Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2026 to Question 115998, if she will publish the full list of factors used to calculate the (a) rate for each vehicle and (b) rates and thresholds rates and thresholds of taxes and reliefs.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is a tax on vehicles used or kept on public roads, and as in my previous response, rates for different vehicles vary according to a range of factors.
The rates payable for different vehicle types and the factors which determine them are set out in the V149 and V149/1 rates tables published by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), and which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-of-vehicle-tax-v149
The Government annually reviews the rates and thresholds of taxes and reliefs to ensure that they are appropriate and reflect the current state of the economy. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the public finances.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war on the use of unmanned systems in warfare; and what steps his Department is taking to (a) incorporate lessons from Ukrainian battlefield use of drones into UK doctrine and (b) improve the UK’s defensive capabilities against hostile drone activity.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The UK’s Armed Forces are learning much from the war in Ukraine, particularly the need for a much faster ‘learn and adapt’ cycle to accelerate developments in our capabilities, doctrine, and tactics. More broadly, the Strategic Defence Review considered all aspects of Defence, including the capabilities required by the UK to meet the challenges, threats, and opportunities of the twenty-first century. The Strategic Defence Review also highlighted the importance of autonomous systems both within the UK’s Integrated Force and the threats they pose to that force. Decisions on our equipment requirements, including artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, will be set out in the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has had discussions with garage owners on the potential impact of the cost of taking EV cars to have their pay per mile mileage checked for eVED on motorists.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, to create a fair tax system whilst also taking steps to ensure that driving an electric vehicle (EV) remains an attractive choice for consumers.
The Government published a consultation which set out further detail on how eVED will work and sought views on its design and implementation. This included a commitment to engage with garages on the costs of mileage checks and MOT fees.
As part of the consultation process, the government has undertaken a programme of engagement involving a range of stakeholders, including garages, and is committed to continuing to engage closely on the implementation of eVED in the lead up to April 2028.
The consultation closed on 18 March 2026. The government is considering responses and will publish a response in due course.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential remits of (a) stopping the production of number plates with raised lettering (b) amending the BS AU 145f standards for number plates to make (i) clone plates and (ii) ghost plates more difficult to procure.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is part of the British Standards Institution (BSI) committee that has recently reviewed the current standard for number plates, BS AU 145e. The proposed amendments to the British Standard include measures intended to prevent raised or ‘ghost’ characteristics, requiring finished plates to be flat.
The BSI’s consultation closed on 13 December 2025 and responses are being considered. Any updates will be communicated by the BSI.
The Government published its Road Safety Strategy on 7 January, setting out its vision for a safer future on our roads for all. As part of this, the Department for Transport has published a consultation which seeks views on the introduction of penalty points and vehicle seizure for the offence of being in charge of a motor vehicle with an incorrect/altered/false number plate. The consultation can be found online at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-penalties-for-motoring-offences and is open until 11 May 2026.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's consultation entitled Introducing a minimum learning period for learner drivers, published on 7 January 2026, what would be the minimum legal age at which an individual could practically (a) drive on a road with a learner’s ‘L’ plate, (b) drive on a road with a Restricted ‘R’ plate and (c) drive on a road with a full driving license.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The minimum legal age at which an individual can take a driving test is 17 (or 16 in specific circumstances where an exemption applies). The same minimum legal age applies for individuals starting to learn to drive on public roads with an approved driving instructor or an eligible supervising driver.
The time it takes to progress through learning, testing and licensing depends on the individual and how long it takes them to develop the necessary skills and competences. To improve safety, we are consulting on introducing a minimum learning period in Great Britain (GB), to make sure learner drivers get the necessary time and training to prepare themselves for a lifetime of driving. This would allow learners more time to gain essential experience, for example in different weather conditions, before driving independently and reduce the risk to themselves and other drivers.
Should we introduce a mandatory minimum learning period for learner drivers following the consultation, the current minimum legal age requirements for driving would not change.
Northern Ireland requires that Restricted ‘R’ plates are displayed for 12 months from the date of passing a driving test, but Restricted ‘R’ plates are not required in GB. Optional Probationary ‘P’ plates may be displayed in GB to signal to other drivers that the driver is a new driver, but they are not mandatory.
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 Answers of 19 November and 27 November 2025 to Questions 90730 and 93372 on Ministers: Official Cars, whether her Department issued guidance on the provision of official cars to Ministers outside the Government Car Service.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has not issued guidance regarding the provision of official cars to Ministers outside the Government Car Service.
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 120007 on High Speed 2 Line: Finance, whether reductions in the specified top speed of High Speed Two trains are being considered as part of efforts to align the programme with the Spending Review settlement.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No. The Spending Review settlement for the current period is not dependent on the consideration of the top speed of HS2.
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 9 March 2026 to Question 116554. whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her Department's policies of the analysis conducted by Thatcham Research on behalf of the insurance industry.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The findings of Thatcham Research’s analysis align with the Department's wider understanding of the issues considered. The Department will continue to consider this analysis, and wider evidence sources, in its ongoing work to develop future policy and uphold the highest vehicle safety standards.
The research indicates that the risk of fire is comparatively the lowest in battery electric vehicles - 1 per 100,000 per year.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department held discussions with representatives from the motorbike industry on the Motor Insurance Taskforce Final Report prior to its publication.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The taskforce secretariat met regularly with interested parties, including consumer groups and industry representatives. However, the taskforce did not meet with motorcyclist stakeholders specifically.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2026 to Question 118908, what assessment underpins increases in rateable values of up to 295% for UK civil airports between 1 April 2021 and 1 April 2024; and what specific economic indicators were used to determine those increases.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
All assessments are underpinned by statutory assumptions defined in Schedule 6 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988.
For the 2026 revaluation, we consider general economic circumstances and the receipts and expenditure relevant to individual airports at the valuation date 1 April 2024. As this is the first revaluation since Covid, a large number of ratepayers may see a significant increase in rateable value compared to the previous valuation date 1 April 2021, when the country was in a pandemic lockdown.