to Parliament, calling for an upgrade to the station.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Lady for bringing this issue forward. She is right to highlight the condition of the station. It was great when it was first built because it suited the times, but today’s times are different. I spoke to her beforehand about this issue. My concern is that many stations across the nation require passengers to climb stairs, or place unavoidable barriers in the way of disabled people, anyone with a mobility difficulty and parents with prams. I welcome the Government’s commitment to improving accessibility, but does she agree that the Minister and the Department for Transport must commit more time to reviewing this particular case, and all cases across the nation in which there are accessibility issues, and people cannot even get into a station?

[Janet Daby]

The hon. Gentleman is correct. I am just about to go into the additional accessibility options for Grove Park and many other stations. This is an issue that we need to keep raising, because we need improvements for our constituents.

Grove Park station needs additional accessibility options. It has three steep ramps to each set of platforms, which makes access difficult for people with a mobility impairment, such as those in a mobility chair or using an aid to walk with. It is also challenging for parents who have pushchairs and small children to navigate the ramps. There is a separate bridge connecting the platforms, but it is not served by lifts, and there is also only one set of toilets. Imagine a parent who has a child who needs to go to the toilet, and who happens to be on the wrong platform. They have to go up and down a ramp to get to the toilet, and then make the long journey back. I think we can all agree—Members and constituents—that further options need to be considered in a wider consultation.

Driving Test Availability: South-east

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 26th November 2025 Westminster Hall

[Dr Pinkerton]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his observations. I also have constituents who have caring responsibilities and find themselves unable to fulfil those to the fullest capacity that they would like to because of those restrictions.

Of course, on Budget day we also think about economic growth and the curtailed economic opportunities that young people have. If we want to make our economy grow again, everybody needs to be able to work to the fullest extent that they can.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate. It is not just a Surrey Heath issue; it is an issue across the whole of the United Kingdom. In my Strangford constituency in Northern Ireland there are populated areas where people have to wait for up to 12 weeks—not as long as the hon. Gentleman mentioned, but the time slot is significant. I aways try to be constructive and helpful in my interventions. Does the hon. Member agree that more funding could be allocated to support the recruitment of more examiners, with sufficient pay and job benefits to discourage high turnover in the role that they play?

[Dr Pinkerton]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his observation. He is right to identify that rural and semi-rural communities are particularly badly affected, because of the very often skeletal public transport systems. I will come on to potential solutions to the challenge as I reach the conclusion of my contribution.

Parents described to me the practical and emotional toll of the crisis: driving teenagers to work or college several times a week, rearranging family routines and supporting young people who are increasingly demoralised. Others tell me that their children have delayed job applications or turned down work altogether because they cannot secure the driving tests they need to unlock those important employment opportunities.

One of my constituents, George, has been trying to acquire a driving test for two years after passing his theory test. He is autistic and unable to undertake long journeys to distant test centres, yet he receives no preferential consideration despite being registered for personal independence payments. He told me that he is losing heart over driving, and fears that without a licence he may be condemned to welfare dependency for life, as he is unable to reach his job in hospitality, which requires late-evening travel that public transport in Surrey Heath simply does not support. That is not an isolated case; it is emblematic of a system that is failing the people who rely on it most.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 20th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Keir Mather]

I am very pleased to hear that my hon. Friend’s constituents are benefiting from contactless payment, but he is right to urge us to go further in ensuring that GBR improves passenger experience and delivers on the priorities of the travelling public. We are committed to improving ticketing further through expanding pay-as-you-go beyond the stations at which it is already in use. Through the long-term rail strategy and its general duties, GBR will be incentivised to support innovation and deliver for passengers right across the country, including in Harlow.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I use the railways every Monday, Thursday and on other days in the week. The things that passengers look for, as well as those I talk to who come over here from Northern Ireland, are price, punctuality, space and comfort. Can the Minister assure us that those things are central to the Government’s obligation to the passenger? Let me add another factor. When it comes to safety, sometimes pedestrians stray on to the tracks, thereby holding up the trains. What is being done to ensure that security is taken into account?

[Mr Speaker]

I think that is slightly off the question. Minister, do you want to have a go at it?

Vehicle Headlight Glare Standards

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 29th October 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I commend the hon. Member for Crawley (Peter Lamb) for setting the scene so very well. This is an important issue as road safety is important to us all. Keeping ourselves, as well as other motorists safe, is part of that. There have been reports of concerns from across the whole of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland about the impact of vehicle headlight glare. Indeed, just this week BBC Breakfast had a story on this very issue.

I recently read a news article back home about how the Fermanagh and Omagh district council on the west of the Province wrote to the Committee for Infrastructure at the Northern Ireland Assembly raising concerns that vehicle headlights are becoming an increasingly distressing and potentially dangerous aspect of driving at night. It has also been noted that the intensity and resulting glare from headlights are not currently tested. The hon. Member for Newton Abbot (Martin Wrigley), who spoke before me, referred to the MOT test. We really need to include this as part of that.

I know, from my experience living in rural areas, that there are safety concerns regarding vehicle glare. For example, on the roads leading down to my house, there are minor and major dips and hills. I live in the Ards Peninsula in a very rural part of Strangford. I know that some, on these country roads at night flash their main beam on, but perhaps do not turn it off when other cars approach. There is no doubt that that has a significant impact on public safety, and that is not to mention the fact that streetlight provision is next to nothing on these types of roads, so the spotlight glare of a headlight does not in any way increase safety. Indeed, it has the very opposite effect.

A more general UK survey found that 61% of drivers who suffer headlight glare say the problem has worsened in the past year, and I believe it has as well—certainly based on the evidence I have seen. Some 26% say that they try to reduce night-time driving because of bright headlights. If someone is not sure of being safe on the road, that would be the right thing to do. I would argue that the actual number is much higher; that figure is based purely on personal reports and anecdotes, and not on the many motorists who experience this issue daily.

It is evident that the issue affects many constituencies, but the narrow and unlit roads in rural areas, such as my constituency of Strangford, mean that beams and headlight glare stand out even more. As the hon. Member for Leicester South (Shockat Adam) asked, are people safe on the road during the 30 seconds or 50 seconds afterwards, as their eyes try to adjust again? That is a question I ask as well. There is space for human consideration, too: we certainly can be more mindful of where we are driving and the impact we will have on others.

I understand that the Department for Transport’s research into glare for 2024-25 is studying how to incorporate practical glare tests into annual inspections. Perhaps the Minister can tell us what the Government are intending to bring about. Future MOT guidance may include brightness and levelling checks.

I happen to have a four-wheel drive—it does not make me better than anybody else, but we are high up off the road. If someone lives in the countryside, they probably have one, but they have it because they use it, not because it is a status symbol. I look forward to seeing what more the Government can do to improve road safety collectively throughout the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the near future. I very much look forward to the Minister’s response. He is doing his business this week, yesterday and today—two days running. Well done.