Written questions by Mayhew.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2026 to Question 107147 on Hybrid Vehicles: Safety, if he will place a copy in the Library of the insurance industry analysis; and what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of that analysis.

The analysis was conducted by Thatcham Research on behalf of the insurance industry. Although key findings have been summarised in published material, the full analysis is not publicly available. As a result, it is not possible to place a copy in the library, and no assessment has been made of the effectiveness of that analysis.

Whether her Department has provided (a) funding and (b) advice to the European Federation for Transport and Environment since 4 July 2024.

The Department has not provided funding to the European Federation for Transport and Environment, but has met with them as part of routine official-level stakeholder engagement.

How many motorcyclists have been (a) killed and (b) seriously injured following a collision with a wire rope safety barrier in each of the last 10 years.

The information requested is not held.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2026 to Question 108456 on Great British Railways: Finance, whether (a) internal modelling, (b) business case documentation and (c) analytical assessment underpins the commitment to achieve net savings from corporate initiatives in 2028–29 financial.

Forecasts for the corporate initiatives which formed part of the Department’s Efficiency plan were informed by a mix of internal modelling and initial business case development.

Pursuant to the Answers of 10 February 2026 to Questions 108456 and 108457 and 11 February 2026 to Question 108458, whether the corporate initiative efficiency saving in 2028–29 assumes changes in (a) passenger revenue forecasts, (b) subsidy requirements for train operators and (c) service specification.

The £199 million efficiencies in the Support for Rail Passenger Services line are expected to be delivered mostly from more efficient workforce management, economies of scale as private sector operating companies move into public ownership, and ticketing and retail reform including the creation of a single Great British Railways online retail offer. These efficiencies contribute to the more than 50 per cent reduction in the rail passenger services subsidy from £2.4 billion in 2024-25.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the ongoing technical fault affecting motorway enforcement cameras; and if she will state a) when she was first informed of the issue, b) which enforcement systems are affected, c) what estimate her Department has made of the number of cameras currently offline, and d) what timetable has been set with National Highways for restoring full functionality.

The Transport Secretary was briefed in September, and as soon as Ministers were informed of the national scale in October, they acted immediately to prevent any further incorrect fines, points or prosecutions. The technical anomaly impacts 154 Highways Agency Digital Enforcement and Compliance System cameras deployed on 10% of the strategic road network. As set out in response to WPQ 103428 on 19 January, a Home Office approved solution to this issue has been agreed, and National Highways and the police are continuing to work together to implement this as a priority.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of limiting learners and Driver Trainers to two practical car driving test changes from 31 March 2026 on failure-to-attend rates and unused test slots.

The Secretary of State for Transport announced on 12 November 2025 significant changes to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) driving test booking system following a public consultation. These changes are being introduced incrementally during the Spring. DVSA announced on 3 February that the first change, which will limit the number of times a test can be moved or swapped, will be introduced on 31 March. A leaner who wishes to make further changes, can cancel their booking and receive a full refund and book a new test. Further changes will be brought in later in the Spring. This will include allowing only the learner driver to book a test, at which point approved driving instructors and businesses will no longer have access to the booking system. These changes are designed to prevent learner drivers being exploited by people who book up tests and sell them at inflated prices. An Options Assessment of the proposed measures has been carried out and reviewed by the Better Regulation Unit. This options assessment will be published once the statutory instrument amending the legislation has been laid before Parliament.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the National Audit Office’s report entitled Investigation into car driving test waiting areas, published on 17 December 2025; and how many examiners the DVSA is on target to recruit.

Following the publication of the NAO report and the appointment of a new Chief Executive, DVSA is accelerating its efforts to increase the supply of tests in order to reduce waiting times. DVSA is driving a strengthened and faster recruitment pipeline and working to expand its training sites and reduce training timelines to get new DEs conducting tests almost 30% more quickly.

Whether she plans to reduce average waiting times for practical car driving tests to seven weeks by summer 2026.

Following the publication of the NAO report and the appointment of a new Chief Executive, DVSA is accelerating its efforts to increase the supply of tests in order to reduce waiting times. DVSA is driving a strengthened and faster recruitment pipeline and working to expand its training sites and reduce training timelines to get new DEs conducting tests almost 30% more quickly.

If she will amend statutory taxi and private hire vehicle licensing guidance to ensure that licensing authorities require taxi and private hire vehicle drivers to undertake safeguarding training and demonstrate safeguarding knowledge as a condition of licensing.

The Department’s existing statutory guidance recommends that licensing authorities should require taxi and private hire vehicle drivers to undertake safeguarding training. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, currently being considered by the House of Lords, seeks to provide a power for the Secretary of State to set in regulations requirements that must be met for any taxi or private hire vehicle licence to be issued and held.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of collisions and near misses in the last five years involved drivers with vision below the legal standard.

Data on road injury collisions in Great Britain is reported to the Department by police forces using a data collection system known as STATS19.STATS19 does not record near misses or identify whether drivers involved in collisions have vision below the legal standard. Police officers attending collisions can assign a range of factors that in their judgement may have contributed to the collision occurring, including ‘Driver or rider had uncorrected or defective eyesight’. The latest figures are published as part of the Department’s road casualty statistics available from the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/reported-road-accidents-vehicles-and-casualties-tables-for-great-britain#factors-contributing-to-collisions-and-casualties-ras07.

What forms of corrective action the Office of Rail and Road will be able to require where it finds non-compliance with the rail retail Code of Practice, including whether it will be able to impose directions, behavioural remedies, or operational changes on Great British Railways.

The retail industry code of practice announced in the Government's response to the Railways Bill consultation will incorporate clear requirements for how Great British Railways (GBR) should interact with all market participants. The code of practice will be owned and managed by the Office of Rail and Road. GBR’s licence will require it to comply, with the Office of Rail and Road able to demand corrective action if it considers that GBR has not done so.

How many and what proportion of rail journeys used fully digital tickets in January 2026.

The approximate proportion of tickets fulfilled as Digital Tickets for January 2026 are: January 2026Digital87%105mNon Digital13%15m

What discussions her Department has had with the Department of Health and Social Care on promoting regular sight tests for drivers as part of the Government’s road safety strategy.

Both Department for Transport and Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency officials have worked with officials from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) while developing the proposed changes to eyesight testing for older drivers, and we will continue to engage with the DHSC as our policies develop further. The Department for Transport fully supports the NHS’s recommendation that adults should have their eyes tested every two years. All drivers, regardless of age, have a legal responsibility to inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) if they develop a medical condition that may affect their ability to drive. On 7 January 2026 we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. Alongside the strategy, we launched five consultations including a consultation on introducing mandatory eyesight testing for older drivers. Once the consultation has concluded, we will publish our response in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2026 to Question 108013, whether the Department has identified any financial year in which the cumulative efficiency savings attributed to Network Rail are expected to exceed the cumulative costs of the major technology investments cited in support of those efficiencies.

Network Rail's overall Control Period 7 (running from April 2024 to March 2029) efficiency target is £3.9 billion, which it remains on track to achieve. This will significantly exceed the cumulative cost in Control Period 7 of the major technology investments previously cited (Digital Signalling, Electrical Safety and Delivery, and Project Reach).

Whether the information safeguards referred to on page 88 of her Department's publication entitled A Railway Fit for Britain’s Future: Government Response, published 5 November 2025, will be defined within the rail retail Code of Practice, the Great British Railways licence, or other statutory or regulatory instruments.

The code of practice will set out measures to ensure fairness and manage any concerns of GBR preferencing its own retail arm. We expect the code will ensure that the retail industry management functions managed by GBR will have reporting lines that are separate and distinct from its operational and commercial arm – with appropriate information safeguards also put in place. The full detail of the code will be produced in consultation with industry, via a process led by the Office of Rail and Road.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2026 to Question 108013, if she will list those technology investments and provide the Benefit-Cost Ratio for each of those investments.

I have asked Network Rail to write to you on this matter.

Whether her Department plans to include reminders about sight testing in driving licence renewal notices.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) already include clear messaging on the required eyesight standards for driving and the importance of regular eyesight tests on reminders, application forms, information leaflets and online guidance provided as part of the driving licence renewal process. The published guidance also sets out the legal requirement to be able to read a number plate at 20 metres, to meet the minimum visual acuity and visual field standards for driving and the requirement to notify the DVLA of any relevant eye conditions.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the UK ETS on lifeline ferry services outside Scotland, including routes serving the Isle of Wight, the Isles of Scilly and Northern Ireland.

An Impact Assessment was published alongside the main Authority Response in November 2025, which includes analysis of regional and distributional impacts. To mitigate risks of competitive impacts with routes between Great Britain and Ireland, we intend to introduce a 50% surrender deduction on voyages between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. All ferries serving the Isles of Scilly and most serving the Isle of Wight will not be in scope of the ETS under the planned rules. Potential or realised impacts on UK islands will be considered within our 2028 review and future decisions will be based on the evidence available at that time.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential future costs to the public purse of the Liverpool Street Station redevelopment.

The proposed redevelopment of Liverpool Street station could enable substantial private investment in one of the busiest stations in the UK.