Every parliamentary written question tabled by Matt Vickers this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 49 · Department for Transport
Whether her Department has assessed the potential impact of Category C1 driving licence requirements on congestion and vehicle emissions.
The department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of Category C1 driving licence requirements on congestion and vehicle emissions. Category C1 entitlement relates to the licensing of drivers of vehicles over 3.5 tonnes and up to 7.5 tonnes...
Whether her Department has undertaken a review of retained European Union-derived provisions relating to Category C1 driving licence entitlement since the UK left the European Union; and whether she plans to br
The department keeps category entitlements under review to ensure they remain fit for purpose. The department considered potential changes to Category C1 driving licence entitlement as part of the 2022 driving licensing call for evidence, which sought vi...
What estimate her Department has made of the number of holders of Category C1 driving licence entitlement in each age cohort; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact on workforce availability.
The department has not made a specific assessment of the potential impact of Category C1 driving licence requirements on workforce availability. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) holds data on driving licence entitlements. The latest availabl...
Whether her Department has undertaken an assessment of labour availability for businesses that rely on drivers with Category C1 entitlement.
The Department has not undertaken a specific assessment of labour availability for businesses that rely on drivers with Category C1 entitlement. The Department considered evidence on Category C1 driving licence entitlement as part of the 2022 driving lic...
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Category C1 driving licence requirements on the operating costs of small and medium-sized enterprises that use 7.5-tonne vehicles.
The Department considered evidence on Category C1 licensing requirements through its 2022 driving licensing review call for evidence, including whether Category B car licence holders should be granted C1 entitlement for vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes. Response...
How many practical driving tests have been completed at a) Darlington, b) Middlesbrough, c) Northallerton, d) Hartlepool and e) England in each of the last two years, broken down by quarters.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) publishes data on GOV.UK, in report DRT122A, for the number of practical driving tests conducted at all driving test centres, including at Darlington, Middlesbrough, Northallerton, Hartlepool. The data in rep...
What the average wait for practical driving tests is at a) Darlington, b) Middlesbrough, c) Northallerton, d) Hartlepool test centres and e) in England.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) publishes data on GOV.UK, in report DRT122A, for the number of practical driving tests conducted at all driving test centres, including at Darlington, Middlesbrough, Northallerton, Hartlepool. The data in rep...
How many additional full time equivalent driving test examiners have been recruited for a) Darlington, b) Middlesbrough, c) Northallerton, d) Hartlepool and e) England as a whole in each of the last two years,
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) publishes data on GOV.UK, in report DRT122A, for the number of practical driving tests conducted at all driving test centres, including at Darlington, Middlesbrough, Northallerton, Hartlepool. The data in rep...
How many full time equivalent driving test examiners are employed at the a) Darlington, b) Middlesbrough, c) Northallerton, d) Hartlepool driving test centres.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) publishes data on GOV.UK, in report DRT122A, for the number of practical driving tests conducted at all driving test centres, including at Darlington, Middlesbrough, Northallerton, Hartlepool. The data in rep...
Further to the letter of 22 May from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State to the Hon. Member for Stockton West, how many qualified DVSA staff have returned to front line examining roles and how many exams
In June 2025, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) reintroduced overtime incentives via the Additional Test Allowance (ATA) scheme. Since then, the agency has conducted around 9,000 to 13,000 extra tests each month through overtime, and between ...
Further to the letter of 22 May from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State to the Hon. Member for Stockton West, how many Ministry of Defence driving examiners have been used for civilian driving exams and
In June 2025, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) reintroduced overtime incentives via the Additional Test Allowance (ATA) scheme. Since then, the agency has conducted around 9,000 to 13,000 extra tests each month through overtime, and between ...
Further to the letter of 22 May from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State to the Hon. Member for Stockton West, if he will set out some of the incentives being offered to examiners to perform more tests;
In June 2025, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) reintroduced overtime incentives via the Additional Test Allowance (ATA) scheme. Since then, the agency has conducted around 9,000 to 13,000 extra tests each month through overtime, and between ...
Further to the letter of 22 May from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State to the Hon. Member for Stockton West, if he will set out what steps he has taken to increase training capacity so that new examine
In June 2025, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) reintroduced overtime incentives via the Additional Test Allowance (ATA) scheme. Since then, the agency has conducted around 9,000 to 13,000 extra tests each month through overtime, and between ...
What steps she is taking to ensure that the British Transport Police works with (a) her Department, (b) Network Rail and (b) train operating companies to reduce pedal-cycle theft at railway stations, including through collaboration on prevention measures such as secure cycle parking, lighting and CCTV coverage.
The Department is committed to working with the rail industry and the British Transport Police (BTP) to ensure that the railway remains a safe environment for passengers and rail staff. BTP works in partnership with rail operators to make stations hostile environments for potential bike thieves with measures focused on cycle storage. The force frequently works with rail operators, local partners and Home Office police forces, to run public events that raise awareness of preventative measures passengers can take to deter criminals, and offer services such as offering free bike marking.
What assessment she has made of the impact of the British Transport Police’s screening policy, including any value or time-window criteria on (a) cycle-theft reporting rates at railway stations and (b) public confidence in the policing of station environments; and whether she has discussions with British Transport Police on ensuring pedal-cycle thefts with available CCTV evidence are investigated.
The British Transport Police (BTP) are operationally independent and how they deploy their resources across the network is for the Chief Constable to decide. Criminal activity, including cycle theft, is not tolerated on the network and BTP are committed to keeping the railway safe for passengers and rail staff. The BTP crime screening policy, introduced in August 2024, does not automatically rule out crimes for investigation and the full circumstances of an incident are considered on an individual basis.It is essential that members of the public and rail staff continue to report incidents to the BTP by texting 61016, or calling 999 in an emergency so that they can build their policing intelligence picture and refine their data led patrol plans across the entire rail network for officer deployments and identifies hotspots for targeted intervention.
With reference to the British Transport Police's crime-screening policy introduced in August 2024, if she will publish the formal guidance for pedal-cycle theft (J13) and the operational factors used to determine when an offence is progressed to investigation; and if she will publish quarterly data showing the number of (a) pedal-cycle thefts reported, (b) investigated, and (c) closed without investigation, broken down by (i) cycle value and the (ii) availability of (A) CCTV and (B) witness evidence.
The British Transport Police (BTP), like their Home Office force counterparts, are operationally independent and decisions on whether to release guidance are for the Chief Constable to make. Crime figures for the BTP are collated by the Home Office and published on the Office for National Statistics website.
What steps are being taken to improve transport accessibility for people with disabilities in smaller stations.
Whenever the rail industry installs, replaces or renews station infrastructure, this needs to comply with current accessibility standards. We have also continued to fund the Access for All programme, which has delivered more than 270 accessible routes at stations and smaller improvements at around 1500 stations, including many smaller and rural stations. We have also installed platform edge tactile paving at all stations across Britain, to aid visually impaired passengers.
What assessment has been made of public satisfaction with recent timetable changes across rail services.
The new continuous rail customer experience survey started in July to provide improved, robust and reliable customer insight to the rail industry, including measuring customer satisfaction of different aspects of rail service. Metrics within the survey include satisfaction with punctuality and frequency of services, as well as overall satisfaction.
What discussions have taken place with local leaders on improving bus services in areas affected by recent operator withdrawals.
Buses in England outside London were deregulated by the Transport Act 1985 and are largely run on a commercial basis where the operator decides on routes and provision. However, the Department for Transport regularly engages with local authority representatives to discuss local bus services, including in instances where operators withdraw services. Where operators take decisions to withdraw services, we expect them to work with local authorities to minimise disruption to passengers. We are taking action to give local leaders the powers they need to deliver better bus services for passengers, including through the Bus Services Act 2025, and through investing over £1 billion in 2025/26 to support and improve bus services in England outside London, of which £7.2 million has been allocated to the Tees Valley Combined Authority. 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 services and improving reliability, which are currently significant obstacles for too many people. Local authorities can also choose to subsidise certain services where commercial provision is not sufficient to meet the needs of local communities and where it represents value for money.
What plans there are to improve safety measures on rural A-roads with higher-than-average collision rates.
The Government recognises that the majority of road fatalities (according to the latest statistics) occurred on rural roads (60%) with fewer fatalities on urban roads (35%) and motorways (5%). Too many people are killed and seriously injured in road traffic collisions, and this Government is working hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users. The Road Safety Strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies which will have national reach. More details will be set out in due course.