Written questions by Pinkerton.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of strengthening the regulation of the vehicle registration plate supply chain.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other Government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime, including the use of cloned and ghost number plates. On-road enforcement of number plate offences and insurance requirements is a matter for the police. However, the DVLA works with the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) to identify uninsured vehicles by comparing the DVLA’s vehicle records against those held on the MIB’s Motor Insurance Database. The Department welcomes the recent report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Transport Safety and is considering the report’s recommendations. Options to support more robust application and audit processes, which would enable tighter checks on number plate suppliers are also being considered. The Government has set out its intention in the Road Safety Strategy to consult on addressing the growing problem of illegal number plates, including ‘ghost’ number plates.

What assessment her Department has made of the recommendations in the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Transport Safety's report on vehicle registration plates published on 9 December 2025.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other Government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime, including the use of cloned and ghost number plates. On-road enforcement of number plate offences and insurance requirements is a matter for the police. However, the DVLA works with the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) to identify uninsured vehicles by comparing the DVLA’s vehicle records against those held on the MIB’s Motor Insurance Database. The Department welcomes the recent report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Transport Safety and is considering the report’s recommendations. Options to support more robust application and audit processes, which would enable tighter checks on number plate suppliers are also being considered. The Government has set out its intention in the Road Safety Strategy to consult on addressing the growing problem of illegal number plates, including ‘ghost’ number plates.

What steps her Department is taking to help reduce hit-and-run incidents where drivers cannot be identified.

Failing to stop and report an incident is unacceptable, particularly in cases where an individual has been seriously or fatally injured. On 7 January 2026 we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. As part of this, we are reviewing the motoring offences and have published a consultation. The consultation includes questions about failure to stop and report incidents and seeks views on possible changes to the law.

If she will make an estimate of the potential impact of uninsured driving on the cost of motor insurance premiums for other motorists.

The Department for Transport is a party to the Uninsured and Untraced Drivers’ Agreements with the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), an independent organisation within the motor insurance industry and separate from Government. It is responsible for investigation and payment of compensation for victims of uninsured and untraced drivers. The MIB is non-profit making and the Road Traffic Act 1988 provides for the MIB to cover its costs by charging a levy on all motor insurers, the levy for 2024 totalled around £507m, as shown in the MIB’s 2024 Annual Report and Accounts. Data provided by the MIB as part of the Financial Conduct Authority's ‘Motor Insurance Claims Analysis’, published in July 2025, indicated that the cost of claims associated with uninsured drivers accounted for around 2.2% of the average premium paid by policyholders in 2024.

What assessment her Department has made of any correlation between (a) uninsured driving and (b) other driving related offences.

The Department for Transport has not carried out an assessment of the correlation between uninsured driving and other driving related offences. However, on 7 January 2026 we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. As part of this, we are reviewing the motoring offences and have published a consultation. As part of this consultation, we are considering the minimum penalties for uninsured driving and whether they should be increased.

What recent estimate her Department has made of the proportion of vehicles on UK roads that are uninsured.

My Department does not hold information in respect to how many and what proportion of vehicles on UK roads are uninsured.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of illegal or non-compliant vehicle number plates that have been (a) seized or (b) required to be replaced in each of the last five years.

The Department for Transport does not hold the information requested. On-road enforcement of number plate offences is a matter for the police. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and others to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime, including the use of cloned and ghost number plates.

What assessment her Department has made of trends in the misuse of number plates to evade enforcement.

The Department for Transport does not hold the information requested. On-road enforcement of number plate offences is a matter for the police. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and others to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime, including the use of cloned and ghost number plates.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing mandatory security features for number plates to prevent (a) cloning and (b) unauthorised reproduction.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime. Officials are considering options to ensure more robust application and audit processes which would enable tighter checks on number plate suppliers. On-road enforcement of number plate offences is a matter for the police. Officials are also considering potential options for making number plates more secure. The DVLA is part of the British Standards Institute committee that has recently reviewed the existing number plate standard. The committee has proposed a number of amendments which are intended to stop the production of number plates with raised characters, often referred to as 3D or 4D number plates and will prevent easy access to plates with ‘ghost’ characteristics. The proposals will also prevent suppliers from adding acrylic letters and numbers to the surface of the number, meaning any finished number plate must be flat. The proposed changes have been subject to a public consultation which closed on 13 December 2025. Standards on the use of automated number plate reader technology are a matter for the Home Office which issues guidance on its use as part of the National ANPR Standards for Policing and Law Enforcement.

What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems in detecting vehicles using (a) cloned or (b) ghost number plates.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime. Officials are considering options to ensure more robust application and audit processes which would enable tighter checks on number plate suppliers. On-road enforcement of number plate offences is a matter for the police. Officials are also considering potential options for making number plates more secure. The DVLA is part of the British Standards Institute committee that has recently reviewed the existing number plate standard. The committee has proposed a number of amendments which are intended to stop the production of number plates with raised characters, often referred to as 3D or 4D number plates and will prevent easy access to plates with ‘ghost’ characteristics. The proposals will also prevent suppliers from adding acrylic letters and numbers to the surface of the number, meaning any finished number plate must be flat. The proposed changes have been subject to a public consultation which closed on 13 December 2025. Standards on the use of automated number plate reader technology are a matter for the Home Office which issues guidance on its use as part of the National ANPR Standards for Policing and Law Enforcement.

What steps are being taken to improve (a) data quality and (b) error correction processes within vehicle-related databases relied upon by enforcement authorities.

The British Standard for Retroreflective Number Plates (BS AU 145e) is published by the British Standards Institution (BSI). The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is part of the BSI committee that has reviewed this standard and the committee has recently proposed a number of amendments. The proposed amendments are intended to stop the production of number plates with raised characters, often referred to as 3D or 4D number plates and will prevent easy access to plates with ‘ghost’ characteristics. The proposals will also prevent suppliers from adding acrylic letters and numbers to the surface of the number, meaning any finished number plate must be flat. The proposed changes have been subject to a public consultation which closed on 13 December 2025. The DVLA is working to further reduce the number of vehicles that have no registered keeper or are unlicensed. There are long-standing and robust measures, including legislative requirements, in place to ensure that keepers notify the DVLA when they buy and sell a vehicle. It is an offence to use a vehicle that does not have a registered keeper. The DVLA also has processes in place to correct records when it is made aware of inaccuracies. Based on the latest available data, more than 93 per cent of vehicle keepers are contactable and traceable based on the information held on the DVLA’s records. Of the remainder, around 6% are in the motor trade, where a vehicle may legitimately have no registered keeper.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the accuracy of vehicle registration data captured by Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems.

The British Standard for Retroreflective Number Plates (BS AU 145e) is published by the British Standards Institution (BSI). The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is part of the BSI committee that has reviewed this standard and the committee has recently proposed a number of amendments. The proposed amendments are intended to stop the production of number plates with raised characters, often referred to as 3D or 4D number plates and will prevent easy access to plates with ‘ghost’ characteristics. The proposals will also prevent suppliers from adding acrylic letters and numbers to the surface of the number, meaning any finished number plate must be flat. The proposed changes have been subject to a public consultation which closed on 13 December 2025. The DVLA is working to further reduce the number of vehicles that have no registered keeper or are unlicensed. There are long-standing and robust measures, including legislative requirements, in place to ensure that keepers notify the DVLA when they buy and sell a vehicle. It is an offence to use a vehicle that does not have a registered keeper. The DVLA also has processes in place to correct records when it is made aware of inaccuracies. Based on the latest available data, more than 93 per cent of vehicle keepers are contactable and traceable based on the information held on the DVLA’s records. Of the remainder, around 6% are in the motor trade, where a vehicle may legitimately have no registered keeper.

What steps her Department is taking to improve public transport infrastructure between Surrey Heath constituency and Heathrow Airport.

The Government recognises the vital role that surface access will play as part of any future expansion of Heathrow Airport. As part of the review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), launched on 22 October 2025, we will consider the transport infrastructure required to support a third runway. This will include considering the impacts for travellers from different regions and the surrounding communities. While it would not be appropriate to pre-empt the outcome of the ANPS review at this stage, it will be the responsibility of any expansion promoter to set out a surface access strategy demonstrating how they will meet the requirements set out in the ANPS as part of any Development Consent Order (DCO) application.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce (a) noise and (b) pollution from (i) Heathrow Airport, (ii) Gatwick Airport and (iii) Farnborough Airport in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Department for Transport sets noise controls at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, including night movement and night noise quota count limits. Under Environmental Noise Regulations, these airports are also obliged to produce noise action plans. For Farnborough, appropriate noise controls are a matter for Rushmoor Borough Council as the local authority responsible for planning. The UK has legally binding targets to reduce emissions from damaging air pollutants which will lead to improvements in air pollution around airports. The UK has also played a leading role in the International Civil Aviation Organization to develop strict standards for pollution from aircraft. Airports may be subject to specific planning conditions and environmental obligations set by local authorities, such as Farnborough’s air quality and odour monitoring scheme.

What steps her Department is taking to mitigate delays at (a) critical junctions and (b) motorways in the South East region during the Christmas period.

To mitigate delays, National Highways has suspended all non-essential works from 21 December to 2 January, lifting over 90% of roadworks across 1,700 miles of the network. At critical junctions, Operation Brock is in place from 16 to 23 December to manage traffic at the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel, supported by real-time monitoring and rapid incident response from the Regional Operations Centre. On motorways, essential works remain where removal would be unsafe, including a full closure of the M27 between junctions 9 and 11 and limited restrictions on the M25, M27, A34 and A27. Traffic officers are deployed to keep vehicles moving.

Whether her Department plans to review the British Standard for number plates to ensure it remains fit for purpose in supporting (a) enforcement and (b) public safety.

The British Standard for Retroreflective Number Plates (BS AU 145e) is published by the British Standards Institution (BSI). The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is part of the BSI committee that has reviewed this standard and the committee has recently proposed a number of amendments. The proposed amendments are intended to stop the production of number plates with raised characters, often referred to as 3D or 4D number plates and will prevent easy access to plates with ‘ghost’ characteristics. The proposals will also prevent suppliers from adding acrylic letters and numbers to the surface of the number, meaning any finished number plate must be flat. The proposed changes have been subject to a public consultation which closed on 13 December 2025. The DVLA is working to further reduce the number of vehicles that have no registered keeper or are unlicensed. There are long-standing and robust measures, including legislative requirements, in place to ensure that keepers notify the DVLA when they buy and sell a vehicle. It is an offence to use a vehicle that does not have a registered keeper. The DVLA also has processes in place to correct records when it is made aware of inaccuracies. Based on the latest available data, more than 93 per cent of vehicle keepers are contactable and traceable based on the information held on the DVLA’s records. Of the remainder, around 6% are in the motor trade, where a vehicle may legitimately have no registered keeper.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of bus connectivity between (a) towns and (b) villages in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Government knows how important reliable bus services are in enabling people to stay connected and access education, work and vital services. We are committed to delivering better bus services across the country, including in Surrey. The Government has introduced the Bus Services Act 2025 which puts passenger needs, reliable services and local accountability at the heart of local bus services by putting the power back in the hands of local leaders right across England.The Government reaffirmed its commitment to investing in bus services long-term in the Spending Review, confirming over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services for millions of passengers. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year, ending the short-term approach to bus funding and giving councils the certainty they need to plan ahead to improve services for local communities. Surrey County Council will be allocated £33.6 million under the LABG from 2026/27 to 2028/29. This is in addition to the £12 million they are already receiving under the LABG this financial year. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers, this could include expanding bus provision between towns and villages.

Whether she has had recent discussions with Surrey County Council on the review of speed limits on arterial roads in Surrey Heath constituency.

I have not held any recent discussions with Surrey County Council regarding a review of speed limits on arterial roads in the Surrey Heath constituency.Local traffic authorities are responsible for making decisions about their own roads, based on their knowledge of the area and taking into account local needs and circumstances. This includes setting local speed limits.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that South Western Railway rail replacement bus services are fully wheelchair accessible in Surrey Heath constituency.

Regulatory requirements apply to South Western Railway (SWR) to ensure rail replacement buses meet the necessary standards on accessibility across their network, including in Surrey Heath constituency. SWR works with its rail replacement providers to ensure services are accessible as far as possible, but if accessible options are not available, SWR will arrange alternative accessible transport.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of providing police officers with additional roadside powers in cases where a driver has tested positive for (a) drugs or (b) alcohol.

We are considering a range of policies under the new Road Safety Strategy; the first for ten years. This includes the case for changing the motoring offences, such as drink and drug driving. We will set out more details in due course.