Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero to improve the (a) accessibility and (b) affordability of at home EV charging.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government continues to offer grant funding for those living in flats and rented accommodation, with up to £500 per charge point socket.
The Government is also continuing to support drivers to access cheaper, flexible charging tariffs, both at home and in public. The Government set out a range of steps to support this as part of its Clean Flexibility Roadmap 2025.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2026 to Question 122543, what assessment the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has made of the adequacy of conversion rates from application to appointment for driving examiner roles by recruitment channel.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As with any recruitment in the Civil Service, all applications must be made through Civil Service Jobs. There are several stages candidates must progress through before being offered employment, and consequently there will be candidates unsuccessful at various stages of the process.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) must ensure appointments are made based on merit following fair and open competition. As well as parts of the application process common to other Civil Service roles – eligibility checks, application forms, interviews, DBS checks - there are elements that are unique to the recruitment process for driving examiners (DE) when compared to other roles.
Upholding road safety standards underpins everything DVSA does, and the recruitment process has to ensure those employed as DEs can determine if a candidate is ready and safe to take to the road alone.
Candidates successful at interview will undertake an assessment of their driving ability, which they must pass. Further details of what this assessment entails can be found on GOV.UK.
Candidates who successfully pass recruitment and are offered employment must undertake and pass a training programme before conducting tests.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what average grant value per vehicle has been assumed in modelling the Zero Emission Truck and Van funding package.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Based on historic splits between higher and lower value awards, we estimate that the average grant value for vans in the 2026/27 financial year will be approximately £3,500. For trucks, the estimated average grant value is approximately £50,000 in 2026/27.
These estimates are indicative and remain subject to uncertainty. Actual average grant values will depend on market uptake and the proportion of vehicles eligible for each grant level. All grants remain under review and may be amended at any time to ensure value to the taxpayer.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is considering mandating routine cereulide toxin screening in all powdered infant and follow-on formula products placed on the UK market.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Infant formula regulations set robust nutritional and compositional standards, to ensure that all infant formulas for sale in the United Kingdom are suitable for meeting the nutritional requirements of babies. While these regulations do not specify testing for individual toxins, infant formula is also subject to the UK’s overarching food safety legislation which requires food business operators to ensure that products placed on the market are safe.
At present, the Government does not have plans to introduce mandatory testing of cereulide or other toxins in infant formula. While recent product recalls demonstrate that contamination can occur and must be taken seriously, contamination of infant formula is rare and the UK has processes in place to rapidly identify and manage risks when they arise, including through investigation and product recalls. Any decision to mandate routine testing would need to be evidence based and proportionate while prioritising infant safety.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
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 impact of foreign-owned technology platforms being subject to overseas jurisdictions on levels of UK data sovereignty; and what safeguards are in place to help prevent their use for intelligence-gathering purposes.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
All organisations processing personal data in the UK must comply with the UK’s data protection framework, including the UK GDPR, regardless of where they are headquartered. This includes requirements that apply when personal data is transferred overseas, and organisations must ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place where required.
The UK has world-leading investigation and enforcement capabilities to ensure that data is collected and handled responsibly and securely. The Information Commissioner’s Office has powers to investigate, issue fines and require corrective action where organisations fail to comply with the UK’s data protection framework, and individuals may seek redress if their data is misused.
As threats to UK data evolve our response will be agile and proportionate. We actively monitor threats to UK data and will not hesitate to take further action if necessary to protect our national security.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
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 extent to which foreign-owned technology platforms operating in the UK may be compelled by overseas governments to share user data; and what steps she is taking to protect against espionage and national security risks arising from such arrangements.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
All organisations processing personal data in the UK must comply with the UK’s data protection framework.
The UK has strong safeguards to ensure that data is collected and handled responsibly and securely. Companies registered in the UK are subject to our legal framework and regulatory jurisdiction. Personal data transfers abroad are subject to a high level of legal protection. Failure to comply can result in enforcement action.
As threats to UK data evolve our response will be agile and proportionate. We actively monitor threats to UK data and will not hesitate to take further action if necessary to protect our national security.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what specific support and guidance has been provided to NHS services in a) Leicester and b) the East Midlands to identify and manage infants presenting with symptoms consistent with the cereulide toxin exposure.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), along with partner agencies in the devolved administrations, have been supporting the Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland, and local authorities with their investigations responding to the recall of infant formula products potentially contaminated with cereulide toxin.
Briefing notes with situational updates on successive formula recalls, case numbers and guidance on management of cases were issued on 7 January 2026, 27 January 2026, and 12 February 2026 to primary care including general practitioners, National Health Service clinicians, private hospitals, and other health care professionals across the whole of England. These communications reminded health care professionals to notify cases to the UKHSA and included advice on clinical assessment and management of cases of cereulide toxicity, diagnostic testing of clinical samples and of recalled formula for toxigenic Bacillus cereus or detection of cereulide toxin gene. The briefing notes were extensively cascaded across various professional networks, for instance Royal College of General Practitioners, Emergency medicine, Neonatology and Paediatrics.
This has led to the UKHSA receiving multiple clinical notifications from across England, allowing us to investigate potential cases further, including testing individual batches of recalled formula from the households of children who have presented to healthcare settings for presence of the toxin.
Throughout this process the UKHSA’s health protection teams and experts in gastrointestinal infections have engaged with and supported NHS clinicians and families of children who may have ingested recalled batches of formula.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which body has overall responsibility for consolidating greenhouse gas emissions data across the central government office estate; and what estimate has been made of the total cost across all departments of measuring, collecting, reporting and validating that data in 2024–25.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra consolidates greenhouse gas emissions. This is published in GGC annual reports. The last published report for 2021 to 2024 published here Greening Government Commitments April 2021 to March 2024 report - GOV.UK estimates in year 3, the Government’s overall emissions were 41% lower than the baseline based on data reported to Defra at that time.
There is no estimate of cost of this work however a small team of c.2FTE produces this report as part of wider responsibilities. Departments are encouraged to provide data that is already collected for other purposes and are not required to put in place specific arrangements to collect this data solely for GGC reporting purposes.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 118042, whether the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has considered introducing additional tracking mechanisms to identify which recruitment channels generate successful applicants.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) uses the Civil Service recruitment service for all of its recruitment.
For campaigns up to November 2025, DVSA used the data available from the Civil Service recruitment standard applicants survey. This shows which advertising routes generate candidates, however the information is limited and does not give 100% coverage.
In December 2025, DVSA introduced a DVSA specific survey. This is sent to everyone who is offered an interview. This is then followed by another survey sent to anyone who successfully moves onto training. The data will be crossed referenced, however DVSA currently only has data for one complete and one ongoing campaign.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 118043, how much the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has spent on advertising driving examiner vacancies in each of the last three years.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The table below shows the driver recruitment campaigns that the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has spent advertising on, in each of the last three financial years to date.
Financial Year | Spend (£) | Number of Campaigns |
2023/24 | 19,675.05 | 4 |
2024/25 | 30,903.89 | 3 |
2025/26 | 8,000.00 | 3 |
Total | 58,578.94 | 10 |