Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish the responses to the 2025 consultation on the driving test booking system.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The response has been published and can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-car-driving-test-booking-rules/outcome/improving-car-driving-test-booking-rules-response-to-consultation.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the compliance of East Cambridgeshire District Council with her Department's guidance on the provision of restricted private hire vehicle licences.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is responsible for setting the regulatory structure within which 263 licensing authorities in England administer the taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) licensing regime. Licensing authorities must determine that all taxi and PHV drivers and PHV operators are ‘fit and proper’ to hold a licence but have flexibility on the requirements that must be met to demonstrate this. They must also ensure that vehicles are safe to carry members of the public.
The Department for Transport issues guidance to assist licensing authorities to enable the provision of safe and accessible services through proportionate regulation. The Department’s statutory guidance to licensing authorities on exercising their taxi and PHV licensing functions to protect children and vulnerable adults sets out a robust set of safeguarding measures. Licensing authorities must have regard to the guidance and my Department expects them to implement the recommendations unless there is a compelling local reason not to do so. The statutory guidance applies across taxi and PHV licensing, including licences issued on a “restricted” basis.
As recommended in the statutory guidance, all taxi and PHV licensing authorities in England (including East Cambridgeshire District Council) have advised the Department that for drivers they require the highest level of vetting available, an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check and a check of both the children’s and adults’ Barred Lists.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of safeguards for restricted private hire vehicle licences issued by local authorities.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is responsible for setting the regulatory structure within which 263 licensing authorities in England administer the taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) licensing regime. Licensing authorities must determine that all taxi and PHV drivers and PHV operators are ‘fit and proper’ to hold a licence but have flexibility on the requirements that must be met to demonstrate this. They must also ensure that vehicles are safe to carry members of the public.
The Department for Transport issues guidance to assist licensing authorities to enable the provision of safe and accessible services through proportionate regulation. The Department’s statutory guidance to licensing authorities on exercising their taxi and PHV licensing functions to protect children and vulnerable adults sets out a robust set of safeguarding measures. Licensing authorities must have regard to the guidance and my Department expects them to implement the recommendations unless there is a compelling local reason not to do so. The statutory guidance applies across taxi and PHV licensing, including licences issued on a “restricted” basis.
As recommended in the statutory guidance, all taxi and PHV licensing authorities in England (including East Cambridgeshire District Council) have advised the Department that for drivers they require the highest level of vetting available, an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check and a check of both the children’s and adults’ Barred Lists.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has issued guidance to local authorities on whether to undertake a (a) consultation and (b) safeguarding assessment in the context of the application of vehicle plate-exemption powers.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The best practice guidance issued by the Department to taxi and private hire vehicle licensing authorities in England advises that private hire vehicles should only exempt the display of a licence plate by a private hire vehicle in exceptional circumstances. This might include vehicles used for ‘executive hire’ services which are services licensed as private hire vehicles and licensing authorities should assure themselves that there is sufficient justification to exempt these vehicles from a requirement to display a plate or disc and that there is an effective means to prevent the vehicle being used for ‘normal’ private hire work.
In relation to the requirement to consult, the guidance sets out that licensing authorities should consult on proposed changes in licensing rules that may have significant impacts on passengers and/or the trade. Such consultation should include not only all taxi and private hire vehicle licensees but also groups likely to be the trades’ customers.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of passengers with a London Freedom Pass being able to travel for free in areas where the eligibility for free travel is set at an older age.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age, currently 66. In London, the Older Person's Freedom Pass is eligible to all London residents over the age of 66, which is the statutory eligibility for the ENCTS as set out in legislation. This therefore means that there would be no instance where a passholder of London's Older Person Freedom Pass would be using their pass in an area where the eligibility for free travel is set at a higher age.
Residents who live in a London borough and are aged 60 or over are eligible for the 60+ London Oyster photocard. This concession enables passholders to travel for free on Transport for London (TfL) services and cannot be used to board services outside of London, with the exception of a small number of National Rail services connecting into London. This is an additional concession, funded and delivered at the discretion of TfL.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will take steps to raise awareness of road safety for drivers when overtaking cyclists.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022 introducing a hierarchy of road users, the department ran a THINK! campaign to raise awareness of the changes as they came into effect. This was followed by broader behaviour change campaigns in the summer of 2022 and 2023, to help embed the changes and encourage understanding and uptake of the guidance.
We also promote cycle safety advice for cyclists and motorists via THINK!
social channels, education resources and run radio filler advertising encouraging motorists to maintain safe driving distances from cyclists and horse riders, and to use the Dutch Reach when opening car doors to help keep cyclists safe.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the number of charging points for electric vehicles that have been built in each year since 2015, broken down by local authority.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The information requested is not available.
The Department does hold and publish the number of public electric vehicle charging devices in the UK by local authority as of the first day of the month each quarter from 2019 onwards. This information can be found in the attached table.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions (a) ministers, (b), special advisors and (c) officials in her Department have had with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on the implementation of the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Ministers from across Government regularly meet to discuss the transition to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs), including policies to increase levels of ZEV ownership and the ZEV Mandate. The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles is a joint office between the Department for Transport and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and reports to Ministers in both departments in relation to the transition to zero emission vehicles.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the number of charging points scheduled to be built in each year from 2025 to 2035.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As of 1 May 2025, there are 79,326 publicly available charging devices, up 30% on this time last year. We expect the majority of public chargepoints to be delivered by the private sector, with industry announcing over £6bn in charging infrastructure investment before 2030.
While the Government does not hold data on the number of chargepoints scheduled to be built annually, Government investment will continue to accelerate the rollout of charging infrastructure. Over 100,000 local chargepoints are expected to be delivered through the £381m Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund alone, alongside grants to support the installation of chargepoints in certain residential and commercial properties as well as businesses, charities and public sector organisations.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to (a) businesses and (b) public services of building charging points for electric vehicles in each year between 2025 and 2035.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As of May 2025, there are 79,326 publicly available charging devices, up 30% on this time last year. We expect the majority of public chargepoints to be delivered by the private sector, with industry announcing over £6bn in charging infrastructure investment before 2030.
Government investment will continue to address market failures and accelerate the rollout of public charging infrastructure. Government confirmed in the Autumn Budget further investment of over £200 million in 2025-26 to accelerate EV chargepoint rollout across the country.