Every parliamentary written question tabled by Jerome Mayhew this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 141–160 of 350 · this parliament
Pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2026 to Question 108301, what the cost was of applying the temporary Bee Network promotional livery to that Northern train; and whether that cost was met by (a) her Department, (b) the train operator, (c) Great British Railways Transition Team and (d) Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
The cost of applying the temporary Bee Network promotional livery to the Northern train was met by Transport for Greater Manchester.
What role her Department has in overseeing the safety and adequacy of compulsory pilotage arrangements in UK waters; and whether her Department holds or reviews records relating to pilotage incidents involving vessels operating under compulsory pilotage.
The assessment and provision of pilotage services are matters for Competent Harbour Authorities (CHAs). Given the local knowledge and experience necessary, as well as wide variations between ports, they remain best placed to assess what arrangements are necessary. The Department has responsibility for the effective and efficient functioning of the legislative framework and is content that current arrangements under the Pilotage Act 1987 remain fit for purpose. The Department does not hold any records relating to pilotage. However, these may be reviewed should there be an incident requiring investigation by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch and/or the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78719 on East West Rail Line, when she expects (a) train testing, (b) driver training and (c) general works to be completed in order for the new station at Winslow to open.
The Department is working closely with Chiltern and other partners to confirm a start date for the first EWR services between Oxford and Milton Keynes.
Pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2026 to Question 113313 on Driving Instruction: Vacancies, how many of those positions were individually advertised, how many were (a) full-time, and (b) part-time, and where those individual positions were advertised on GOV.UK.
All driving examiner (DE) vacancies are advertised on Civil Service Jobs on GOV.UK. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has run block recruitment campaigns for multiple roles across the driving test centre network in England, Scotland and Wales, repeatedly since 2021. DVSA has not run any campaigns for individual posts. As stated in the answer to Question 113313, all DVSA examiner roles are open to applications from people seeking full-time, or part-time, employment. DVSA also has a careers page on GOV.UK which highlights the DE role. This page directs any interested candidates wishing to apply, to live DE recruitment campaigns on Civil Service Jobs.
Whether the Government will specify a minimum pass mark for any safeguarding test required for taxi and private hire vehicle drivers.
The Department’s existing statutory guidance recommends that licensing authorities should require taxi and private hire vehicle drivers to undertake safeguarding training. Licensing authorities are responsible for deciding the content and format of such training, including whether it includes a test with a minimum pass mark. 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.
Whether she has made an assessment of the impact of the introduction on Rule H1 on the behaviour of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists since January 2022; what assessment she has made in trends in the level of defensive behaviour among vulnerable road users; and what the evidential basis is for concluding that the hierarchy improves safety outcomes for all road users, including motorists.
The previous Government updated the Highway Code in 2022 to improve road safety for people walking, cycling and riding horses including the introduction of a hierarchy of road users. New rule H1 set out that ‘those in charge of vehicles that can cause the greatest harm in the event of a collision bear the greatest responsibility to take care and reduce the danger they pose to others. This principle applies most strongly to drivers of large goods and passenger vehicles, vans/minibuses, cars/taxis and motorcycles. Cyclists, horse riders and drivers of horse drawn vehicles likewise have a responsibility to reduce danger to pedestrians. None of this detracts from the responsibility of ALL road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders, to have regard for their own and other road users’ safety.’ The previous Government did not initiate any assessment of their introduction of Rule H1.
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.
Whether her Department has conducted modelling since July 2024 on the potential revenue that could be raised from a weight-based system of Vehicle Excise Duty for cars.
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is a tax on vehicles used or kept on public roads. Different rates apply to cars, vans, motorcycles and heavy goods vehicles, and the rate for each vehicle is calculated according to a range of factors, such as its date of first registration, weight, or CO2 emissions. The Government annually reviews the rates and thresholds of taxes and reliefs at fiscal events, and in doing so considers a wide range of factors including complexity, value for money, and administrative burdens for tax payers. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the public finances.
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.
If his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of mandating a minimum of 30% retread tyres in the public procurement, both direct and indirect through commercial contractors, of tyres for Ministry of Defence vehicles and introducing a mandated minimum of retread tyres in procurement contracts.
It is for bidders to submit compliant solutions to meet requirements. In accordance with the safety cases in place for our vehicles, the tyres in use are those approved by the design authority or original equipment manufacturer, which enables us to meet our obligations to ensure that the appropriate measures and controls are in place to make sure that our vehicles are safe to operate.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made and assessment of data from continental Europe and the United States on the potential benefits of mandating retread tyres in public procurement fleet contracts.
Defra is working on a review of the Government Buying Standards which set out how Government procurement can take account of environmental and social impacts whilst ensuring value for money. This review considers the lifecycle impacts of fleet vehicles, including measures to reduce waste and raw material consumption associated with vehicles parts such as tyres. As part of this work, Defra has made no specific assessment of data from continental Europe and the United States on the potential benefits of mandating retread tyres in public procurement fleet contracts.
What data her Department holds on the volumes of imported single-life budget tyres for heavy good vehicles from 1 August 2025 through to 31 December 2025.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. Heavy goods vehicle tyres for buses or lorries are classified under commodity code 401120. 401190 would be used for other tyres in this subheading for example motor cars, agricultural and forestry vehicles. However, we are not able to distinguish between single-life budget tyres, and other kinds of tyres within these commodity codes.HMRC releases imports and exports information monthly, as an Accredited Official Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com). If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk.
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.
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.
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.