Written questions by Mishra.

Pursuant to the answer of 18 May 2026 to Question 479 on Blue Badge Scheme: Fraud, if her Department will change its policy and collect data on the number of fraudulent blue badges in circulation.

Awaiting answer.

Whether her Department’s forthcoming Road Safety Strategy will include measures to tackle illegal driving instructors.

The Government’s Road Safety Strategy was published on 7 January 2026. The DVSA investigates reports, carries out targeted enforcement and prosecutes illegal driving instructors, with cases leading to significant fines and criminal convictions, including prison sentences.

Whether she has made an assessment of the number of fraudulent Blue Badges in circulation in (a) Stockport constituency, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) England.

The department does not collect data on the number of fraudulent Blue Badges in circulation. Local authorities are responsible for the enforcement of the scheme in their area and have been given powers to crack down on fraud and misuse, helping to protect the rights of those who rely on the Blue Badge scheme.

Whether she has made an assessment of the condition of roads in Stockport constituency; and what recent funding has been allocated there for pothole repairs.

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 will receive dedicated support to bring them in line with best practice.Stockport received an overall amber rating, with individual scorecards showing amber for condition, green for spend and amber for best practice. More information on the ratings is available online, at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-road-maintenance-ratings/local-road-maintenance-ratings-2025-to-2026.Stockport sits within the Greater Manchester Combined County Authority (GMCA). GMCA receives baseline highways maintenance funding through its City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) which runs from 2022-27. In 2026/27, GMCA will also receive £15.5 million in highways incentive funding. From 2027/28, all highways maintenance funding will be consolidated into GMCA’s £2.4 billion Transport for City Regions (TCR) capital settlement, which will provide the bulk of future funding.

Whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of funding for the British Transport Police in the context of recent increases in assaults on the railway network.

Awaiting answer.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of uninsured drivers in (a) Stockport and (b) Greater Manchester.

The Department for Transport has not made an estimate of the number of uninsured drivers in Stockport and Greater Manchester. Across the country, the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) estimates that about 300,000 cars are being driven every day without insurance.

What recent discussions her Department has had with the insurance industry and relevant regulators on the rising cost of motor insurance in England.

Ministers and officials regularly engage with representatives from the insurance industry and regulatory bodies.Furthermore, in order to fulfil the government’s commitment to tackling the soaring cost of motor insurance in the UK, the cross-government taskforce on motor insurance was formed in October 2024. The taskforce’s final report was published on 10 December 2025 and though the taskforce has now concluded, the government will continue its work to deliver against the actions set out in the report.The annual average cost of cover in 2025 was £564, 9% (£58) lower than the average annual cost in 2024.

Whether her Department has had discussions with Northern Rail and Avanti West Coast on the potential merits of (i) simpler and (ii) cheaper train tickets in (a) Stockport and (b) Greater Manchester.

This Government remains committed to making ticketing simpler and more flexible for passengers. Passengers in Stockport and Greater Manchester are benefiting from simpler fares which were introduced in December 2025. Overall, the change means that the average fare in Greater Manchester fell by 5.6%. Working with operators, Pay As You Go with contactless on rail in Manchester will arrive in December this year as part of the Bee Network expansion, initially covering 17 stations.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of passenger services to Reddish South railway station.

The Department, through the Rail North Partnership (RNP), has regular discussions with Northern Trains and stakeholders on the adequacy of services. We expect operators, in this case Northern, to develop timetables that best match capacity and frequency to passenger demand, taking into account operational sustainability and value for taxpayers. RNP would be happy to look at any proposal around services based on local or regional priorities put forward by the Mayoral Authority as part of their Local Transport Plans. RNP will also contact the Hon Member for a meeting to discuss services to Reddish South.

What assessment the Department has made of the potential merits of installing solar photovoltaic generation directly on railway infrastructure to provide lower cost electricity for the rail network and to reduce reliance on new national grid connections.

The government has established Great British Energy and is committed to significantly increasing the amount of renewable energy generation in the UK by 2030.Network Rail purchases electricity for the railway and is committed to transitioning to renewable energy for both the electricity it uses for its own operations, and the electricity to power trains. Network Rail already generates some of this electricity on the rail estate and is continuing the roll out of new renewable generation assets (primarily solar) on the estate.

With reference to her Department's document entitled Pavement parking options for change: government response, updated on 8 January 2026, whether she plans to give local authorities the power to issue fixed penalty notices to vehicles parked on grass verges.

On 8 January, I announced in the response to the government consultation on 'Pavement Parking: options for change' that we will enable local transport authorities to prohibit pavement parking in their areas at the next legislative opportunity. This will include verge parking.

If her Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of the levels of funding provided to Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council for highway surface preventative maintenance and carriageway structural work, including the prevention and fixing of potholes.

The Department provides substantial, formula‑based funding to all local highway authorities in England to help them maintain their local road networks. Highways maintenance funding for Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council is paid to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). GMCA has been allocated a £1.07 billion City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) for the 2022–27 period and will receive a £2.5 billion Transport for City Regions settlement for 2027–32. This funding supports investment in GMCA’s local transport priorities and includes funding for highways maintenance. It is for GMCA to determine how much of this funding is allocated to highways maintenance, but they must ensure that appropriate levels are allocated to its constituent local highway authorities so that they can meet their statutory duty under section 41 of the Highways Act 1980. These long-term settlements provide longer term funding certainty for local transport improvements and enable authorities to plan ahead and shift away from short-term fixes to proactive and preventative maintenance. In 2026/27, GMCA will also be eligible to receive an additional £15.5 million in highways maintenance incentive funding.

What steps the DVLA has taken to investigate individuals or organisations involved in (a) reselling driving test appointments and (b) bulk booking or profiteering from driving test slots.

In 24/25, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) received 927 reports of illegal instruction and 2133 reports of fraud at point of theory test and practical test. DVSA thoroughly investigate all allegations, and action can range from issuing a warning to pursuing prosecution.DVSA does not maintain records regarding the total number of investigations completed in previous years.Whilst the volume and levels of undetected fraud are unknown, it should be noted that when compared to the number of theory and practical tests conducted in 24/25, identified cases of fraud in relation to these tests equate to roughly 0.06% for theory tests and roughly 0.01% of practical test tests respectively.In January 2023, DVSA changed the terms and conditions for using the booking service to help prevent anyone from selling tests at profit.On 6 January 2025, DVSA introduced new terms and conditions for use of the service driving instructors and trainers use to book and manage practical driving tests for their pupils. Where businesses and driving instructors have been found to have broken these terms and conditions by misuse of the booking service, DVSA has taken steps to remove access or close business accounts. Additionally in the coming months, DVSA will:Change the booking service to allow only learner car drivers to book and manage their testsIntroduce a limit on the number of times a learner car driver can move or swap a test to twice and also limit the area they can move a test to once booked.

What the average waiting time was for a practical car driving test at driving test centres in (a) Stockport and (b) Greater Manchester in each of the last ten years.

The attached Excel document shows what the average waiting time was for a practical car driving test at driving test centres in (a) Stockport and (b) Greater Manchester in each of the last ten years. Please note there is no data available for Chadderton test centre for 2015. Chadderton was commissioned for practical car driving tests on 19 January 2017. For 2016/17 only partial data is available based on just over two months of operation.

Pursuant to Question 85338 on Driving Instruction: Standards, how many individuals or organisations have been investigated by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s Counter Fraud and Investigation team in relation to (a) driving test fraud and (b) illegal driving instruction in each of the last five years.

In 24/25, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) received 927 reports of illegal instruction and 2133 reports of fraud at point of theory test and practical test. DVSA thoroughly investigate all allegations, and action can range from issuing a warning to pursuing prosecution.DVSA does not maintain records regarding the total number of investigations completed in previous years.Whilst the volume and levels of undetected fraud are unknown, it should be noted that when compared to the number of theory and practical tests conducted in 24/25, identified cases of fraud in relation to these tests equate to roughly 0.06% for theory tests and roughly 0.01% of practical test tests respectively.In January 2023, DVSA changed the terms and conditions for using the booking service to help prevent anyone from selling tests at profit.On 6 January 2025, DVSA introduced new terms and conditions for use of the service driving instructors and trainers use to book and manage practical driving tests for their pupils. Where businesses and driving instructors have been found to have broken these terms and conditions by misuse of the booking service, DVSA has taken steps to remove access or close business accounts. Additionally in the coming months, DVSA will:Change the booking service to allow only learner car drivers to book and manage their testsIntroduce a limit on the number of times a learner car driver can move or swap a test to twice and also limit the area they can move a test to once booked.

Pursuant to question 105010, answered on 20th January 2025, titled Railway Stations: Stockport, if (a) her Department plans to provide more funding for the Access for All programme and (b) if she will prioritise rail stations within Stockport constituency in any future selections for work under the programme.

This government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities. Funding for future rounds of Access for All (AfA) may be made available as part of the next Spending Review and this could provide an opportunity to fully or partially fund accessibility upgrades at Stockport station. The process and timings for identifying future AfA projects have not yet been decided.

Pursuant to the answer of 22 April 2025 to question 44579 on Avanti West Coast: Ticket Offices, what information her Department has received from Avanti West Coast on non-adherence with regulated ticket office opening hours in each of the last 12 months.

The Department receives regular reporting from Avanti West Coast (AWC) on its compliance with regulated ticket office opening hours under Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement. Excluding ticket office closures as a result of industrial action or planned engineering works, AWC’s average compliance with its managed ticket office opening hours over the last 12 months was 97 per cent.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Access for All scheme on passenger accessibility and satisfaction at stations across Stockport borough.

This government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities. In May 2024, the previous government selected 50 stations for initial feasibility work for potential upgrades as part of our Access for All programme. This did not include any stations in the Stockport borough. Given the acute funding pressures on capital investments, any sources of funding that can be identified locally, for example from s106 monies, would also be a way of bringing forward accessibility upgrades at stations in the borough.

Pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2025 to question 97955 titled Brinnington Station: Staff, what steps her Department can take when rail operators fail to comply with their obligations under the ticketing and settlement agreement.

It is a requirement of the operators’ contracts that they must comply with all inter-operator schemes, which includes the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement (TSA) and the associated schedules that relate to ticket office opening hours. Operators must make reasonable endeavours to ensure that ticket office opening hours stipulated in Schedule 17 of the TSA are adhered to. Where an operator is not meeting this requirement further action can be taken against the operator, including the formal contractual breach process which could include issuing a notice to improve performance.

Pursuant to the answer of 22 December 2025 to question 99889 titled Railways: Anti-social Behaviour and Crimes of Violence, whether her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of statutory powers to intervene in budget-setting decisions made by the British Transport Police Authority.

The British Transport Police Authority (BTPA), the executive non-departmental public body that oversees the British Transport Police Force (BTP), plays a key role in ensuring there is independent and expert oversight of the BTP force. It agrees strategies and objectives, resourcing and budgets, and policy and regulatory requirements. The Department for Transport has powers to set overarching expectations of the Authority and I am satisfied that this oversight, as defined in the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, does not require amendment.