Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of levels of signage for EV chargepoints on A-roads and the strategic road network on consumer demand for electric vehicles.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In a move to help EV drivers plug into the rapidly expanding charging network, Government is working with industry to modernise EV charging signage. Changes announced in July 2025 now allow larger EV charging hubs to be signposted from major A-roads.
Responses to a stakeholder survey on EV charging signage undertaken earlier this year are being reviewed and potential future policy options explored.
Future policy will carefully balance the need for signage to support the transition to EVs against wider road network considerations, including ensuring signage is installed only where it provides clear benefit to motorists and does not contribute to unnecessary signage clutter.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress she has made on rolling out signage on A-roads and the Strategic Road Network for EV charge points.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In a move to help EV drivers plug into the rapidly expanding charging network, Government is working with industry to modernise EV charging signage. Changes announced in July 2025 now allow larger EV charging hubs to be signposted from major A-roads.
Responses to a stakeholder survey on EV charging signage undertaken earlier this year are being reviewed and potential future policy options explored.
Future policy will carefully balance the need for signage to support the transition to EVs against wider road network considerations, including ensuring signage is installed only where it provides clear benefit to motorists and does not contribute to unnecessary signage clutter.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she makes of the number of V5C logbooks that were obtained fraudulently every year for the last five years.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The table below shows the volume of vehicle registration certificates (V5C)s issued via the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s ‘I want to request a Vehicle Registration Certificate’ service in the last five calendar years.
Year | Volume |
2021 | 1,681,491 |
2022 | 1,662,295 |
2023 | 1,872,820 |
2024 | 2,060,845 |
2025 | 2,159,180 |
The table below shows the volume of fraudulently obtained genuine V5Cs which were identified following investigations by the DVLA in the last five financial years.
Year | Volume |
2025-26 | 2123 |
2024-25 | 2990 |
2023-24 | 1993 |
2022-23 | 1610 |
2021-22 | 2418 |
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many replacement V5C log books have been issued every year for the past five years.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The table below shows the volume of vehicle registration certificates (V5C)s issued via the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s ‘I want to request a Vehicle Registration Certificate’ service in the last five calendar years.
Year | Volume |
2021 | 1,681,491 |
2022 | 1,662,295 |
2023 | 1,872,820 |
2024 | 2,060,845 |
2025 | 2,159,180 |
The table below shows the volume of fraudulently obtained genuine V5Cs which were identified following investigations by the DVLA in the last five financial years.
Year | Volume |
2025-26 | 2123 |
2024-25 | 2990 |
2023-24 | 1993 |
2022-23 | 1610 |
2021-22 | 2418 |
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to prevent DVLA employees from fraudulently creating new V5C logbooks.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Agency takes the integrity of its registers very seriously. Access to systems is strictly controlled and monitored and there is a detailed audit trail.
The registration process has been reviewed to ensure robustness and specialised fraud awareness training has been delivered to every member of staff.
All employees are reminded of their responsibilities when they join DVLA and this is reinforced throughout their employment. Any suspicions of fraudulent activity are investigated promptly and swift action is taken against anyone who is suspected or identified of abusing their access to the system.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the robustness of DVLA systems to prevent vehicle fraud.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Agency takes the integrity of its registers very seriously. Access to systems is strictly controlled and monitored and there is a detailed audit trail.
The registration process has been reviewed to ensure robustness and specialised fraud awareness training has been delivered to every member of staff.
All employees are reminded of their responsibilities when they join DVLA and this is reinforced throughout their employment. Any suspicions of fraudulent activity are investigated promptly and swift action is taken against anyone who is suspected or identified of abusing their access to the system.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the most recent estimate is of the number of registered number plate suppliers with the DVLA.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As of 31 May 2026, there are 35,768 number plate suppliers registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the DVLA's processes to prevent stolen vehicles from being disguised or cloned by criminals.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has measures in place to help prevent criminal or fraudulent activity. If an application is made for a vehicle registration certificate (V5C) and the DVLA has not been told that the registered keeper has disposed of the vehicle, the DVLA will contact the registered keeper of the vehicle asking them to confirm if they have disposed of the vehicle before issuing a V5C to the applicant. Individuals must have access to the latest V5C issued to be able to use the DVLA’s online services.
The DVLA continues to work with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime, including the use of cloned number plates.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what percentage of ANPR misreads occurred in each of the last five years of the DfT's roadside surveys.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not readily hold figures on the percentage of ANPR misreads from vehicle excise duty evasion statistics roadside survey. Misreads are managed through quality assurance and correction processes, with any remaining uncertainty reflected in the confidence intervals published alongside Vehicle Excise Duty evasion estimates.
Asked by: Sarah Coombes (Labour - West Bromwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many DVLA-registered number plate suppliers are based in (a) West Bromwich and (b) Sandwell.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The tables below show the number of registered number plate suppliers based in West Bromwich and Sandwell by postcode area. As postcode boundaries do not always align with administrative borders, two postcodes appear in both tables. Postcode areas may also extend beyond West Bromwich and Sandwell.
West Bromwich
Postcode | Number of Suppliers |
B70 | 24 |
B71 | 3 |
Sandwell
Postcode | Number of Suppliers |
B43 | 3 |
B64 | 21 |
B65 | 13 |
B66 | 32 |
B67 | 2 |
B68 | 6 |
B69 | 18 |
B70 | 24 |
B71 | 3 |
DY4 | 20 |
WS5 | 4 |
WS10 | 35 |
WV14 | 28 |