Written questions by Hayes.

How many additional driving examiners have been recruited to test centres in Lincolnshire since January 2025.

Awaiting answer.

What recent steps she has taken to support local councils to support timely road repairs in Lincolnshire.

Under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, local highway authorities themselves are responsible for maintaining their networks and for the delivery of maintenance works. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as it is for each individual local highway authority to assess which parts of its network need repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances. The Government has confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment into local highways maintenance over the next four years. By confirming funding allocations for the next four-year period, authorities have certainty to plan ahead and shift from short-term fixes to proactive, preventative maintenance. Lincolnshire County Council sits within the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA). GLCCA are eligible to receiver over £368 million in highways maintenance funding from the Government over the next four years.

What steps she is taking to support the road haulage industry with fuel costs in Lincolnshire.

Awaiting answer.

What recent steps she has taken to improve rural transport links in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

The Government knows the importance of reliable bus services in enabling people to stay connected and access education, work and vital services, particularly in rural areas where buses may be the only form of public transport. We are committed to delivering better bus services and the Bus Services Act 2025 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. Greater Lincolnshire Combined Authority will be allocated £60 million of this funding from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in addition to the £18.5 million they have received in 2025/26.The formula used to calculate LABG allocations for 2026/27 onwards includes consideration of the rurality of local areas for the first time, acknowledging the challenges of running services in rural areas, in addition to population size, levels of deprivation, and the extent of existing bus services. 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 current bus provision.

What steps she has taken to help support Lincolnshire County Council to maintain roads and highways in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The Government has confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment into local highways maintenance over the next four years. By confirming funding allocations for the next four-year period, authorities have certainty to plan ahead and shift from short-term fixes to proactive, preventative maintenance.Lincolnshire County Council is the local highway authority for South Holland and The Deepings and sits within the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA). GLCCA are eligible to receive over £368 million in highways maintenance funding over the next four years. To further support improvement and ensure best use of public funding, the Department published a new traffic light rating system for all local highway authorities in England on 11 January which rates authorities red, amber or green based on: the condition of their roads, how much they spend to maintain their roads and whether they do so using best practice. This system allows the Government to target support to places that need extra help and red-rated authorities have been offered dedicated support to bring them in line with best practice.Lincolnshire County Council received an overall amber rating, with individual scorecards showing amber for condition, amber for spend and amber for best practice.

If she will provide a list of training programmes used by civil servants in her Department since 2020.

Awaiting answer.

If she will provide a list of training programmes used by civil servants in her department since 2020.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Lincolnshire.

As of 1 January 2026, there were 889 public electric vehicle (EV) chargers in Lincolnshire.Lincolnshire County Council were awarded almost £6.4 million funding through the Government’s LEVI Fund to increase the number of local chargepoints across the area. LEVI funding and private investment will significantly scale the number of public charge points near to homes, giving residents confidence to switch to an EV. Under LEVI, Lincolnshire and other collaborating local authorities are currently procuring a supplier.Lincolnshire will also benefit from over £400,000 awarded to the Greater Lincolnshire County Combined Authority through the £25 million EV Pavement Channels grant, which will support residents without off-street parking to conveniently charge their vehicles at home, accessing cheaper tariffs through their domestic energy supplies.

Whether her Department has used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting (a) legislation and (b) policy in the last 12 months.

The Department for Transport published the Transport AI Action Plan in June 2025 which sets out the Department’s approach to Artificial Intelligence (AI). The action plan represents the start of a step-change for AI in our transport system, recognising its power to increase resilience, productivity and turbo-charge innovation across the private and public sectors. Over the last 12 months, the Department for Transport has continued to use AI for operational purposes and has taken part in a pilot of the Microsoft Copilot AI product with approximately 1,300 staff, to assess its potential benefits. However, the Department does not centrally use AI in legislative or policy decision‑making. Where such tools have been used, this has been on an assistive basis only (for example, summarising information or improving readability), and not to generate policy or legislative content. Responsibility for the substance, accuracy and final drafting of all departmental policy and legislation remains with civil servants.

Whether her Department has paid for followers on social media platforms it uses.

The Department has not paid for followers on any of its social media platforms.

What assessment she has made of the level of take up of cycling proficiency programmes in schools in Lincolnshire.

In 2024/25, schools in the Lincolnshire County Council area booked 6,867 Bikeability training places, of which 6,168 were attended. This included 5,116 children receiving level 2 on-road training; equivalent to 60% of year 6 pupils in that area.

How much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

The total value of severance payments is set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.

Whether any civil servants hired by her Department were recruited over another person on the basis of a protected characteristic in each of the last three years.

Appointments are made on merit following fair and open competition. As a Disability Confident employer, interviews are offered to disabled applicants who meet the minimum job criteria and reasonable adjustments are available to address the potential for disadvantage in recruitment.

How many staff within her Department are reliant on a visa for employment.

The Department for Transport (central) currently sponsors visas for 33 skilled workers and has an additional 19 employees working on other visa types.

What steps she has taken with local authorities to improve road infrastructure in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

Lincolnshire County Council is the local highway authority for South Holland and The Deepings, and it sits within the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA). GLCCA are eligible to receive £368,646,000 in the next four years and received £73,478,000 million in highways maintenance funding in 2025/26.The Department also introduced a new traffic light rating system for all local highway authorities in England on 11 January. All authorities are assessed annually and receive a red, amber or green rating based on the condition of their roads, how much they spend to maintain their roads, and whether they do so use best practice. This system is designed to highlight where authorities need support, as well as to encourage continuous improvement.Lincolnshire County Council received an overall amber rating, with individual scorecards showing amber for condition, amber for spend and amber for best practice.

How many fake license plates were recorded in each of the last five years.

It is not possible to provide the full-time equivalent number of staff who deal with number plate issues. The staff involved do not exclusively work on number plate related issues and also investigate other types of cases. While on road enforcement of number plates issues is a matter for the police, the information in the table below shows the number of occasions where members of the public contacted the DVLA about correspondence, fines or penalties that they have been received from third parties about the use of vehicles which they do not recognise or accept responsibility for in the last five years. However, it is important to note that the misuse of a registration number or number plate is just one of the possible reasons why someone might receive such correspondence. A proportion of these cases will have been made as a result of errors, for example where a vehicle registration number has been entered incorrectly. Calendar YearNumber of reports20217,43020227,83720239,848202410,461202511,402

How many full-time equivalent staff in her Department are tasked with tackling the use of fake license plates.

It is not possible to provide the full-time equivalent number of staff who deal with number plate issues. The staff involved do not exclusively work on number plate related issues and also investigate other types of cases. While on road enforcement of number plates issues is a matter for the police, the information in the table below shows the number of occasions where members of the public contacted the DVLA about correspondence, fines or penalties that they have been received from third parties about the use of vehicles which they do not recognise or accept responsibility for in the last five years. However, it is important to note that the misuse of a registration number or number plate is just one of the possible reasons why someone might receive such correspondence. A proportion of these cases will have been made as a result of errors, for example where a vehicle registration number has been entered incorrectly. Calendar YearNumber of reports20217,43020227,83720239,848202410,461202511,402

How many full-time equivalent staff in her Department have been employed for the purpose of making social media content in each of the last three years.

Due to the difficulty of disaggregating the number of staff who are employed to produce social media content from staff who are employed to work on broader digital communications, it is not possible to report exact figures in response to this question.

How many motorists have been wrongly fined for speeding in each year since 2021.

The Department does not hold data on the number of speeding fines incorrectly issued each year since 2021.

How many speed cameras on motorways and major A roads in England have been replaced for being faulty in each of the past five years.

The management of speed cameras on the strategic road network is split between National Highways and the Police, so the Department does not hold this data.