Written questions by Campbell.

Pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2025 to WPQ 98745, how many (a) vehicle owners and (b) people on the Register of Number Plate Suppliers have been (i) charged, and (ii) convicted of offences connected with illegal number plates in the last four years.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not hold information about the number of vehicle keepers who have been convicted for number plate offences as enforcement of number plates offences is a matter for the police. The DVLA does not have the relevant powers to take forward prosecutions of number plate suppliers. Such prosecutions are taken forward by the police and Trading Standards. The DVLA’s enforcement officers work with the police and Trading Standards to carry out educational and compliance visits to registered number plate suppliers. Enforcement officers carry out inspections to check working practices and inspect number plates on the premises. Enforcement officers can also inspect records held, take copies and/or seize the records. The DVLA’s enforcement officers carry out intelligence led enforcement activities to tackle a wide range of offences, actively working with partners to investigate potential offences. While the DVLA does not take forward prosecutions, its enforcement officers may attend court as an expert witness in any such proceedings.

What has been the change in the volume of sustainable aviation fuel production in the UK between 2019 and 2024.

We do not hold statistics on volumes of SAF produced in the UK. SAF volumes are reported to the Department by fuel suppliers to discharge their obligations under the SAF mandate, and between 2019 and 2024, under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). SAF is not yet produced globally at a large scale. In the UK the only commercial scale SAF producer is at Phillips 66’s Humberside refinery.Looking forward, the Government is taking decisive action to scale up UK SAF production. From 1 January 2025, the SAF mandate came into effect, setting a clear trajectory for growth – 10% of UK aviation fuel is required to be SAF by 2030 and 22% by 2040. To help deliver this, £63 million in grant funding has been allocated through the Advanced Fuels Fund for the current year to support UK SAF plants, with continued support for SAF production through to 2029/30. We have also introduced a SAF Bill that will establish a Revenue Certainty Mechanism, giving investors confidence to build and operate SAF facilities in the UK.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the level of use of illegal number plates between 2021 and 2025.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not hold data on the level of use of illegal number plates. On road enforcement is a matter for the police. The DVLA works with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime. The law requires that anyone who supplies number plates for road use in the UK must be registered with the DVLA. It is a legal requirement for suppliers to carry out checks to ensure that number plates are only sold to those who can prove they are entitled to the registration number. Number plate suppliers must also keep records of the plates they have supplied. Selling a number plate without carrying out these required checks carries a maximum penalty of a fine of £1,000 and the potential removal from the Register of Number Plate Suppliers (RNPS). The DVLA is considering options to ensure a more robust, auditable RNPS process which would enable tighter checks on number plate suppliers.

What assesment she has made of the potential impact the Windsor Framework on the operations of the Civil Aviation Authority.

While the Windsor Framework does contain provisions related to the movement of people, animals and goods, including by air, we assess that the Windsor Framework has no direct impact on the UK-wide regulatory role of the Civil Aviation Authority.

Pursuant to WPQ 94153, what discussions she has had with representatives of the road haulage industry to help ensure sufficient capacity exists to meet demand given the change in numbers declaring insolvency.

Department for Transport officials regularly meet representatives of the road haulage industry to discuss a wide range of issues impacting the industry. These meetings include the Freight Council and the Road Freight Industry Engagement Group. In addition, officials hold ad hoc meetings with road haulage businesses and trade associations to discuss issues raised by the sector, including those relating to the capacity of the industry.

Pursuant to WPQ 95613. whether she has had confirmation from Stellantis that all vehicles have been checked, declared safe to drive and returned to owners.

Stellantis have advised the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) they have dealt with the majority of vehicles. They have currently rectified circa 122,000 of an estimated 148,000 on the road overall. Stellantis are also taking further steps to ensure greater awareness to ensure the remaining vehicles are reworked, including integration with DVSA’s MOT reminder service and also looking at strategies regarding further mailings to vehicle owners who have not yet engaged with Stellantis.

On how many occasions in the past three years has cargo being transported in UK waters been found to contain oil sourced in or through Russia.

The UK Government constantly monitors UK waters to uphold the safety of mariners, the marine environment and the UK’s national security, which includes monitoring of ships that are suspected of being associated with the movement of Russian oil. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), ships of all States have the right, subject to conditions laid down in UNCLOS, to innocent passage through UK territorial sea (the sea within 12 nautical miles of the UK coastline). As the UK is party to UNCLOS, the UK Government adheres to international maritime law and protects the passage rights of vessels transiting through UK waters.

Whether she has had discussions with Stellantis on the (a) recall and (b) check of (i) Citroën and (ii) DS Automobiles branded cars potentially affected by a airbag safety fault.

As set out in the answer to Question 74957 on 9 September, the Secretary of State wrote to Stellantis to express serious concerns about the customer impact of the stop-drive recall currently affecting Citroën and DS Automobiles cars in the United Kingdom. Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency officials continue to have regular engagement meetings with representatives from Stellantis about the Citroën/DS recall and continue to support Stellantis, prioritising safety while minimising economic and social impact.

If the Future of Flight Industry Group will consider air taxi routes in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Scotland.

Future of Flight Industry Group is the joint government and industry group for the future of flight in the UK. It acts as a senior decision-making body and provides insights to support the delivery of Future of Flight policy and recommendations on how to address challenges and opportunities facing the industry. One of the group’s aims is to deliver the objective of commercial electric vertical take-off and landing operations from 2028. Whilst civil aviation is a reserved matter for the UK government, local transport is devolved. Decisions on specific routes will be taken by industry, in consultation with devolved administrations, regional bodies and local authorities, within a framework that ensures accountability and supports the development of Future of Flight in a way that benefits communities.

What steps is she taking to support the development of electric vertical take off and landing vehicles in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland.

The Department for Transport (DfT) is committed to the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry and to delivering on the future of flight objectives, which include piloted commercial electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) operations from 2028.The Future Flight Challenge was a £300m investment programme designed to support the development of new aviation systems — including electric and autonomous aircraft, drones, advanced airspace management, and supporting infrastructure. This year, over £4.4m of investment is funding projects to demonstrate progress towards commercialisation of Future of Flight technologies. These investments included projects in devolved administrations, such as SATE 1 and SATE 2, which explored the application of eVTOL aircraft.

Whether she plans to announce additional measures to support young and novice drivers.

We absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads and continue to tackle this through our THINK! campaign. We are considering other measures to address this and protect young and newly qualified drivers, as part of our upcoming strategy for road safety.

What estimate has been made of the reduction in shipping emissions by the end of the Parliament.

Under the planned scenario presented in the Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan, the greenhouse gas emissions from UK domestic and international shipping are estimated at around 10.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2029, an estimated reduction of around 4.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e), or 29%, from the 2008 base year of our emissions goals. Our approach to deliver these emission savings are set out in our Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy [2]. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/carbon-budget-and-growth-delivery-plan-2025 [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/maritime-decarbonisation-strategy

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2025 to Question 85702 on Electric Vehicles: Charging Points, what information his Department holds on whether the 127 additional electric vehicle charging points will be (a) publicly available and (b) implemented during the four year period.

The On-Street Residential Charging Scheme funds publicly available chargepoints. Installation timescales will be agreed between the funded councils and their appointed chargepoint operator.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2025 to Question 51813 on Electric Vehicles: Charging Points, whether her Department has had recent discussions with the Department of Infrastructure in Northern Ireland on the number of additional publicly available EV charging points that are due to be delivered following the extra funding provided in 2025.

In the 2025 Spending Review £400 million of capital funding was allocated to support the rollout of charging infrastructure in the four financial years from 2026/27 to 2029/30. Under prior On Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) funding, 127 chargepoints are due to be installed across Northern Ireland.

What differences there are between the (a) contact due to end in March 2027 and (b) the new contract for services provided by the Post Office.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's (DVLA) current contract with Post Office Ltd to provide a limited range of DVLA services ends in March 2027. A procurement for a new contract is being prepared, the requirements for which are still being considered. This will be an open competition and will be open to any eligible bidders in the market.

Whether her Department plans to review the National Road Traffic Projection before the end of 2026.

We continue to update our Transport Analysis Guidance at 6 month intervals for those preparing business cases; this includes regular updates to some of the parameters that affect transport including GDP and fuel prices. We will consider reviewing the NRTPs in the near future.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle the illegal use of the vehicle registration numbers of legitimate car owners.

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 number plates. The law requires that anyone who supplies number plates for road use in the UK must be registered with the DVLA. It is a legal requirement for number plate suppliers to carry out checks to ensure that number plates are only sold to those who can prove they are entitled to the registration number. Number plate suppliers must also keep records of the plates they have supplied. Selling a number plate without carrying out these required checks carries a maximum penalty of a fine of £1,000 and the potential removal from the Register of Number Plate Suppliers (RNPS). Officials are also considering options to ensure a more robust, auditable RNPS process which would enable tighter checks on number plate suppliers. On-road enforcement for offences relating to the display of number plates is a matter for the police. The DVLA assists the police and Trading Standards in their enforcement against number plate suppliers, including those who trade illegally. When notified, the DVLA will investigate and pass on intelligence to the police who are responsible for investigating this criminal matter. Anyone who thinks their number plate may have been cloned should contact the police immediately. Any fines received should be returned to the issuing authorities. The DVLA can provide customers with letters that can be used as supporting evidence and can also provide a replacement registration number where appropriate.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 74957 on Citroën: Air Bags, whether her Department has received a response to its letter to Stellantis on the recall of Citroën cars.

I can confirm that Stellantis replied to the letter from the Secretary of State on 12 August. Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency officials continue to have regular engagement meetings with representatives from Stellantis about the Citroën/DS recall and continue to support Stellantis, prioritising safety while minimising economic and social impact.

If she will have discussions with representative bodies of car manufacturers on the extent of the recall of Citroën cars in connection with potential airbag problems.

The Secretary of State recently wrote to Stellantis to express serious concerns about the customer impact of the stop-drive recall currently affecting Citroën and DS Automobiles cars in the United Kingdom. That correspondence urged Stellantis to take immediate steps to:Improve the effectiveness of their customer support, and that they make effective their commitments for ensuring that all affected owners – especially those with urgent mobility needs – are provided with viable alternatives, whether through courtesy cars, financial compensation, or at-home repair servicesPrioritise vulnerable customers who rely on their vehicles for essential travel – such as key workers, carers, and individuals with disabilitiesEnhance transparency by clearly communicating the timelines for resolution, and the alternative transport or compensation provisions that are in place.

With reference to the National road traffic projections, published on 12 December 2022, when her Department plans to publish the next update of these projections.

The Department regularly reviews evidence and data on the drivers of travel demand and will publish an update in due course.