Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to support the increased use of (a) car-pooling and (b) lift sharing.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I am carefully considering how we can support and promote car club and car-sharing schemes. The Government already supports car clubs with bonus credits in the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate and guidance for local authorities on charging for car clubs. As I set out in response to a topical question from the Member for Brentford and Isleworth on 11 September, I will hold a roundtable with industry stakeholders in the near future to inform these considerations.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport of 3 September 2025, Official Report, column 166WH, what the (a) cost, (b) terms of reference, (c) delivery schedule and (d) contractor was for the research she has commissioned on pavement parking.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My officials are in discussion with suppliers to determine the terms of reference for the current work in accordance with Government procurement requirements. They expect to issue the formal specification shortly. Given there are no existing measures of pavement parking, I anticipate this will include preparatory work to create the data-collection methods to be used, followed by a second phase which will be the data-collection fieldwork itself. Costs, and timelines will be finalised during the procurement process. Findings will be published as early as possible and no later than 12 weeks after the final outputs from the data collection stage are agreed in accordance with the Government Social Research Publication Protocol.
This research seeks to measure the extent of pavement parking and its impacts and provide a baseline so that whichever policy we implement can be evaluated. It will not delay any policy announcement nor the publication of my Department’s formal response to the previous Government’s 2020 consultation.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to expand the provision of high occupancy vehicle lanes in England.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Decisions on the use of high occupancy vehicle lanes in England are a matter for individual local highway authorities, and the Government currently has no plans to expand or encourage their use.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish the membership and terms of reference of the Rail Engagement Group.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As part of our manifesto commitment to reset industrial relations, the Government is looking to establish the Rail Engagement Group (REG). It is intended that the REG will bring together leaders from the Department for Transport, rail industry and trade unions for strategic discussions about the railway, as we move towards establishing Great British Railways.
Individuals have recently been invited to join the REG. The group’s membership will be published on gov.uk after it has been confirmed. The terms of reference will be published once agreed by the REG.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to ensure that rail workers maintain their (a) pay and (b) working conditions when their rail company is moved into public ownership.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As rail passenger services are transferred into public ownership, staff employed by the privately-owned operator transfer to the public sector operator in accordance with Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations, protecting their contractual terms and conditions.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she plans to have discussions with unions ahead of rail companies being taken into public ownership.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department and DFT Operator have regular discussions with trade unions on a range of topics, including the public ownership programme. Officials engage with trade unions throughout the transfer process, from the point of confirming when a train operator’s services will transfer into public ownership through to the transfer date and beyond.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to support the increased use of Car Clubs.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Officials have met with Car Clubs as part of wider engagement on the Motor Insurance Taskforce. The Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes (VETS) Order offers bonus ZEV Mandate credits to vehicle manufacturers who sell zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) to car clubs. The Government is driving forward the expansion of public charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can confidently make the switch to an electric vehicle. The £381m Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund supports local authorities in England to work with industry and transform the availability of EV charging for drivers without off-street parking. And we are continuing to invest, with £400m announced at the spending review to support EV infrastructure out to 2030.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions her Department has had with open access passenger service operators on the potential impact of the Railway Bill on their operating model.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
DfT officials have regularly engaged Open Access operators, alongside other stakeholders, to provide both updates regarding proposed reforms and to invite their feedback. This includes engagement around the recent consultation on the Railways Bill, and the Department is now considering the responses received.
It should also be noted that my Department remains committed to a role for Open Access in the reformed rail sector, providing competition to Great British Railways and choice for passengers. However, Open Access must genuinely add value and not simply inhibit the efficient operation of the network or divert revenue from existing operators – all of which are currently supported by the taxpayer in some form.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions her Department has had with freight operators on the potential impact of the Railway Bill on their operating model.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Rail Minister meets regularly with the freight operators and the Railways Bill has been a subject of discussion on a number of occasions. Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published every quarter and this information can be accessed on the Gov.uk website via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-transparency-data#meetings.
In addition, officials meet regularly with the freight operators and have provided updates on the Bill. There have also been workshops for operators on specific aspects of the Bill.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 61693 on Driving Licences: Health, what the DVLA’s planned timeframe is for the introduction of the new strategic system to process medical cases.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s new system to process medical cases is being delivered in three phases and is scheduled to be fully operational by March 2026.