Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of driver training and testing in preparing drivers to undertake safe overtaking of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) on (a) rural roads and (b) motorways; what information her Department holds on the involvement of unsafe overtaking manoeuvres in collisions involving HGVs; and whether she plans to change the DVSA (i) theory test, (ii) hazard perception test, and (iii) practical driving test to improve assessment of safe overtaking and lane discipline on multi-lane carriageways.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department publishes several data sets on collisions that can be viewed on GOV.UK. The RAS0503: Vehicle type and manoeuvre report includes figures on the number of vehicles that were overtaking another vehicle at the time of their collision. However, this does not specify what type of vehicle they were overtaking, or if the collision was a result of an unsafe overtaking manoeuvre.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) requires approved driving instructors (ADI) and approved training bodies (ATB) to train learner driver and riders to the National Standards. This includes teaching learners to recognise and manage the additional risks when overtaking HGVs, including on rural roads and motorways. DVSA has no current plans to change how learners are trained or how the agency examines learner drivers and riders on their practical tests.
Both the multiple-choice and hazard perception elements already include questions on safely following, and overtaking, HGVs in a range of situations. DVSA keeps the driving and riding theory and practical test under continuous review.
The agency also encourages ADIs to include motorway driving as part of their instruction to learner drivers.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of (a) Australia’s National Freight Data Hub, (b) the United States’ Commodity Flow Survey and (c) the Republic of Korea’s Transport Database on (i) monitoring driver welfare, (ii) rest provision and working conditions and (iii) fatigue-related risk across the freight and logistics system.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As noted in the answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 120682, the Department for Transport recognises the value of international comparisons for its work, including (a) Australia’s National Freight Data Hub, (b) the United States’ Commodity Flow Survey and (c) the Republic of Korea’s Transport Database.
No formal assessments of the type described have been made for the comparators listed, but they are important parts of the Department's broad evidence base for policy making that supports freight and logistics and the wider transport system.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consideration she has given to the potential merits of road-user charging receipts supporting local transport infrastructure.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Local Traffic Authorities have the power to introduce road charging schemes to address issues such as congestion and poor air quality, where they decide that is the best solution. They do not require Ministerial or Parliamentary approval to do this. Net revenue from such schemes are retained by the relevant local transport authority or authorities and must be used for transport purposes.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 25 March 2026 to WPQ 121808, what proportion of the Customer and Communities Designated Fund within the Road Investment Strategy 3 is allocated to (a) HGV parking capacity and (b) driver welfare facilities; and what targets have been set for delivery of additional HGV parking spaces over the RIS3 period.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Further detail on RIS3 funding allocations will be set out by National Highways in its Delivery Plan.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with his Ukrainian counterparts regarding the fit of a) uniform and b) body armour for female soldiers in combat operations, and whether his Department has discussed lessons learnt from the Government of Ukraine.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence remains firmly committed to ensuring that all service personnel are equipped with appropriate and effective protective equipment. As part of this commitment, we are delivering an update to body armour for UK personnel through the Tactical Ballistic Plates project.
Procurement experts within the National Armaments Director group work closely with the Ministry of Defence's Op INTERFLEX Handling and Processing team, which collates feedback from Armed Forces of Ukraine personnel. This includes lessons from operational experience and female user feedback, which help to inform UK capability development.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2026, to Question 118010, on FCDO: Artworks, if she will publish information on artworks installed at her Department’s headquarters in London since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government Art Collection is a working collection, used across government buildings in the UK and the global estate, which means that artworks may change their display location from time to time. Current locations of artworks in the collection can be found on their website.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many civil servants in their Department were found to have broken the Civil Service Code in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Case numbers for individuals breaking the civil service code in 2024 were below 5. In line with section 40(2) of the FOI Act this figure is deemed too low to release due to risks of individuals being identified.
There were no cases in which DCMS civil servants had breached the civil service code in 2025.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date discussions were held between his Department and (a) NATO and (b) the Deutsche Marine regarding the replacement of HMS Dragon by the German frigate Sachsen in the Standing NATO Maritime Group One commitment.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 March 2026 to Question 119559.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date was the decision taken to withdraw HMS Dragon from the Standing NATO Maritime Group One commitment.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 March 2026 to Question 119559.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Financial Risk Assessments on tax revenues from the regulated betting and gaming sector.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government remains committed to supporting the implementation of key measures in the 2023 white paper, including the introduction of Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs).
Following the conclusion of its pilot on FRAs, the Gambling Commission has continued to engage with gambling operators. As the independent regulator, the Gambling Commission will decide how to implement FRAs based on the best available evidence.
The existence of the online gambling illegal market does not mean that we should avoid appropriate controls on licensed operators. However, as stated in the white paper, we recognise that the threat of movement to the illegal market does exist. This is why we are working to give the Gambling Commission increased powers to support disruption and enforcement activity, and why we have announced £26 million of funding over 3 years to the Commission to enable them to increase their activity. We have also set up an Illegal Gambling Taskforce to test what more can be done to tackle the threats posed by the illegal market.
Any assessment of the impact of policies on taxation revenues is a matter for HM Treasury.