Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to provide funding for well-lit, connected and protected cycling infrastructure in Eastleigh.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Active Travel England (ATE) recognises that high‑quality active travel routes must be well-designed, well-lit and safe to support walking, wheeling and cycling.
On 10 December, the Department announced £626 million of multi-year capability funding to support active travel across England. As part of this allocation, Hampshire County Council, of which Eastleigh is a part, will receive £23,094,356 for the period 2026/27 to 2029/30. Local authorities may use this funding to plan and deliver well‑designed route layouts, appropriate and inclusive lighting, and safety improvements such as segregated cycle lanes.
ATE also provides technical support and guidance to ensure local authorities deliver high‑quality schemes. National guidance, including Local Transport Note 1/20: Cycle Infrastructure Design, Manual for Streets, and Inclusive Mobility, sets clear expectations for the design of safe and accessible cycling infrastructure.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) average and (b) longest waiting time was for a driving test in Eastleigh constituency in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The attached Excel Spreadsheet shows the (a) average and (b) longest waiting time in weeks at driving test centres (DTC) that serve the Eastleigh constituency, for the financial years 2015/16 to the financial year to date (YTD).
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a Neighbourhood Transport Grant to provide ringfenced, long-term funding for community transport organisations, allocated through strategic or local transport authorities, to support the reopening of bus routes.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has made no assessment of establishing such a grant. However, the Government is investing in bus services long-term and has confirmed over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators to improve bus services for millions of passengers over the remainder of the spending review period.
This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year, ending the short-term approach to bus funding and giving councils the certainty they need to plan ahead to improve services for local communities.
Hampshire County Council will be allocated £45 million under the LABG from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in addition to the £14.1 million they are already receiving this year. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers, including expanding services and improving reliability or investing in community transport schemes.
Furthermore, community transport operators are eligible to claim the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG), the Department makes available up to £3.8 million each year through the BSOG to community transport operators. The BSOG is a grant paid to operators of eligible commercial bus services and community transport organisations to help them recover some of their operating costs.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of potholes in Eastleigh constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to tackling the poor state of our roads which is why it has confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment into local highways maintenance over the next four years. This new, four-year funding settlement is in addition to the Government’s investment of £1.6 billion this year, a £500 million increase compared to last year.
The Eastleigh constituency’s local highway authority is Hampshire, who will be eligible to receive over £266 million in highways maintenance funding over the next four years.
Furthermore, the Department published a new traffic light rating system on 11 January. Under this system, all local highway authorities in England received a red, amber or green rating based on the condition of their roads, how much they spend to maintain their roads, and whether they do so using best practice. The Department has also published an interactive map which means residents can see how their authority is performing and allow the Government to target support to those who need extra help. Hampshire received an overall amber rating, with individual scorecards showing green for condition, amber for spend and amber for best practice.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of current driver education on equestrian safety; and if she will make it her policy to make equestrian safety a (a) mandatory and (b) assessable component of the (i) Driving Theory Test and (ii) Hazard Perception Test.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
In 2022, the Highway Code was updated to improve the safety of all road users, particularly the most vulnerable. Key changes included the introduction of a Hierarchy of Road Users, which places greater responsibility on those who can cause the most harm, and strengthened guidance on safe passing distances and speeds when overtaking horse riders.
THINK! ran targeted campaigns to alert road users to these changes and broader behavioural campaigns to encourage understanding and compliance.
The Government’s THINK! road safety campaign is currently running a Sharing the Road Safely radio advert. The advert promotes safe driving speeds and passing distances, reminding drivers to leave at least 1.5 metres when overtaking cyclists, and to slow down to under 10mph and leave at least two metres when passing horse riders. The advert runs via the Fillers service, which enables broadcasters to air public service messages at no cost.
We will continue to encourage safer road user behaviours, including to improve safety for horse riders, via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards (DVSA) driver theory test already contains questions relating to equestrian safety, and has done for many years.
DVSA has recognised the need to promote the recognition of hazards by drivers when sharing the road with horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles. These are well represented within the hazard perception part of the test, a CGI video test which requires candidates to identify developing hazards on the road in good time.
Both the multiple choice and hazard perception parts of the theory test are continually being updated and added to, with one of the focuses being on vulnerable road users such as horse riders.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what action her Department is taking to help increase awareness of changes to the Highway Code introduced in 2022.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users.
That is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all.
Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.
Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.
However, as set out in the strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.
As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. As announced in the strategy to support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK, the government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how her Department will monitor and evaluate the effects of the DVSA’s move to individualised booking of driving tests.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Measures were announced on 12 November that will restrict the booking and management of practical car driving tests to learner drivers, and limit test swaps and location changes.
This decision follows a call for evidence and a public consultation that many in the driving instructor industry responded to. These measures take into account the views of those who responded to the consultation and are designed to make the test booking process fairer, providing all learners with equal access to the booking system and ensuring that everyone pays the prescribed fee.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) will continually monitor the effectiveness of these measures.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of measures taken to raise public awareness of changes to the Highway Code made in 2022, and whether increasing understanding of those changes will be reflected in the implementation of the Road Safety Strategy.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran a THINK! campaign to raise awareness of the changes. This was followed by broader behaviour change campaigns in 2022 and 2023, to help embed the changes and encourage understanding and uptake of the guidance.
The percentage of road users reporting to know either a little or a lot about the Highway Code changes increased from 36% in January 2022 to over 50% in August 2022 and 70% in September 2023, with 86% of road users having heard of the changes by that time.
The Government's new road safety strategy identifies that more work is needed to continue embedding these changes.
The THINK! campaign will continue to run three radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.
The Road Safety Strategy also sets out further actions to enable safer active travel including supporting councils to provide high-quality, easily accessible active travel schemes across England, and the development of its third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS 3).
As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety.
To support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK, the government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity.
Alongside this, the government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to parliamentary question 78887 answered on 20 October, whether freight traction decarbonisation is within the scope of its long-term infrastructure and rolling stock strategy.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The main focus of the strategy will be on the future needs for passenger rolling stock, and for associated changes to the railway infrastructure.
However, within the strategy, the approach to decarbonisation will also need to take account of the needs of freight users.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase access to Bikeability cycle training for children.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department for Transport announced in February an additional £30 million to support the delivery of Bikeability cycle training to children across England in 2025/26.
This includes funding to ensure sessions are accessible to people with additional needs, such as households without cycles or basic cycle training to prepare children for Bikeability training. In 2024/25 the Bikeability programme provided access to over 4,700 new cycles, supporting the delivery of 500,000 training places, which equated to almost 3 million hours of cycling for children.
In 2024/25, approximately 10% of children trained were children with special educational needs and disabilities, which has increased from 8% in 2023/24.