Written questions by Hayes.

What estimate her Department has made of the level of funds invested by Chinese firms in the UK transport sector in the next ten years.

The Department does not have an estimate of the level of funds to be invested by Chinese firms in the UK transport sector over the next ten years. This Government will continue to support UK business to engage with the second largest economy in the world – one of our largest trading partners – while being open-eyed to any risks and ensuring security and resilience.

Whether Active Travel England has offered apprenticeships in each year since it was set up.

Active Travel England has not yet advertised apprenticeships for external candidates. Existing employees can access the Department’s apprenticeship offer of level 2 – 7 apprenticeships across a range of skills, including data, finance and project delivery, as part of their personal development. The agency has supported one new joiner to complete an apprenticeship they were part-way through.

What the average waiting time is for a practical driving test in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.

The average waiting time for a practical driving test at test centres in both (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands, is 24 weeks respectively, as of 21 April 2025. The current national average for a practical driving test as of March 2025 is 21.7 weeks.

If the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has offered apprenticeships in each year since 2010.

The Maritime & Coastguard Agency has offered apprenticeships in each year, since 2018.

Whether the Office of Rail and Road has offered apprenticeships since 2010.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has offered apprenticeships since 2017. ORR currently has 15 people undertaking an apprenticeship.

Whether the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has offered apprenticeships in each year since 2010.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has offered apprenticeships every year since 2015. Specific data wasn’t collected before 2015 although apprenticeships were available.

Whether she has had recent discussions with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency on delays in booking practical driving tests.

I regularly meet with officials from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to discuss various topics. I last met with DVSA’s Chief Executive Officer, Loveday Ryder, on 18 March 2025 to discuss car practical driving test waiting times and other topics.

What steps she is taking to tackle people fraudulently impersonating someone else at the practical part of the driving test.

To ensure Great Britain’s roads remain among the safest in the world, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has robust measures in place to stop people using false identities when taking a driving test.At the start of the driving test, all driving examiners (DE) carry out thorough identification and documentation checks to satisfy themselves of the person’s identity, and the validity of the driving licence and theory test pass certificate.To make it harder for fraudsters to impersonate a candidate, the DVSA has worked in partnership with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to give DEs access to an enlarged photograph of the candidate, as shown on the driving licence, to help the examiner decide if the person presenting for test is the correct candidate. If a candidate fails to satisfy the examiner that they have complied with the requirements, the examiner will, under legislation, refuse to take the test.All fraudulent activity identified is referred to the DVSA’s Investigations and Counter Fraud team for further investigation. DVSA uses intelligence to identify vehicles and individuals involved in previous fraudulent test attempts and consider this when verifying the identity of people taking a theory or practical driving test. DVSA will revoke fraudulently obtained licences where it detects people impersonating someone else at the theory or practical driving test.

How many fast charging points for electric vehicles are operational in South Holland and The Deepings constituency.

The below table shows public EV charging devices in South Holland and the Deepings constituency, as of 1 January 2025. Charging devices are categorised into the below speed bandings in the data held by the Department. Devices in higher power speed bandings can deliver charging at quicker speeds. 3kW up to 8kW charging devices8kW to 49kW charging devices50kW to 149kW charging devices150kW and above charging devicesSouth Holland and The Deepings constituency307130 The table includes only public charging devices as power rating data for private charging devices is not available.Data on public electric vehicle charging devices in the UK, held by the Department for Transport, are sourced from the electric vehicle charging platform Zapmap. Charging devices not recorded on Zapmap are not included and the true number of charging devices may be slightly higher than recorded in these figures.

What steps her Department is taking to monitor train service improvements in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The Department can confirm that subject to the conclusion of the wider industry timetable process, East Midlands Railway (EMR) has identified the potential for service improvements across Lincolnshire to be implemented in the forthcoming December 2025 timetable change. This includes additional services between Lincoln and Peterborough.

If she will take steps to help tackle speeding in Lincolnshire.

Enforcement of the speed limit is for the police. The Department for Transport makes highways and local transport funding available to local transport authorities, who decide how to use the funding to support local priorities. Local authorities have the responsibility of making decisions about the roads under their care, based on their knowledge of the area and taking into account local needs and considerations.  This includes setting local speed limits and introducing traffic calming measures.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the (a) construction and (b) operation of a new National Grid electricity substation at Weston Marsh on levels of traffic in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

Roads in the South Holland and the Deepings constituency are the responsibility of Lincolnshire County Council, as the Local Highway Authority and Local Traffic Authority. This Department does not make an assessment of the impact of individual projects of this nature on the local road network.

If she will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Road Traffic Act 1988 to require drivers to stop and report accidents involving cats.

There are no plans to amend section 170 of the Road Traffic Act to make it mandatory for drivers to report road collisions involving cats. Although there is no obligation to report all collisions with animals on roads, Rule 286 of The Highway Code advises drivers to report any collisions involving an animal to the police, and if possible, they should make enquiries to ascertain the owner of domestic animals and advise them of the situation. Since June 2024, all cats in England over 20 weeks of age must be microchipped and registered on a compliant database, unless exempt or free-living. This will make it easier for National Highways and local authorities to reunite cats with their keepers.

What recent discussions she has had with East Midlands Railways on the feasibility of increasing the frequency of train services to and from Spalding.

East Midlands Railway’s proposed new regional timetable for December 2025 includes one additional service every weekday and four additional services every Saturday calling at Spalding.

If she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of increasing the permitted weight of electric HGVs on the construction sector.

The Department keeps vehicle regulations, including maximum permitted weight limits, under review, to determine whether they remain appropriate during the transition towards zero emission HGVs. No assessment which focuses exclusively on vehicles used in the construction sector is planned.

What proportion of food procured by her Department is sourced in the UK.

To date the Government has not held information on where publicly procured food is sourced from.Starting right away, for the first time ever, this government will review the food currently bought in the public sector to determine the standards that it is meeting, where it is bought from and look to introduce monitoring for transparency and accountability within those supply chains to ultimately get the best food for the consumer.This work will be a significant first step to inform any future changes to public sector food procurement policies as we want to help make it an equal playing field for British producers to bid into the £5 billion spent each year on public sector catering contracts.

What steps she plans to take to improve road safety in South Holland and the Deepings constituency in the 2025-2026 financial year.

The Government allocates Integrated Transport Block (ITB) funding to local authorities such as Lincolnshire County Council, which is used for a variety of local transport initiatives such as road safety improvements. ITB allocations for 2025/26 for Lincolnshire County Council and other authorities will be announced shortly. This will enable councils to decide how best to use the available funding; the Department does not get involved in local authority decision making of this sort.On local highway maintenance funding, all local authority allocations for highway maintenance block capital funding in 2025/26, including for Lincolnshire County Council, were announced by the Secretary of State for Transport on 20 December 2024 and are published on Gov.uk. Lincolnshire County Council will be receiving an uplift of over £16.2 million compared to the current financial year, taking its total funding for the year to over £60 million if they meet the incentive element requirements, due to be published shortly.

How many new driving test instructors were approved in each of the last three years.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) approves people to be driving instructors and motorcycle trainers. DVSA publishes driving instructor and motorcycle instructor register data on GOV.UK. This includes data on the numbers of approved driving instructors (ADI) and shows the number of ADIs joining or leaving the register, by reason, per financial year. The attached excel document shows how many ADIs left the ADI register for the financial year 2017/18 to the financial year to date, 2024/25. This includes data on ADIs whose licence lapsed, ADIs who resigned their licence, and ADIs who were removed from the register (Registrar's decision). The same document also includes how many ADIs were added to the ADI register for the same period. This includes data on new ADI registrations, ADIs who renewed their licence (renewals), and ADIs who re-registered after a period of time off the register (Re-registration).

How many driving test instructors have left their position in each year since 2018.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) approves people to be driving instructors and motorcycle trainers. DVSA publishes driving instructor and motorcycle instructor register data on GOV.UK. This includes data on the numbers of approved driving instructors (ADI) and shows the number of ADIs joining or leaving the register, by reason, per financial year. The attached excel document shows how many ADIs left the ADI register for the financial year 2017/18 to the financial year to date, 2024/25. This includes data on ADIs whose licence lapsed, ADIs who resigned their licence, and ADIs who were removed from the register (Registrar's decision). The same document also includes how many ADIs were added to the ADI register for the same period. This includes data on new ADI registrations, ADIs who renewed their licence (renewals), and ADIs who re-registered after a period of time off the register (Re-registration).

If she will make it her policy to encourage local authorities to install hedgehog crossing signs on busy roads.

The Department authorised the use of the small wild animal sign in December 2023, giving local authorities permission to place the sign without reference to the Department. Prior to this none of these signs had been authorised. The Department does not hold information on how many signs are installed by local authorities.There are no plans to encourage local authorities to install these signs, it is entirely a matter for local authorities to decide upon.