Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of active-travel funding allocations to local authorities.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Active travel funding allocations are based on capability level as assessed through Active Travel England’s annual capability ratings process. The ratings are used to allocate funding and to provide the right support to authorities to help them develop capability to deliver high quality schemes. This process has resulted in an increase in the number of active travel schemes completed on schedule from 58% in 2023/4 to 69% in 2024/5.
Since being established in 2022, Active Travel England (ATE) has provided over £560 million of funding to authorities. ATE have overseen the creation of over 400 miles of new walking and cycling routes (and hundreds of safer crossing and junctions) that the above funding has provided.
There has also been a 9% improvement in the (published) assessment by Active Travel England on local councils’ ability to deliver schemes overall (from 2022/23 to 2023/24).
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help increase driver numbers in the logistics sector.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to supporting the logistics sector in developing the skilled workforces it needs. The Government has confirmed £136 million for Skills Bootcamps in 2025-26 to support more than 40,000 learners. Skills Bootcamps will remain an important part of skills provision and are now funded through Mayoral Strategic Authorities and local areas directly, empowering local leaders with greater control over skills development. Local leaders are considering what occupations, including HGV driving, to prioritise.
The Government also continues to support the sector with skills training through the Urban Driver and Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) driver apprenticeships, and through Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) via Jobcentre Plus.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans there are to improve safety measures on rural A-roads with higher-than-average collision rates.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government recognises that the majority of road fatalities (according to the latest statistics) occurred on rural roads (60%) with fewer fatalities on urban roads (35%) and motorways (5%).
Too many people are killed and seriously injured in road traffic collisions, and this Government is working hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users. The Road Safety Strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies which will have national reach. More details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to expand EV charging infrastructure in underserved regions.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of affordable and accessible charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle (EV). As of 1 November 2025, Government and industry have supported the installation of 86,798 publicly available charging devices, up 22% on this time last year. In 2024, the number of publicly available charging devices in rural areas of England increased by 45%.
Government’s £381m Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund allocated capital and resource funding across England. Funding allocations were determined through an assessment of local authority need, including deprivation levels and rurality. The North East region was allocated over £25m LEVI funding to leverage significant private investment and expand the number of local public chargepoints across the region.
The £25 million EV Pavement Channel Grant is also available, which is intended to empower local authorities to adopt pavement channels as part of their local charging solutions. The North East was allocated over £1.6m to support the installation of pavement channels alongside public chargepoints.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time was for a practical driving test at driving test centres in (a) Darlington, (b) Middlesbrough (c) Hartlepool,(d) Northallerton and (e) England in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The average waiting time in weeks, as of October 2025, for driving test centres in (a) Darlington, (b) Middlesbrough (c) Hartlepool (d) Northallerton and (e) England, can be found in the table below.
Location | Average Waiting Times Oct 25 |
Darlington | 23.0 Weeks |
Middlesbrough | 24.0 Weeks |
Hartlepool | 24.0 Weeks |
Northallerton | 22.5 Weeks |
England | 22.4 Weeks |
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to improve bus (a) reliability and (b) frequency in (i) rural and (ii) semi-rural parts of the North East.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to delivering the better, more reliable bus services that passengers deserve throughout the country, including in rural areas. We introduced the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill on 17 December as part of our ambitious plan for bus reform. The Bill will put passenger needs, reliable services and local accountability at the heart of the industry by putting the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England, including in rural areas. The Bill includes a measure on socially necessary services so that local authorities and bus operators have to have regard for alternatives to changing or cancelling services.
In addition, the Government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country, of which the Tees Valley Combined Authority was allocated £7.2 million. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent and protect crucial bus routes for local communities.
The Government reaffirmed its commitment to investing in bus services long-term in this Spending Review. On 11 June, the Government confirmed additional funding per year from 26/27 to maintain and improve bus services, including taking forward franchising pilots and extending the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding she has allocated to local authorities in the Tees Valley to support active travel schemes.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 12 February, the Department announced almost £300 million of funding to support active travel across England, including allocations to local authorities through the Active Travel Fund 5 and Consolidated Active Travel Fund. Of this funding, the Tees Valley Combined Authority has received over £810,000 in capital funding for 24/25 and over £2.4 million in revenue funding for 24/25 and capital funding for 25/26.
In addition, the Tees Valley Combined Authority has been awarded £978 million through its Transport for City Regions settlement, from 2027-28 to 2031-32. This funding can be used to support active travel schemes across the region. Active Travel England has also awarded over £240,000 to the Combined Authority’s constituent authorities to support Bikeability cycle training in 2024/25.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that rail stations in the North East meet accessibility standards.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This government is committed to improving the accessibility of Britain’s railway and recognise the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.
In the North East, five Access for All projects have been undertaken, four of which are now complete, with one currently under construction. Nominations for future rounds of funding will benefit from strong industry support and a proportion of third party match funding.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Local Transport Fund on journey times in the North East.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Local Transport Fund was an unfunded commitment made by the previous government. As the Secretary of State has said publicly, her department will not be pursuing this scheme.
The North East receives local transport funding from the department, including from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) and the Transport for City Region settlements (TCR). Mayors are responsible for identifying and delivering schemes that meet local priorities and align to the objectives of funding, including the benefits of these schemes.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with Tees Valley Combined Authority on transport priorities for the region.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My Department has allocated Tees Valley Combined Authority £978m through the Transport for City Regions settlements over the 5-year period from 2027-32. This is in addition to £310m allocated to Tees Valley via the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS).
My officials maintain regular engagement with Tees Valley Combined Authority, including a visit and strategic discussion with the CA in February 2025 which took place over two days and included in-depth conversations on the region’s transport priorities. A follow-up meeting between Mayor Ben Houchen and I was planned but had to be postponed at the Mayor’s request.