Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of penalties for reselling driving tests for profit.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests and has announced further measures to review the driving test booking system.
On the 18 December 2024, a call for evidence was launched, seeking views on the current rules to book tests. This will lead to consultation on improving processes, with potential future legislative changes. On the 23 April the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced, amongst other measures, that this consultation has been fast-tracked to May 2025.
On 6 January 2025, DVSA introduced new terms and conditions for use of the service driving instructors and trainers use to book and manage practical driving tests for their pupils. Since this change DVSA has issued 25 warnings, 4 suspensions, and closed 90 business accounts.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the reliability of the Thameslink service to Rainham; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of Southeastern trains making additional stops at Higham in the event of Thameslink service cancellations to Rainham.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My Department is working with Southeastern, Govia Thameslink Railway and Network Rail to address reliability issues on the Rainham route, particularly following a rise in cancellations since the beginning of the year driven by employee sickness and training demands linked to new technology.
Higham station currently has two Thameslink services per hour with additional Southeastern services at peak times. Station coverage is monitored to ensure a minimum service of one train per hour in each direction and Southeastern services can be scheduled to make additional stops at Higham if required.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the Blue Badge scheme to include statutory requirement to expand the offer on a shorter fixed-term basis to people with temporary mobility problems or conditions.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Blue Badge scheme is primarily about helping people with a long-term disability, that affects their capacity to access the goods and services they need to use. Anyone may be entitled to a badge if they meet the eligibility criteria. The Department has no plans to amend the current eligibility criteria.
The Department has previously issued local authorities with advice on how they could use existing powers to provide locally determined parking concessions within their areas. For example, some local authorities grant parking concessions to assist their elderly residents. The same powers could be used to help those with temporary mobility problems or conditions.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she is taking steps with Kent Councils to identify further financial support for the A229 Bluebell Junction improvements.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Kent County Council plans to submit an Outline Business Case to the Department in summer 2026. If this is approved, under current arrangements the Department’s maximum funding contribution would be up to a maximum of 85% of the total estimated cost at Outline Business Case stage. This would be conditional on approval by government to a Full Business Case. The Council currently forecasts works starting in spring 2029.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she had made of the adequacy of the condition of local roads in Kent and Medway.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is committed to maintaining and renewing the local road network. Kent County Council and Medway Council are the local highway authorities for different parts of the Chatham and Aylesford constituency, and they are therefore responsible for the condition and maintenance of their local road networks. They will receive £38.3 million and £3.5 million respectively from this Department during 2024/25 to help them carry out their local highway maintenance responsibilities, and it is up to them to decide how that funding is used. For England as a whole, the Government has a commitment to enable local highway authorities to fix up to a million more potholes a year.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help reduce driving test waiting times in (a) Medway and (b) Kent.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA’s) main priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards.
DVSA continues to take measures to increase test availability. These include the recruitment of driving examiners (DE), conducting tests outside regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays and buying back annual leave from driving examiners.
As part of its recruitment efforts in Kent, DVSA has made offers to 15 potential new DEs. DVSA launched its latest recruitment campaign in September 2024. From this campaign DVSA aims to recruit a further eight DEs in the Kent area.