Written questions by O'Brien.

How many employment tribunal claims have been lodged against her Department in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) unfair dismissal and (b) claims under the Equality Act 2010.

The table below outlines the number of employment tribunal claims lodged against the central Department for Transport (DfTc) in each of the last five years. As requested, this information is broken down by unfair dismissal claims and claims under the Equality Act 2010. Unfair DismissalEquality Act20210<52022<5<520230<52024<5<52025 (to 24 Oct 2025)<5<5

How many staff left her Department in each of the last five years, broken down by grade.

The table below presents the headcount of permanent civil servants who have left from the central Department for Transport over the past 5 years, categorised by grade. To ensure the inclusion of the most recent data, the data is provided on a rolling year basis from October to September. Grade2020-212021-222022-232023-242024-25AA3 AO12141618114EO5075634575HEO145159184174134SEO116123111119177Grade 7108135137149160Grade 64248425574SCS11520201528SCS245738SCS32 21 Perm Sec 1 1

How many performance reviews were undertaken for staff in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last five years; in how many cases performance was rated as unsatisfactory or below; how many staff left as a result of such a rating; and what proportion of full-time equivalent staff this represented.

We have provided a response based on the number of submitted reviews over the entirety of a complete performance year (April 1 to March 31), for performance years 2024/25, 2023/24, 2022/23, 2021/22, 2020/21. This has been split, where possible, between Department for Transport (DfT) core and its agencies (Active Travel England (ATE), Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA)). In addition, data has been split by Senior Civil Servants (SCS) and delegated grades (Grade 6 and below), as performance is managed differently. The information provided does not include employees that have been marked as out of scope for review, and where figures within each business unit are below 5, these have been withheld for identification protection under S40(2) of the FOIA. TOTAL REVIEWS CONDUCTEDYearDfTcDVLADVSAMCAVCAATESCS2024/2510760701811437240056662092812023/24681569824126694228585N/A2842022/231036470408174304169634N/A2712021/221091562607N/A4261737N/A2432020/21958765827N/A4409515N/A232 NUMBER OF UNSATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE RATINGS YearDfTcDVLADVSAMCAVCAATESCS2024/25926057230<5<5132023/24554626743<5N/A92022/2310637911550<5N/A112021/22118148N/A51<5N/A112020/2186148N/A697N/A12 NUMBER OF DIMISSALS AS A RESULT OF PERFORMANCE AND FTE PROPORTIONYearDfTcDVLADVSAMCAVCAATESCSTOTAL (FTE proportion for whole group)2024/25<5<5<5<5<5<5<52 (0.01%)2023/24-------02022/23<5<5<5<5<5<5<57 (0.05%)2021/22-------02020/21<5<5<5<5<5N/A<52 (0.01%)

How many staff in her Department (a) did not retain employment following completion of their probationary period and (b) had their probationary period extended in each of the last five years.

The Department for Transport’s probation policy and guidance advises managers on the steps to take to assess a new employee’s suitability for the post and to provide support to enable them to succeed. It also advises on the steps to take where performance, attendance or conduct are not satisfactory. This can include exiting the employee or extending their probation to provide further evidence for a final decision on their suitability. The table below shows how many employees of the central Department for Transport (DfTc) did not retain employment following completion of their probationary period or had their probationary period extended.As requested this information is provided for the last five 5 years, noting that 2025 data covers 1 January to 24 October 2025. Dismissal - Probation FailureExtended Probation20215<52022<5<520237020248<52025 (to 24 Oct 2025)6<5

How many staff in her Department are recorded as having a (a) mental health condition and (b) physical disability, broken down by grade.

Following a thorough search of our paper and electronic records, I have established that the information you requested is not held by this Department. This is because it is not a requirement of the department to hold reasons for disability. The Department invites employees to self-declare their disability status using pre-defined criteria, including ‘prefer not to say’. Of the employees who have chosen to complete their data as of the 30th of September 2025, 238 individuals have recorded their status as disabled in the central Department for Transport.

Further to the Answer of 1 September 2025 to Question 69372 on Midland Main Line: Electrification, what is her Department's estimate of the cost of completing electrification of the Midland Main Line to Nottingham and Sheffield.

The Department’s most recent estimate to electrify the Midland Main Line to Nottingham and Sheffield was c. £1.5 billion, however, before the decision to pause the programme was confirmed, work was being undertaken by Network Rail to update their cost estimate. Since July, Network Rail have been making plans for their current activities in a way that enables work to be subsequently utilised. The design work that will be completed will enable a more robust and up to date cost estimate to be produced, as and when funding becomes available to complete electrification of the route.

What estimate her Department has made of the reduction in expenditure from the cancelling the electrification of the midland mainline north of Wigston.

The decisions taken in the Spending Review on rail enhancements were about prioritising the schemes that provided the greatest contribution to the government’s missions affordably. Rail enhancements are funded as a portfolio and this portfolio received increased funding from the Spending Review, meaning expenditure is expected to increase overall. The final investment decision on the electrification of the Midland Mainline north of Wigston had not been taken at the time of Spending Review, and it was not prioritised for progression in the period. While further Midland Main Line electrification is no longer expected to be funded over this Spending Review period, it has not been cancelled and will be kept under active review as part of our longer-term pipeline of schemes. This decision has not led to a reduction in expenditure on rail enhancements.

How many staff in (a) her Department and (b) HS2 Ltd have job titles which include the words (i) equality, (ii) diversity, (iii) inclusion, (iv) gender, (v) LGBT and (vi) race.

As of the latest available data: (a) Department for Transport (DfTc) A total of 9 staff have job titles that include at least one of the specified terms:Inclusion: 6Diversity: 4Equality: 1Gender: 0LGBT: 0Race: 0Please note: Some roles contain more than one of the listed terms. For example, “Diversity and Inclusion Partner” includes both “diversity” and “inclusion” and therefore contributes to both counts.(b) HS2 Ltd A total of 10 staff have job titles with at least one of the terms:Inclusion: 10Diversity: 3Equality: 3Gender: 0LGBT: 0Race: 0As with DfTc, some job titles are counted under multiple categories if they contain more than one relevant term.

Whether her Department plans to mark the 200th anniversary of the Rainhill trials.

Whilst it doesn't form part of the bi-centenary celebrations, the Railway 200 team in Network Rail are working with local stakeholders to support their plans to mark the 2029 anniversary of the Rainhill Trials.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of wifi available across the rail network.

I have asked my officials to explore the feasibility of a range of technology options to improve passenger connectivity on the rail network. The Department is also conducting research to measure the strength of mobile signals along the rail network to fully understand where interventions are needed, and the potential impacts.

Whether she plans to take steps to (a) allow local authorities with civil parking enforcement powers to enforce against unnecessary obstruction of the pavement and (b) enable highways authorities outside London to introduce a pavement parking prohibition.

In 2020, the Department undertook a public consultation on options for changing the way pavement parking is managed outside London. We are considering the views received to inform the Government’s next steps for pavement parking policy. The formal consultation response will be available to view in due course at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/managing-pavement-parking.

Whether she plans to bring forward legislative reforms to zig zag markings outside schools to enable enforcement even where cars are partially on the pavement.

Local authorities in England with designated civil parking enforcement powers already have the option to use existing traffic order-making powers to take civil enforcement action against vehicles which are stationary, whether fully or partially, on zigzag markings outside schools. Civil parking enforcement powers have been designated in 98 percent of local authority areas in England. Elsewhere enforcement remains a police matter.

What steps her Department is taking to increase the availability of driving tests.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards.Measures in place to reduce waiting times for customers at driving test centres, include the recruitment of driving examiners, conducting tests outside of regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from driving examiners.As of 7 October 2024, there were 571,047 car practical driving tests booked, and 89,349 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window. All available driving test appointments are shown on the live booking system, so the availability of test appointments continually changes. Test appointments are released on a rolling 24-week basis, and additional appointments are added as soon as they become available. Other candidates cancelling or rescheduling their test also free up appointments for others to book. Normal booking behaviour sees candidates move test appointments around routinely in line with their preferences. It is not therefore possible to give a meaningful assessment of the number of people waiting longer than 24 weeks for a test or how long a person waited between booking and taking a test.DVSA continues to see high demand for driving tests, owing in part to a major shift in customer booking behaviour. Customers now book their car practical test far earlier in their learning journey, sometimes before they have even had a practical driving lesson.The attached spreadsheet, WPQ00023819-00023823, shows the monthly average waiting time for a car practical driving test at each driving test centre and zone for each month since April 2015.

What the average wait time was in each driving test area in each month since January 2015.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards.Measures in place to reduce waiting times for customers at driving test centres, include the recruitment of driving examiners, conducting tests outside of regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from driving examiners.As of 7 October 2024, there were 571,047 car practical driving tests booked, and 89,349 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window. All available driving test appointments are shown on the live booking system, so the availability of test appointments continually changes. Test appointments are released on a rolling 24-week basis, and additional appointments are added as soon as they become available. Other candidates cancelling or rescheduling their test also free up appointments for others to book. Normal booking behaviour sees candidates move test appointments around routinely in line with their preferences. It is not therefore possible to give a meaningful assessment of the number of people waiting longer than 24 weeks for a test or how long a person waited between booking and taking a test.DVSA continues to see high demand for driving tests, owing in part to a major shift in customer booking behaviour. Customers now book their car practical test far earlier in their learning journey, sometimes before they have even had a practical driving lesson.The attached spreadsheet, WPQ00023819-00023823, shows the monthly average waiting time for a car practical driving test at each driving test centre and zone for each month since April 2015.

What the average wait time for a car driving test was at each driving test centre in each month since January 2015.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards.Measures in place to reduce waiting times for customers at driving test centres, include the recruitment of driving examiners, conducting tests outside of regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from driving examiners.As of 7 October 2024, there were 571,047 car practical driving tests booked, and 89,349 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window. All available driving test appointments are shown on the live booking system, so the availability of test appointments continually changes. Test appointments are released on a rolling 24-week basis, and additional appointments are added as soon as they become available. Other candidates cancelling or rescheduling their test also free up appointments for others to book. Normal booking behaviour sees candidates move test appointments around routinely in line with their preferences. It is not therefore possible to give a meaningful assessment of the number of people waiting longer than 24 weeks for a test or how long a person waited between booking and taking a test.DVSA continues to see high demand for driving tests, owing in part to a major shift in customer booking behaviour. Customers now book their car practical test far earlier in their learning journey, sometimes before they have even had a practical driving lesson.The attached spreadsheet, WPQ00023819-00023823, shows the monthly average waiting time for a car practical driving test at each driving test centre and zone for each month since April 2015.

How many people were waiting more than 24 weeks for a driving test in each driving test area in each month since January 2015.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards.Measures in place to reduce waiting times for customers at driving test centres, include the recruitment of driving examiners, conducting tests outside of regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from driving examiners.As of 7 October 2024, there were 571,047 car practical driving tests booked, and 89,349 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window. All available driving test appointments are shown on the live booking system, so the availability of test appointments continually changes. Test appointments are released on a rolling 24-week basis, and additional appointments are added as soon as they become available. Other candidates cancelling or rescheduling their test also free up appointments for others to book. Normal booking behaviour sees candidates move test appointments around routinely in line with their preferences. It is not therefore possible to give a meaningful assessment of the number of people waiting longer than 24 weeks for a test or how long a person waited between booking and taking a test.DVSA continues to see high demand for driving tests, owing in part to a major shift in customer booking behaviour. Customers now book their car practical test far earlier in their learning journey, sometimes before they have even had a practical driving lesson.The attached spreadsheet, WPQ00023819-00023823, shows the monthly average waiting time for a car practical driving test at each driving test centre and zone for each month since April 2015.

What estimate she has made of the number of additional driving tests that will be needed to reduce the average wait time for a test to the seven-week service standard.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards.Measures in place to reduce waiting times for customers at driving test centres, include the recruitment of driving examiners, conducting tests outside of regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from driving examiners.As of 7 October 2024, there were 571,047 car practical driving tests booked, and 89,349 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window. All available driving test appointments are shown on the live booking system, so the availability of test appointments continually changes. Test appointments are released on a rolling 24-week basis, and additional appointments are added as soon as they become available. Other candidates cancelling or rescheduling their test also free up appointments for others to book. Normal booking behaviour sees candidates move test appointments around routinely in line with their preferences. It is not therefore possible to give a meaningful assessment of the number of people waiting longer than 24 weeks for a test or how long a person waited between booking and taking a test.DVSA continues to see high demand for driving tests, owing in part to a major shift in customer booking behaviour. Customers now book their car practical test far earlier in their learning journey, sometimes before they have even had a practical driving lesson.The attached spreadsheet, WPQ00023819-00023823, shows the monthly average waiting time for a car practical driving test at each driving test centre and zone for each month since April 2015.