Written questions by Hayes.

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 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 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 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.

How many and what proportion of civil servants in his Department are (a) on temporary contract and (b) consultants.

As of 30 November, 265 staff at the Department for Transport were on a temporary contract - representing 7.2% of the total workforce. We do not collate data on the number of individuals working within the Department at any moment in time as part of consultancy contracts.

If she will make an assessment of the feasibility of the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030.

The Government has provided crucial certainty to industry by reinstating the 2030 phase-out date for new cars relying solely on internal combustion engines. We’re also investing over £7.5 billion to support drivers and manufacturers to make the switch to zero emission, including the £2 billion Electric Car Grant, to reduce the cost of new electric vehicles (EVs).The certainty these commitments provide unlocks investment and benefits British consumers. More drivers than ever are choosing electric: November saw another month of increased sales, with EVs accounting for one in four cars sold.

If she will make it her policy to reduce rail fares after taking franchises into public ownership.

Decisions on fare changes are taken annually and agreed across government. We will always seek to strike a fair balance between passengers and taxpayers as we seek to return the railway to financial sustainability. In November, the Secretary of State confirmed that regulated rail fares will be frozen for one year from March 2026, saving passengers money as we rebuild a railway that Britain can rely on and be proud of. Looking forward, we are moving away from the outdated, privatisation-era view of rail fares. Instead, GBR will have commercial flexibility to manage its fares revenue in a more agile and efficient manner, allowing it to create a national fares policy which makes more sense to passengers – so that they can more easily understand what fare they should be paying and why. The Secretary of State will retain a role, in order to influence and manage the overall level of fares, balancing the interests of passengers and taxpayers.

What data her Department holds on the number of electric vehicles registered in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

At the end of June 2025, the number of licensed vehicles that were battery electric was 10,789 in Lincolnshire. We do not readily hold the respective figure for South Holland and the Deepings constituency. It is important to note, vehicles are allocated to geographic location according to the postcode of the registered keeper. The address does not necessarily reflect where the vehicle is located. This is especially true for large fleets kept by companies involved with vehicle management, leasing or rentals.

How many new cars were registered in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire in each of the last five years.

e do not readily hold new vehicle registration figures at the requested geographic levels. Information on licensed vehicles broken down by Upper and lower tier local authorities and lower super output areas (LSOA) are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/vehicle-licensing-statistics-data-tables

What steps her Department is taking to help improve the accessibility of pavements for (a) blind and (b) visually impaired people in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

It is the responsibility of local authorities to manage their roads, including pavements, and to ensure this is done in a way which allows them to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty. The Department provides good practice guidance on designing accessible pavements in Inclusive Mobility: A Guide to Best Practice on Access to Pedestrian and Transport Infrastructure.This is available at:www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-mobility-making-transport-accessible-for-passengers-and-pedestrians.

What steps she is taking to support the road haulage industry in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

National support for the road haulage industry includes joint investment with industry in lorry parking and driver welfare facilities of up to £35.7m, including Lincolnshire. This is in addition to up to £30 million joint investment by National Highways and industry to improve lorry parking on the strategic road network. Further National Highways funding is planned for the third road investment strategy (RIS3) as part of the Customer and Community Designated Funds, subject to confirmation of National Highways’ RIS3 settlement. Support for the sector’s decarbonisation includes the Plug-in Truck Grant which provides a contribution to the upfront purchase costs of zero emission vehicles, the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) programme, which is now closed to new applicants, but is providing up to £200m to fund hundreds of ZE HGVs and their associated recharging and refuelling sites and the Depot Charging Scheme which closes on the 28 November 2025, and will support HGV, van and coach fleet operators with the cost of installing charging infrastructure at depot sites. Qualifying Operators in Lincolnshire have had the opportunity to apply for national schemes.