Written questions by Robertson.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 105752, whether the Department has produced a breakdown for corporate initiatives equivalent to that published for executive agency reform, showing (a) gross efficiencies, (b) implementation costs and (c) net savings.

The department has agreed to achieving net savings of £199m in 28/29 from corporate initiatives as part of the Departmental Efficiency Plan. We do not currently hold a breakdown of how the net savings breakdown by gross efficiencies and implementation costs.

Whether publicly funded works on the Lower Thames Crossing will commence after a Full Business Case has been produced and approved.

Publicly funded construction enabling works have already commenced north and south of the River Thames. These include ground works to create haul roads, construction of site compounds, utility works, ecological and archaeological works and extensive pre-construction surveys are ongoing. The project continues to progress through the required assurance and governance processes and the full business case will follow ahead of private sector investment.

What the average waiting time was for a practical car driving test at Swindon Test Centre in the most recent month for which data is available.

For January 2026, the average waiting time for a car practical driving test at Swindon driving test centre was 18.8 weeks.

What discussions she has had with the Rail Delivery Group on recent updates to fare search limits for passengers and rail retailers.

The Department regularly engages with the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) on a range of issues relating to the rail retail market, recognising RDG's important role in managing systems and services upon which train operators, retailers and passengers rely. This will continue as we progress towards the establishment of Great British Railways.

What the cost was of the DfT Operator Group Parliamentary Reception on 19 January 2026; and what proportion of that cost was met by the public purse by funding source.

The cost for the Department for Transport Operator Group’s (DFTO) parliamentary reception on 19 January 2026 was £5,470.87, with those costs met by DFTO. The event was held to provide parliamentarians and parliamentary staff with an opportunity to engage with publicly-owned train operators and to hear about the improvements that are being made. It continued functions of the same kind previously carried out by private sector operators for the same reasons and similarly represented a good use of modest public expenditure. It also provided a forum for Members of Parliament to discuss matters of interest to their constituents and to discuss progress being made under the Railway Passenger Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 as well as wider industry developments.

What estimate her Department has made of the up-front technology and systems investment costs required for Network Rail and National Highways to deliver the efficiency gains assumed in the regulated settlements.

Technology and systems investments are integral to delivering efficiencies within Network Rail’s plan for Control Period 7. Significant investments have been made in specific technology and systems programmes, for example £930 million on Digital Signalling, £215 million on Electrical Safety and Delivery, and £185 million on Project Reach which aims to secure external investment to upgrade Network Rail’s telecoms infrastructure through utilising private sector funding. These investments are made to drive Network Rail's delivery against its overall strategic objectives, one of which is efficiency.For National Highways, the upfront technology and system costs required to support efficiency delivery and performance outcomes will form part of the overall investment plan to be confirmed when RIS3 is published in March 2026.

What the implementation costs are for the DVSA, DVLA and VCA reform programmes underpinning the projected £39 million per year efficiency saving by 2028–29.

The forecast efficiencies of £39m in 28/29 set out in the Departmental Efficiency Plan from reform of the Executive Agencies is the net position and were based on forecasted efficiencies of £52m and forecasted costs of £13m.

How much of the efficiency savings attributed to regulated settlements arise from regulatory funding constraints imposed by the Office of Rail and Road.

The Office of Rail and Road has a key role in providing assurance to Government on the regulated settlements for National Highways and Network Rail, this includes assuring what is to be delivered against the available funding as well as what is an appropriate efficiency target.

What proportion of the annual efficiency savings projected for 2028–29 depends on efficiencies from National Highways’ Road Investment Strategy 3 which have not yet been finalised.

The forecasted efficiencies for 28/29 set out in the Departmental Efficiency Plan do not currently assume any efficiency savings from National Highways. National Highways’ efficiency target for the third Road Investment Strategy (RIS) will be confirmed when the RIS is published in March 2026.

How much of the efficiency savings attributed to executive agency reform will be permanent.

The Department for Transport efficiencies quoted in the Departmental Efficiency Plan are in line with the Government Efficiency Framework. In particular, the Government Efficiency Framework states that efficiencies “… should be sustainable (recurring)” and “exist in the year they are realised and remain in all subsequent years at equal or greater value.”

What the average processing time was for driving licence applications in December 2025.

The tables below show the average number of working days taken to process driving licence applications made both online and not onlinein December 2025 for both group 1 (cars and motorcycle) and group 2 (lorry and bus) applications. Group 1Group 2DateOnline applicationsNon- online applicationsOnline applicationsNon-online applicationsDec-251.313.421.002.72

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that regional domestic ferry operators are supported to meet the goals of the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy.

The Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy sets out a pathway to zero emissions by 2050, and interim goals in 2030 and 2040. To support the sector transition to zero, and near-zero, emission fuels, the Strategy sets out a number of key policies including; expanding the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to maritime, the introduction of fuel regulations, taking action to reduce emissions at berth, taking proportionate measures to reduce emissions from smaller vessels and increasing the efficiency of maritime operations. Support is available to the maritime sector for decarbonisation through our UK SHORE Research and Development programme. Over 300 projects across the UK have been supported to date, including those that support the decarbonisation of domestic ferries. In September, I announced a further £448 million of funding for innovation through this programme, including additional rounds of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competitions, and a second round of the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure competition. We aim to launch the first two of these competitions in Spring 2026 and they will run until 2030.

What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and Ofgem on improving grid capacity at ports to enable ferry electrification.

Reforming the connections process and investing in the grid is a key Government priority. This includes reforms that are expected to deprioritise over half of the existing queue based on readiness and strategic alignment with our strategy as set out in Clean Power 2030.Department for Transport Ministers and officials meet regularly with their counterparts in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Ofgem. These include discussions on the significance of getting sufficient grid capacity to electrify ports, for cruise and ferries to use shore power and policy options to accelerate connection dates for strategic demand customers, such as critical port sites. This is informed by the Department for Transport call for evidence on Net Zero Ports, published in March 2025, which posed questions on managing future energy demand at ports.

What the average processing time was for driving licence applications in December 2025.

The tables below show the average number of working days taken to process driving licence applications made both online and not online for December 2025 up to 16 December for both group 1 (cars and motorcycle) and group 2 (lorry and bus) licences. Group 1 Group 2 DateOnline applications Non- online applications Online applicationsNon-online applications Dec-251.313.421.002.72

What proportion of public electric vehicle charge points were out of service in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.

The Department does not hold this information.The Government is committed to ensuring public charging is reliable, and it is vital that consumers can charge hassle-free. From November 2024, the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 have required operators to achieve an average reliability of 99% across their network of chargepoints of 50 kW and above.

Whether Great British Railways has published (a) service performance standards, (b) routes for consolidation, and (c) a transition timetable in November 2025.

Great British Railways does not yet exist.

What the average processing time was for driving licence applications in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.

The tables below show the average number of working days taken to process driving licence applications made both online and not online for both group 1 (cars and motorcycle) and group 2 (lorry and bus) licences. Group 1 Group 2 DateOnline applications Non- online applications Online applicationsNon-online applications Jul 20241.165.341.002.91Aug 20241.225.501.002.16Sept 20241.225.451.011.88Oct 20241.204.841.061.71Nov 20241.194.111.001.69Dec 20241.212.871.051.80Jan 20251.213.511.002.39Feb 20251.214.081.001.64Mar 20251.204.181.001.56Apr 20251.184.091.041.71May 20251.204.751.002.67Jun 20251.275.771.012.82Jul 20251.235.261.002.30Aug 20251.235.061.002.93Sept 20251.234.781.003.37Oct 20251.365.281.002.58Nov 20251.344.241.002.26 Driving licence applications where a medical condition(s) must be investigated before a licence can be issued can take longer as the DVLA is often reliant on information from third parties, including medical professionals, before a licence can be issued. The DVLA is currently rolling out a new casework system which is expected to deliver significant improvements to the services provided to drivers with medical conditions. When fully implemented, this will provide improved turnaround times, increased capacity, increased automation, higher levels of digital functionality and increased digital communication. The DVLA is also planning to launch a new medical services platform which will enable more customers to transact online and will increase the use of email communication.

Whether she has asked the Civil Aviation Authority to undertake a review of assisted-travel provision and associated cost increases at UK airports.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) already assesses airport compliance with accessibility requirements through its accessibility framework. It publishes an annual performance report which ranks airport performance and works with airports to improve accessibility services. In November 2024, the Department also established the Aviation Accessibility Task and Finish Group, which published its independent report in July 2025. It set out 19 recommendations, including a review of the CAA’s airport accessibility framework (CAP1228). The Group is now supporting implementation. As the aviation industry operates primarily in the private sector, no assessment has been made of the costs associated with accessibility provisions at UK airports.

What the average waiting time was for MOT appointments in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.

Neither the Department for Transport nor the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which administers the MOT scheme, collects or holds data on waiting times for MOT appointments. The MOT test is delivered by a network of around 23,000 privately operated garages across Great Britain. Based on available evidence, there appears to be sufficient capacity within this network to meet demand.

How many rail passenger journeys were made in Great Britain in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) publish statistics on rail passenger journeys on a quarterly basis on their data portal: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/.This information is not available monthly.The latest available information on passenger journeys in Great Britain can be found in Table 1223: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/passenger-rail-usage/table-1223-passenger-journeys-by-operator/.