Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 118273 on Railways: Government Assistance, if she will provide the annual estimated level of support per rail passenger journey for each financial year between 2024-25 and 2028-29.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not intend to publish further details on the estimates on level of support per rail passenger journey. Data on the previous levels of support per rail passenger kilometre are available here: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/media/ptafpcco/uk-rail-industry-finance-2425.pdf.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the projected savings from the removal of management and performance fees payable to private sector train operating companies are estimated to be; and over what time period those savings will be realised.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Public ownership is estimated to save taxpayers up to £110-150 million every year on fees currently paid to privately-owned train operating companies, once all services currently delivered under contract with the Department have transferred.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2026 to Question 117438 on Great British Railways: Finance, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing details of the modelling, business case development or analytical assessments underpinning the forecast £199 million net savings from corporate initiatives in 2028–29.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has considered this and has no plans to publish the details of internal modelling or initial business case development which informed the savings from corporate initiatives in the Department’s Efficiency Plan.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 117905 on Driving Tests: Vacancies, which DVSA driving test centres have had live Driving Examiner vacancies; what dates those vacancies were first listed; and how many Driving Examiner vacancies there were across all DVSA test centres in (a) July 2024 and (b) March 2026.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As stated in the answer to Question 117906 the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) does not hold centrally a snapshot of the total number of driving examiner vacancies by calendar month but continually reviews its workforce requirements in response to customer demand and operational need. Recruitment is managed through ongoing and periodic national and regional campaigns rather than fixed monthly vacancy totals.
All driving examiner vacancies are publicly advertised on Civil Service Jobs on the GOV.UK website and DVSA also publishes information about available career opportunities through its “Working for DVSA” pages on GOV.UK.
As part of this approach, DVSA has continued to run national recruitment campaigns for driving examiners, including a campaign launched in February 2026 advertising multiple driving examiner posts across the country. These campaigns are intended to address recruitment pressures and improve driving test capacity, particularly in areas with the greatest demand.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy not to recognise overseas marriages that would be illegal under UK law.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
There are no plans to change the law that an overseas marriage is normally recognised in England and Wales if it complied with the requirements for the form of the ceremony where it took place (meaning by whom, where, when and how it was conducted) and if both parties had capacity to marry according to the law of their domicile.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2026 to Question 119491, if she will break down the £478 million whole-life cost of the NO2 Programme by (a) funding stream, including the Implementation Fund, Clean Air Fund and administrative costs, (b) local authority scheme and (c) individual project; and how much has been (i) allocated, (ii) committed and (iii) spent.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department for Transport provides all capital funding and a small amount of resource funding.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2026 to Question 111863, what activities the Intellectual Property Office undertakes in relation to net zero, sustainability or green innovation objectives.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Our sustainability initiatives are focused on meeting our obligations under the Greening Government Commitments, which aim to reduce the environmental impact of our estate and operations. We also ensure that we continue to meet the requirements of ISO 14001, which we hold for our environmental management system.
While we review the future accommodation requirements of our headquarters, we are not planning any significant investment in the estate. Current activity is therefore limited to essential maintenance and smaller improvements to maintain efficiency. Recent initiatives include the installation of new energy efficient boilers in our warehouse facility; a reduction in the number of fleet vans and the journeys that they undertake; and replacement of air conditioning units with more efficient units. We’re also reviewing our waste processes to reduce overall waste and improve the amount we recycle.
Further detail on our sustainability activity for the previous financial year is set out in the sustainability chapter of our Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2025 to Question 74236, if she will set out (a) the decision-making process used by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency when assessing applications to renew driving licences for drivers aged over 70; (b) what evidence is considered when determining whether a driver meets the eyesight requirements for licensing; and (c) what weight is given to recent eyesight tests conducted by qualified opticians when assessing whether an applicant aged over 70 meets the required visual standards.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The driver licensing framework in Great Britain is designed to be balanced and proportionate. Drivers of all ages are legally required to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) if they develop a medical condition, or if an existing condition worsens, that may affect their ability to drive.
Driving licences expire at the age of 70 and must be renewed every three years thereafter. This renewal process provides a regular opportunity for older drivers to consider their health and fitness to drive, recognising that health and vision may deteriorate with age.
All drivers are responsible for ensuring that they meet the statutory eyesight standards, including the use of corrective lenses where required. Where a driver declares a medical condition that may affect vision, the DVLA may require a vision assessment, which can be accessed for free at Specsavers. These examinations are conducted in accordance with DVLA specifications to determine whether the legal visual standards are met. Drivers can submit the results of an eyesight test done by another optician as long as it includes an ‘Esterman visual test’.
Depending on the outcome of the assessment and the information provided, a driver may retain their licence, be issued with a time-limited licence subject to ongoing review, or where an individual does not meet the required standards, their driving licence will be revoked or their application refused.
Further information on the eyesight standards for driving is available on the GOV.UK website at: https://www.gov.uk/driving-eyesight-rules. The Department for Transport is currently consulting on proposals to introduce mandatory eyesight testing for drivers aged 70 and over. Further details are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-safety-strategy and https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/introducing-mandatory-eyesight-testing-for-older-drivers.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the percentage of licensed vehicles operating in Greater London that are fitted with ghost, stealth or otherwise ANPR-defeating number plates; what data is collected by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency on the prevalence of such plates among licensed vehicles; and what steps the Government is taking to prevent the use of ghost or stealth number plates in offences linked to sexual exploitation, organised crime and other criminal activity.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The DVLA does not routinely collect data on the prevalence of different physical plate types fitted to vehicles.
The Department for Transport is reviewing motoring offences and is consulting on introducing penalty points and vehicle seizure for being in charge of a vehicle with an incorrect/altered/false number plate and will consider whether legislative changes are needed to strengthen DVLA’s regulatory and enforcement powers. The DVLA works with police forces and the National Police Chiefs’ Council on enforcement activity to tackle the criminal use of non-compliant number plates.
The Government keeps the legislative framework for registration plates under review, including whether further measures are needed. It is already an offence to display a registration mark that does not comply with the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001.
The DVLA is considering options to strengthen and audit the Register of Number Plate Suppliers. DVLA enforcement officers work with the police and Trading Standards on compliance activity and investigations. Officials engage regularly with DVLA and policing partners, including police forces and the National Police Chiefs’ Council, on the prevalence and enforcement of non-compliant plates, including show plates.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of the use of show plates on licensed vehicles used on public roads; whether her Department has considered prohibiting the fitting of show plates to vehicles licensed for road use; what steps she is taking to improve enforcement against vehicles displaying number plates that do not comply with the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001, including show plates; and whether she has had discussions with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and police forces on the prevalence of non-compliant and show plates being used on vehicles driven on public roads.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The DVLA does not routinely collect data on the prevalence of different physical plate types fitted to vehicles.
The Department for Transport is reviewing motoring offences and is consulting on introducing penalty points and vehicle seizure for being in charge of a vehicle with an incorrect/altered/false number plate and will consider whether legislative changes are needed to strengthen DVLA’s regulatory and enforcement powers. The DVLA works with police forces and the National Police Chiefs’ Council on enforcement activity to tackle the criminal use of non-compliant number plates.
The Government keeps the legislative framework for registration plates under review, including whether further measures are needed. It is already an offence to display a registration mark that does not comply with the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001.
The DVLA is considering options to strengthen and audit the Register of Number Plate Suppliers. DVLA enforcement officers work with the police and Trading Standards on compliance activity and investigations. Officials engage regularly with DVLA and policing partners, including police forces and the National Police Chiefs’ Council, on the prevalence and enforcement of non-compliant plates, including show plates.