Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on safety from overcrowding on Great Western Railway services, including where planned rolling stock capacity is reduced due to engineering works overrunning; and what steps her Department is taking to address those risks before Great Western Railway enters public ownership, including through its contractual and oversight arrangements.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to publish an assessment of the potential impact of electric vehicle charging infrastructure on the Government’s environmental improvement goals.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The zero emission vehicle transition is crucial to the UK meeting its climate change obligations – and to delivering wider environmental benefits, including improvements to air quality. It will drive economic growth and help make Britain a clean energy superpower.
The ZEV transition is a major component of our Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan, which was published in October 2025. There are therefore no plans at present to publish a specific assessment.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of (a) trends in the level of regional disparities in the location of electric vehicle charging points and (b) the potential impact of those trends on the Government’s environmental objectives.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The zero emission vehicle (ZEV) transition is crucial to the UK meeting its climate change obligations, as well as improving air quality and supporting growth.
The Government closely monitors regional deployment and the disparities in the location of electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints, as detailed in statistics released in October 2025. Chargepoint availability is increasing across the country.
The Government’s £400 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund has been allocated to all highest tier local authorities in England to ensure equitable chargepoint rollout across the country. In total, it is expected to support the rollout of at least 100,000 EV chargepoints.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential environmental and administrative implications of relying on paper-based postal order payments for Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are no Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) services for which only a postal order is accepted as payment. Trade licensing applications can also be paid for by cheque. The DVLA is currently developing improvements to its trade licensing service and this includes exploring the introduction of alternative payment methods.
The DVLA offers nearly 50 main customer facing services, with the majority of these being available online with a range of payment options. Only seven transactions currently require a manual payment by either postal order or cheque.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to introduce alternative payment methods for Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency trade plate applications.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are no Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) services for which only a postal order is accepted as payment. Trade licensing applications can also be paid for by cheque. The DVLA is currently developing improvements to its trade licensing service and this includes exploring the introduction of alternative payment methods.
The DVLA offers nearly 50 main customer facing services, with the majority of these being available online with a range of payment options. Only seven transactions currently require a manual payment by either postal order or cheque.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency requires postal orders as the sole means of payment for trade plate applications.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are no Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) services for which only a postal order is accepted as payment. Trade licensing applications can also be paid for by cheque. The DVLA is currently developing improvements to its trade licensing service and this includes exploring the introduction of alternative payment methods.
The DVLA offers nearly 50 main customer facing services, with the majority of these being available online with a range of payment options. Only seven transactions currently require a manual payment by either postal order or cheque.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to introduce measures to (a) restrict practical driving test bookings to a candidate’s local area and (b) prevent fraudulent activity on third-party platforms offering driving test swaps.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - 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 across the country.
DVSA is working hard to reduce the average waiting times, using the responses gathered from its public consultation on improving the rules for booking car driving tests. The consultation closed on 23 July. On 12 November, the Secretary of State for Transport, announced the outcome of the consultation to improve car driving test booking rules.
In the coming months, DVSA will:
DVSA encourages learner drivers to only use the official GOV.UK website to book and manage their driving test. DVSA has published advice aimed at learner drivers warning them of the risks of using third party services/apps to book a practical driving test. Further information can be found on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/news/learner-drivers-warned-about-the-risks-of-driving-test-cancellation-finders.
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 275 warnings, 404 suspensions, and closed 894 business accounts.