Written questions by Holden.

What progress her Department has made towards commencing section 19 of the Road Safety Act 2006; what timetable she has set for introducing mandated driving instruction standards for emergency service drivers; and what recent engagement her Department has had with police, fire and ambulance services on the implementation of these measures.

The Department is currently developing the package of measures required to implement S19 of the Road Safety Act 2006. This will include mandated driving instruction standards. Police, Fire and Rescue, and NHS Ambulance services are fully engaged at both chief officer level, and with their respective Driver Training Advisory Groups, which have provided expert input into the drafting of the minimum training standards. Further announcements will be made in due course.

What information their Department holds on (a) the proportion of tyres procured that were re-tread tyres for (i) Department-operated and (ii) commercially contracted heavy vehicle fleets, including lorries, buses and refuse vehicles and (b) the volume of tyres procured for those fleets that were single-use imported tyres in the last 12 months; and whether such information is held centrally or by individual contractors.

The Department for Transport does not hold or collate the information requested.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 102872, what definition the Government uses for a pothole, including any criteria relating to minimum (a) size, (b) depth and (c) safety classification thresholds used for funding or repair estimates.

Local highway authorities are responsible for maintaining their roads under section 41 of the Highways Act 1980. Individual authorities set their own criteria, including the minimum size and depth at which a defect, or pothole, is recorded or repaired, and apply risk‑based assessments that account for local conditions, traffic volumes and safety considerations when making decisions on maintenance programmes. These thresholds therefore vary between areas and are not prescribed by the Department for Transport.

Whether the Government has considered advertising driving examiner vacancies on the GOV.UK page “Apply to become a driving instructor”.

Since 4 July 2024, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has run seven driving examiner recruitment campaigns. The table below shows in which months these were live and the number of vacancies advertised. MonthDriving examiner vacancies advertisedSeptember 2024244March 2025189July 2025147Two adverts in September 2025322Two adverts in December 2025260 All DVSA driving examiner roles are civilian posts and are open to applications from people seeking full-time, or part-time, employment. DVSA does not recruit Defence Driving Examiner posts as these are employed by the Ministry of Defence.DVSA seeks to attract applications from as wide a pool as possible, and not just from those who may have a driving instructor background. For this reason, DVSA has not chosen to target people who may previously have been unsuccessful in alternate roles in the industry.DVSA has a recruitment page on the GOV.UK website that provides information on how to become a driving examiner. The agency uses Government Recruitment Services, Civil Service Jobs and external recruitment organisations to support it in reaching as many interested parties as possible.

How many job advertisements for driving test examiners were listed on the Civil Service Jobs Search gov.uk website in each month since 4 July 2024; and how many of those roles were (a) full-time and (b) part-time and (i) civilian or (ii) defence Driving Examiner posts.

Since 4 July 2024, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has run seven driving examiner recruitment campaigns. The table below shows in which months these were live and the number of vacancies advertised. MonthDriving examiner vacancies advertisedSeptember 2024244March 2025189July 2025147Two adverts in September 2025322Two adverts in December 2025260 All DVSA driving examiner roles are civilian posts and are open to applications from people seeking full-time, or part-time, employment. DVSA does not recruit Defence Driving Examiner posts as these are employed by the Ministry of Defence.DVSA seeks to attract applications from as wide a pool as possible, and not just from those who may have a driving instructor background. For this reason, DVSA has not chosen to target people who may previously have been unsuccessful in alternate roles in the industry.DVSA has a recruitment page on the GOV.UK website that provides information on how to become a driving examiner. The agency uses Government Recruitment Services, Civil Service Jobs and external recruitment organisations to support it in reaching as many interested parties as possible.

Whether the Government has considered writing to individuals who have previously failed the Approved Driving Instructor Part 3 test to highlight opportunities to train as DVSA driving examiners.

Since 4 July 2024, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has run seven driving examiner recruitment campaigns. The table below shows in which months these were live and the number of vacancies advertised. MonthDriving examiner vacancies advertisedSeptember 2024244March 2025189July 2025147Two adverts in September 2025322Two adverts in December 2025260 All DVSA driving examiner roles are civilian posts and are open to applications from people seeking full-time, or part-time, employment. DVSA does not recruit Defence Driving Examiner posts as these are employed by the Ministry of Defence.DVSA seeks to attract applications from as wide a pool as possible, and not just from those who may have a driving instructor background. For this reason, DVSA has not chosen to target people who may previously have been unsuccessful in alternate roles in the industry.DVSA has a recruitment page on the GOV.UK website that provides information on how to become a driving examiner. The agency uses Government Recruitment Services, Civil Service Jobs and external recruitment organisations to support it in reaching as many interested parties as possible.

What criteria her Department uses to assess the adequacy of private sector delivery of public electric vehicle charge points for meeting the Government's 2030 target.

The majority of public charge points will be delivered by the private sector, which has committed to investing over £6 billion in public charging infrastructure by 2030. Many chargepoints are delivered through a combination of public and private sector funding. This includes the estimated 100,000 chargepoints expected to be delivered under the Government’s £400 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Scheme, which is leveraging significant private sector investment alongside public funding.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2026 to Question 107776, if she will make an estimate the number of uninsured motorcycles on roads.

The Department for Transport has not made an estimate on the number of uninsured motorcycles on our roads. However, we take uninsured driving very seriously and work with motor insurance stakeholders and law enforcement to crack down on those who choose not to insure their vehicles. As part of the Government’s new Road Safety Strategy, published on 7 January 2026, the Department has launched a consultation on motoring offences, including a review of existing penalties for unlicensed driving or for driving not in accordance with a licence.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2026 to Question 108803, when her Department expects to publish its formal response to the Office of Rail and Road’s June 2025 review into revenue protection practices.

In June 2025, the Office of Rail and Road published its independent review of revenue protection practices. The Department has accepted its five recommendations in full. We have been working with industry to address the recommendations and expect to publish a full response shortly.

If she will list all visits undertaken outside the UK by i.) ministers ii.) officials from her Department or it's arms length bodies, since 4 July 2024; and, for each such visit, to state (a) the number of i.) ministers ii.) officials in attendance at each visit and their grade, and (b) the total cost of the visit.

Information on overseas travel by Ministers is published quarterly and can be accessed by using the following link:DfT: ministerial travel and meetings - GOV.UKInformation on expenses including for overseas travel by the DfT's senior officials is also published quarterly and can also be found using the following link:DfT: senior officials’ business expenses, hospitality and meetings - GOV.UK

Whether the DVSA has proposed any future changes to the driving test centre estate.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has no current plans for any future changes to the driving test centre estate.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2026 to Question 108309, in which month the upcoming national strategy for integrated transport is expected to be published.

The Department is committed to publishing the integrated national transport strategy shortly, which will set the long‑term vision for domestic transport across England.

Whether her Department has assessed the potential impact of the Wheels to Work scheme on youth unemployment; and what steps she is taking to support that scheme.

I refer the Rt Honourable Gentleman to the answer given on 3 February 2026 to question number 108310.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2026 to Question 107165, in which month the final text of the National Policy Statement for Ports is expected to be published.

I expect the final text to be laid in March 2026.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2026 to Question 110889, when the shore power trial at Portsmouth International Port began; what the outcomes have been; and whether any evaluation has been produced.

The shore power demonstrator trial at Portsmouth International Port was publicly awarded nearly £20m of R&D funding in September 2023. Portsmouth International Port began delivery of the project shortly afterwards as part of the UK SHORE Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure (ZEVI) competition.Most civil and electrical infrastructure works within the port side boundaries of Portsmouth International Port are now complete and the multi-berth shore power units are now on the berths. In November 2025, a successful dry connection test (without the provision of electricity) was completed, where one of the shore power units was plugged into Britanny Ferries’ Guillaume de Normandie vessel.Separate to the UK SHORE funded project, Portsmouth International Port accepted a connection offer from Scottish and Southern Electricity (SSE). This connection offer was for a 15 Megawatt grid upgrade to secure the grid capacity for the shore power units. The Port is awaiting final details from SSE on energisation of the grid upgrade.No specific evaluation for this project has yet been completed as the demonstration phase isn’t complete. A technical study is underway for all ZEVI projects, including Portsmouth, that will analyse the data generated throughout the multi-year demonstration period.

With reference to her oral contribution of 9 December 2025 in the debate on the Railways Bill, Official Report, column 207, how the £150 million figure relates to the £663 million per year efficiency saving projected for 2028–29 in the Departmental Efficiency Plan.

The oral contribution on 9 December 2025 in the debate on the Railways Bill referred to savings from management and performance fees payable to private sector operators. These savings are factored into the Department's Spending Review settlement but are not included in the published Departmental Efficiency Plan.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2026 to Question 107163, what information her Department holds on airport kerbside drop-off charges.

There is no requirement for airports or airport car park providers to provide details of drop-off charges to the Department. We regularly engage with airports on surface access strategies and drop-off charges form part of these wider discussions. Information about individual airports' car parking and drop-off charges is available on their respective public websites.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2026 to Question 107166, what information her Department holds on level crossing performance, safety incidents and disruption.

Safety at level crossings on the mainline railway is the statutory responsibility of Network Rail, which monitors and records performance, safety incidents and disruption to help inform mitigation measures. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR), as the independent safety regulator, also collects, scrutinises and publishes data on level crossing incidents and enforcement activity.My Department does not hold a separate dataset on level crossing performance. We rely on Network Rail’s operational data and the ORR’s published statistics, which together provide a comprehensive picture of safety and disruption at level crossings.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2026 to Question 105896, whether equivalent gross efficiency and implementation cost breakdowns have been produced for other components of the Departmental Efficiency Plan, including regulated settlements and corporate initiatives.

As set out in the Departmental Efficiency Plan, the department plans to deliver efficiencies of £663m in 28/29. We do not currently hold a breakdown on how these efficiencies breakdown by gross efficiencies and implementation costs in regulated settlements and corporate initiatives.

How paragraph 3.9.2 of the draft National Policy Statement for Ports will be applied by decision-makers when considering development consent for port infrastructure.

We are currently considering the views received from consultation on, and Parliamentary scrutiny of, the draft revised National Policy Statement for Ports, and will lay a final text in Parliament in due course. In line with the recommendation of the Transport Select Committee, we are considering further guidance on how developers assess carbon emissions as part of Environmental Impact Assessments.