Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of levels of pressure on driving examiners to increase driving test pass rates; and what safeguards are in place to ensure that test outcomes are based on candidate performance and road safety considerations.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has not changed the standard for the practical driving test. Examiners assess learners against a consistent national standard, and outcomes are based solely on learners’ performance and road safety.
All driving examiners receive comprehensive initial training, supported by ongoing refresher training and regular quality assurance activity to ensure consistency of testing standards nationwide.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of the process for holders of international driving licences to obtain a UK driving licence; and what steps she is taking to ensure that the standard required to pass a UK driving test remains sufficiently robust to maintain road safety.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of current regulations on the use of international driving licences in the UK; and whether she plans to review the requirements for holders of international licences.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has received representations from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Digital Creators on the subject of children's access to video-sharing platforms.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government recently published a consultation and began a national conversation which sought views and evidence from across the UK on measures that could further protect children online and enhance their wellbeing.
This closed on 26 May and we are analysing the responses. We received over 116,000 responses to the consultation and we are considering the insights parents, children and other stakeholders have shared. We will publish a full list of organisations that responded to the consultation alongside a summary of responses.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the extent of similarities between YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and TikTok.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act imposes a range of consistent duties on user-to-user service providers requiring them to proactively identify, mitigate and manage risks to users, and to be accountable for the safety of their platforms.
Service providers must proactively mitigate risk of use for illegal activity and must address illegal content when it appears. They must also prevent children from encountering the most harmful content and must implement age-appropriate measures to protect children from other kinds of harmful content.
Ofcom, the independent regulator, has powers to take robust enforcement action where service providers do not comply with Act duties.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department reviewed the Crown Commercial Service's approximately £9 billion Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft, signed in November 2024, in light of the CMA's findings that Microsoft's software licensing practices reduce competition in UK cloud markets and impose additional costs on public sector organisations.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT has not formally reviewed the SPA24 Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft. This agreement does not represent a commitment to spend, but instead provides eligible public sector organisations with access to discounted pricing. Decisions on whether to purchase goods and services are made by individual organisations in line with procurement regulations.
The Government Commercial Agency (GCA), formerly Crown Commercial Service (CCS), manages SPA24 with Microsoft to ensure that it continues to deliver against its objectives.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the Competition and Markets Authority's decision of 31 March 2026 to launch a Strategic Market Status investigation into Microsoft's business software ecosystem; and what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that the investigation proceeds without delay from its scheduled commencement in May 2026.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government is committed to promoting a competitive and innovative digital economy, which is why we prioritised the commencement of the CMA’s new powers in digital markets last year.
The CMA launched its Strategic Market Status designation investigation into Microsoft’s business software ecosystem on the 14 May 2026, this investigation must be completed within 9 months. An indicative timetable of this investigation is published on the CMA’s website. The CMA operates independently of Government, and decisions on which firms to investigate, and how these investigations are conducted rest solely with the CMA.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the CMA's finding, published 31 March 2026, that the rapid integration of artificial intelligence into Microsoft's business software ecosystem creates risks of distorting competition in a critical layer of UK digital infrastructure.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to promoting a competitive and innovative digital economy, which is why we prioritised the commencement of the CMA’s new powers in digital markets last year.
The CMA operates independently of Government, and decisions on the scope of its investigations rest solely with the CMA.
The CMA launched its investigation into Microsoft’s business software ecosystem on 14 May 2026. The CMA has invited views on the details of this investigation until 4 June 2026. The proposed scope includes the integrated use of AI tools in business software to help ensure that UK businesses and public sector organisations can choose the tools that deliver the greatest productivity gains. The CMA will consider responses to its consultation and confirm its position in due course.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Microsoft's bundling of Copilot into software licensing contracts on (a) competition in the software market and (b) costs for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is currently conducting a Strategic Market Status investigation into Microsoft’s business software ecosystem. As part of this investigation, the CMA is considering a range of issues, including software bundling practices, interoperability, licensing arrangements, and their potential impacts on competition, including for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Government has not made a separate assessment of these impacts. It is for the CMA, as the UK’s independent competition authority, to assess the evidence and determine whether any interventions are necessary.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it remains her policy to maintain the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 in their current form.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Recommendations from the Habitats Regulations Post Implementation Review (2025), the Corry Review (2025), and Recommendation 11 of the Fingleton Review (2025) highlight issues around clarity, usability, risk aversion and delays in the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. This Government is considering the findings of these reviews to address the issues identified, including taking forward Recommendations 11 and 12 of the Fingleton Review and preparing updated Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) guidance which will support clearer decision making and promote a more proportionate application of the Regulations.