Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of skills shortages in the vehicle repair and salvage sector on (a) road safety, (b) insurance costs and (c) repair times, in the context of increasing vehicle complexity.

In October 2024, we formed the motor insurance taskforce, which worked across government, bringing together departments and independent regulators to understand the complexities of the market and to agree a set of actions to help stabilise and reduce premiums. The final taskforce report was published on 10 December 2025.

Member departments included the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Education, who as part of the taskforce, are acting to address the broader factors that contribute to the cost of claims.

This includes transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will offer greater flexibility to employers and learners and support the industrial strategy. For example, government is providing £182m over the next 3 years to develop engineering skills to allow the development of short courses specially targeted at engineering skills to support the advanced manufacturing, clean energy and digital sectors. It will also fund the rollout of 14 new Technical Excellence Colleges (TEC), including four in Advanced Manufacturing and related sectors.

There has also been an increase in vehicle technicians, mechanics and electrician apprenticeships with nearly 13,000 completed in the last 5 reported years and 4,000 of these in the latest year, 2024/25. The number of EV-trained technicians is also increasing through industry-led measures such as upskilling and continuous professional development.