Oral Answers to Questions

Simon Lightwood Excerpts

Thursday 26th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

3. What steps she is taking to help reduce waiting times for driving tests.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Simon Lightwood)]

I know that driving test waiting times remain too high, but there are signs that we are starting to turn the corner thanks to the action that we have taken since coming into government. We are increasing examiner capacity, improving booking rules and using Ministry of Defence examiners to provide additional tests. We now have over 100 more examiners in post than in February last year, and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has delivered over 124,000 more tests this financial year than last year. We will keep the House updated as progress continues.

[Brian Mathew]

Young constituents in Melksham and Devizes who are waiting months for driving tests are resorting to paying premium prices for cancellation apps, often getting slots halfway across the country, just to get on the road. One 20-year-old told me that the costs of the wait killed his motivation entirely and that driving was becoming financially out of reach. Given that in rural areas such as mine driving is not a luxury but a necessity, will the Minister commit not only to reducing waiting times in rural areas but to reviewing the affordability of the testing system for young people?

[Simon Lightwood]

This Government will continue to do all we can to drive down the waiting times, and of course, we will always keep the affordability of driving tests under review.

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

I, too, have heard lots of stories from learners in my constituency about their long wait for driving tests, and waits for medical driving licences are also going up. I am delighted that this Government are taking the driving test backlog seriously. Monmouthshire residents will be relieved to know that I have heard that a new examiner is being trained up in Monmouth test centre as we speak, with another joining in Abergavenny soon. Will the Minister update me on what further steps the Department is taking to ensure that examiners are recruited, trained and out doing driving tests as soon as possible?

[Simon Lightwood]

The DVSA continues its recruitment campaigns for new driving examiners. Examiner capacity is rising, with 1,553 full-time equivalent examiners in post as of February 2026—that is an increase of 108 when compared with the number of driving examiners in February 2025. DVSA has also had difficulty in retaining experienced driving examiners, some of whom retire or leave the DVSA for other roles. We are encouraging them to stay, with exceptional payments of £5,000 to examiners in eligible roles, divided into two payments over the next 12 months.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

The waiting time for driving tests has got worse since the Government took office. As others have said, it is critical that, whether for work or education, young people are able to get a test and have the use of a car to grow our economy and get their lives on track. Cabinet Office Ministers answered a written question from the shadow Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr Holden), saying that 26,000 people applied to become a driving examiner. Why are more of them not in training or in post?

[Simon Lightwood]

I continue to be flabbergasted by the comments from the Opposition. Let me just remind the House once again that the National Audit Office reported in December that the Department for Transport had had “limited involvement” in helping the DVSA tackle its waiting time backlog “up to mid-2024” and that

“DfT largely left DVSA to try and resolve the issue”.

The DVSA conducted more tests in December 2025 than during any December in the last 20 years.

[Greg Smith]

The reality on the ground is very different: people are waiting far longer for their driving test than they should have to, and that is happening under this Government. Waiting times have got worse by weeks since July 2024.

The Minister likes to talk about recruitment campaigns. The reality is that there has only been one recruitment campaign, which led to those 26,000 applications. In other parts of the public service, such as the police, there are constant recruitment campaigns. Will the Government now put driving instructors on a constant recruitment campaign?

[Simon Lightwood]

It is absolute nonsense from the Opposition. Let me tell the House what this Government have done compared with the complete inaction of the previous Government. We are changing the booking service to allow only learner drivers to book and manage their tests. We are introducing a limit on the number of times that learner drivers can move or swap their test to twice, and are making use of the Ministry of Defence to drive up the number of tests available.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

4. What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Government funding for repairing potholes.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Simon Lightwood)]

This Labour Government are providing £7.3 billion for highways maintenance over four years, doubling the funding provided by the previous Government by the end of this Parliament. Our long-term funding approach is already reaping results, with 15% more pothole prevention works carried out in 2025 compared with 2024. Effectiveness is monitored through annual transparency reports, incentive funding requirements and the new traffic light ratings system, ensuring that funding is used to deliver lasting, visible improvements for road users.

[Clive Jones]

Wokingham borough council is the lowest funded unitary authority. Between 2020 and 2022 when the Conservatives led the council, they cut the road maintenance budget by £2 million, although they seem to have no recollection of doing so. Now the Labour Government are cutting £43 million from the council’s funding for the next three years. What steps is the Minister taking to provide councils like Wokingham with the funding they need to maintain safe roads, despite being drained of cash by the Government?

[Simon Lightwood]

I am afraid that I do not recognise the hon. Gentleman’s numbers. Capital funding for highways maintenance has not been cut in Wokingham. Wokingham borough council is eligible to receive £28.9 million over the next four years as part of the £7.3 billion investment. That represents a clear year-on-year increase from 2024-25 to 2025-26, with funding due to continue to increase over the next four years.

[Daniel Francis (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Lab)]

After months of struggling to spend the £895,000 given to Conservative-controlled Bexley council by this Government, the council is finally in a rush to resurface roads like Belmont Road in Northumberland Heath by the end of the financial year. Will the Minister confirm how much funding the Government will provide to my local council in future years to restore the condition of our roads across Bexleyheath and Crayford?

[Simon Lightwood]

By the end of this Parliament, we will have almost doubled the amount of money going to local authorities to tackle the pothole plague that we inherited from the previous Government. Of course, elements of that are incentives, so if local authorities do not follow the prescribed best practice, they will not receive all that incentive funding.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Can I declare my interest, having lost three tyres to potholes this year? What assessment has the Department made of the efficiency with which potholes are being filled? What on earth is it filling them with, because within weeks and sometimes days, a newly filled pothole is back again?

[Simon Lightwood]

That is exactly why this Government are putting record funding into tackling potholes—so that we can finally turn the tide on having to refill the same potholes time and again. With that long-term funding, councils can now finally turn the corner and prevent those potholes from forming in the first place.

[Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) (Lab)]

North East Lincolnshire council has received over £4 million. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Daniel Francis) mentioned, the council seems to be struggling to get that money out the door and those potholes filled. Areas like Winchester Road have got absolutely disgraceful road conditions. Is the Department undertaking any monitoring of how much money is being spent and how much is going on these potholes?

[Simon Lightwood]

Under this Government, all councils must publish a statement on their website so that all local people can hold them to account on exactly how they are spending their money. Let me share an interesting fact with the House: Reform came out by far the worst in our recent RAG—red, amber, green—rating exercise, with a massive 25% of Reform-led councils rated “red”.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Olly Glover (Didcot and Wantage) (LD)]

Road Emulsion Association research has found that 57% of UK drivers experience fewer and less severe potholes on Europe’s motorways compared with ours. That was confirmed by Office of Rail and Road benchmarking, which identified that the Netherlands’ strategic road network had double the high standard of ride quality than UK roads. Does the Minister agree that we should embrace good road practices from other countries, and what steps is he taking to ensure that our money is well spent?

[Simon Lightwood]

We are almost doubling the amount of money going to local highways maintenance to turn the tide. That is why a massive percentage of the road investment strategy—something like £8.5 billion—is going on repairing and renewing our strategic road network.

[Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Clapham and Brixton Hill) (Lab)]

5. What steps she is taking to improve passenger rail services.

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[Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)]

8. Whether she has reviewed with Cabinet colleagues the status of land used for environmental mitigation along the A14 in Huntingdon constituency.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Simon Lightwood)]

National Highways has assessed the status of the land and is taking steps to improve its condition, including replanting substantial numbers of trees, protecting ecological sites and creating new wildlife habitats.

[Ben Obese-Jecty]

I thank the Minister for his response the other day to my written question, which made clear that the trees would be replanted alongside the A14. I have surveyed that area in recent weeks, and it is real mess. The land has simply not been maintained after the environmental land-management schemes were put in place, so it is reassuring to hear that the trees will be replaced. However, there are other problems with some of the schemes: some of the buildings that were compulsorily purchased have not been maintained and have become dilapidated, National Highways is ransoming access to the land to local developers by charging a 30% shared value increase, just so that developers can gain access to the A14, and we have dangerous at-grade junctions. Will the Minister meet me to discuss some of the problems that we have with access to the A14 in Huntingdonshire, so that my constituents can be reassured that we are working hard to ensure that that road works as it should?

[Simon Lightwood]

On the specific topic of trees, it is an absolute scandal that something like 600,000 trees died as part of the previous Government’s road schemes—some 90% of the trees died at that particular scheme—but of course I will be happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss the individual issues that he raised.

[Charlie Dewhirst (Bridlington and The Wolds) (Con)]

10. What recent steps her Department has taken to support motorists.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sarah Smith (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

15. What steps she is taking to repair potholes on the strategic road network.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Simon Lightwood)]

National Highways targets the most serious potholes for repair within 24 hours. Under the new road investment strategy, published today, it must keep 96.2% of road surfaces in good condition and resurface around a quarter of its network over the next five years. In addition to National Highways’ work on the strategic road network, Lancashire combined county authority is eligible to receive £268 million in highways maintenance funding over the next four years as part of our £7.3 billion investment in local roads.

[Sarah Smith]

My constituents in Hyndburn and Haslingden are blighted by potholes, which cost them hundreds of pounds, but to add insult to injury, twice recently the Reform-led county council has come out and repainted our road markings before coming a day later to complete resurfacing works on the same bit of road. Lancashire county council has had record levels of funding from this Government, with £100 million confirmed over two years. Does the Minister agree that it is unacceptable that the council is refusing to update residents on its repair times and whether it is meeting their demands and requirements?

[Simon Lightwood]

It is not acceptable for this Reform-led council to refuse to provide basic information to my hon. Friend’s constituents. As I mentioned earlier, 25% of Reform-led councils have been rated red—the lowest rating. It will not surprise my hon. Friend to hear that Labour councils have come out on top. I hope that her constituents will keep that in mind when they go to the polling stations in a couple of weeks.

[Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)]

The scourge of potholes is pretty universal, but will the Minister join me in encouraging all my Spelthorne residents who have a complaint about a pothole to report it via the Surrey county council website? Reporting potholes is the only way to get them sorted.

[Simon Lightwood]

I absolutely agree that constituents should report potholes to their local authority. The good news is that by the end of this Parliament we will have almost doubled the amount of funding to allow those councils to get on top of this pothole plague.

[Emma Foody (Cramlington and Killingworth) (Lab/Co-op)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

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[Douglas McAllister (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab)]

T5. The sorry state of Scotland’s roads proves that the SNP cannot get the basics right. The UK Labour Government funding to repair potholes adds to the significant Barnett consequentials falling to Scotland. Does the Minister agree that Scottish Labour’s pledge to establish a new roads repair fund, worth £350 million, to fix 5 million potholes is one worth voting for on 7 May?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Simon Lightwood)]

I agree with my hon. Friend. We have ambitious plans in England, and a record £7.3 billion investment and clear standards to ensure that councils fix roads properly for the long term. Only Scottish Labour has a plan to build on this approach and to end the pothole plague north of the border.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

T3. Yesterday came the welcome news that Queensbury station, in my constituency, is one of five new stations that will be considered for step-free access. That makes almost the entire Jubilee line step-free, except for Stanmore station, which Transport for London classifies as step-free, even though my residents face 49 steps on the main staircase, 10 at the side and access via a very steep ramp from the car park, which even a Paralympian cannot manage. Could the Minister responding to this afternoon’s debate agree to a new legal definition of “step-free access”?

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[Emma Lewell (South Shields) (Lab)]

Heugh Street bridge in South Shields was closed over four months ago by the council, as it deemed it to be unsafe. It was used by over 5,000 vehicles per day and the closure is damaging my local economy. The council is currently unable to give any timescale for reopening the bridge and I am led to believe there is no funding for it to do so anyway. Can my hon. Friend the Minister please assist us in any way at all?

[Simon Lightwood]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question. This sounds like a scheme that could benefit from the structures fund.

[Sir Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

The Government are rightly focused on bus services, but can I urge them to also think carefully about safety in bus stations? We have a big problem at Skipton bus station at the moment and there is no CCTV. I encourage the Minister to focus on local authorities and mayors to get obligatory CCTV in our bus stations to keep people safe.

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[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

The Labour Mayor of York and North Yorkshire is tinkering with the Department for Transport’s highways funding ratio, reallocating about £4 million from North Yorkshire to the city of York. When North Yorkshire council has already lost the rural services delivery grant, how can the Minister think that is fair?

[Simon Lightwood]

The Department continues to give funding that is devolved to local leaders. It is up to the democratically elected local leaders to decide how to spend it. Funding is allocated for the whole of the hon. Gentleman’s constituency to deal with that.