Written questions by Holden.

What discussions she has had with police forces on illegal plates or cloned license plates and serious organised crime; and what steps she is taking with police forces to help tackle the use of illegal or cloned license plates.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and others to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime, including the use of illegal plates. The law requires that anyone who supplies number plates for road use in the UK must be registered with the DVLA. It is a legal requirement for suppliers to carry out checks to ensure that number plates are only sold to those who can prove they are entitled to the registration number. Number plate suppliers must also keep records of the plates they have supplied. It is an offence to sell a number plate without carrying out these required checks and can lead to a fine and removal from the Register of Number Plate Suppliers (RNPS). Officials are considering options to ensure more robust application and audit processes which would enable tighter checks on number plate suppliers. On-road enforcement of number plate offences is a matter for the police. Officials are also in discussions with the British Number Plate Manufacturers’ Association about the issue of non-compliant materials. The DVLA’s enforcement officers work with the police and Trading Standards to carry out educational and compliance visits to registered suppliers. Enforcement officers attend the premises of registered number plate suppliers to check working practices and inspect number plates on the premises. Enforcement officers can inspect records held, take copies and/or seize the records. In addition, DVLA officers carry out intelligence led enforcement activities to tackle a wide range of offences, actively working with our partners to investigate.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2025 to Question 82988 on Bicycles: Infrastructure, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of floating bus stops on independent access to bus services for blind and partially sighted people.

The Department recognises the concerns raised about floating bus stops, particularly by vision-impaired people, and we are taking steps to address them. Section 31 of the Bus Services Act 2025 requires the Secretary of State to publish statutory guidance for local authorities in England on the provision and design of floating bus stops, within three months of Royal Assent. This must be consulted on with the Disabled Persons’ Transport Advisory Committee and other relevant organisations before publication. Local authorities will be required to have regard to this guidance. In addition, local authorities have been asked to pause implementation of certain designs of floating bus stop. I wrote to all local traffic authorities on 20 November setting out the terms of this pause. This applies to floating bus stop schemes which are at the design stage, and which include designs which require people to board or alight directly from or into a cycle track.

What discussions her Department has had with the British Standards Institute on its review of BS AU 145e; and whether she plans to ban raised 3D and 4D number plates.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is part of the British Standard Institution committee that has recently reviewed the current standard for number plates. The committee has put forward proposed amendments which are intended to stop the production of number plates with raised characters often referred to as 3D or 4D number plates and will prevent easy access to plates with ‘ghost’ characteristics. The proposals will also prevent suppliers from adding acrylic letters and numbers to the surface of the number, meaning any finished number plate must be flat. The proposed changes have been subject to a public consultation which closed on 13 December 2025.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2025 to Question 92061 on Great British Railways, whether her Department has now produced (a) costed rollout plans for the Great British Railways logo and (b) estimated expenditure for the re-livery of trains; and if she will publish the estimated total cost ranges and any associated value-for-money assessments relating to the wider implementation of the Great British Railways brand.

The Secretary of State has asked the incoming CEO of DfT Operator to lead the rollout of the Great British Railways (GBR) branding. Ministers expect the brand rollout to maximise opportunities to grow revenue as well as to ensure value for money in its application. This includes primarily repainting trains when they were due to be repainted by their leasing companies, and changing station signage when it is life expired. With this in mind, Ministers do not expect significant sums to be spent on the repainting of trains as part of the rollout of branding.

What plans she has to amend the penalty regime to (a) make non-compliant number plates offences endorsable with up to six penalty points and (b) increase the fixed penalty fine for such offences from £100 to £1,000.

This Government takes road safety seriously. We are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. We are considering a range of policies under the new Road Safety Strategy; the first for ten years. This includes the case for changing the motoring offences.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025 to Question 95727 on Driving Instruction: Staff, how many civilian driving tests the 36 defence driving examiners are expected to conduct over the 12-month support period.

The announcement on this measure by the Secretary of State for Transport on 12 November, provided further details regarding the number of tests. Information on this and other measures announced is available on GOV.UK.

With reference to the Budget 2025, published on 28 November 2025, HC 1492, from which financial year she plans to meet her target to fix an additional one million potholes each year.

This Government takes the condition of our country’s local highway network extremely seriously. This is why the Government has confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment into local highways maintenance over the next four years, bringing annual funding for local authorities to repair and renew their roads and fix potholes to over £2 billion annually by 2029/30. This new, four-year funding settlement is in addition to the Government's investment of £1.6 billion this year, a £500 million increase compared to last year. These funding increases enable local authorities to fill an additional one million potholes in each year of this Parliament.In addition to increasing the available funding, the Department has confirmed funding allocations for the next four years, providing greater funding certainty to local authorities. This enables them to better plan ahead and move away from expensive, short-term repairs and to instead invest in proactive and preventative maintenance so that roads can be fixed properly and kept in good condition for longer so that fewer potholes form in the first place.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025 to Question 94308 on Railways: Facilities Agreements, when the updated Framework Document is expected to be published.

The Framework Document is being reviewed and updated following the change of role from the DfT Operator of Last Resort to the Operator of First Choice and the transfer of circa 200 DfT staff to DFTO on 31 March 2026. The Department intends to publish the new Framework Document on gov.uk in 26/27.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2025 to Question 94307 on Railways: Private Sector, what metrics her Department plans to use to measure the potential impact of the Railways Bill on levels of private sector innovation; and whether baseline data has been established for those measures.

As set out in the answer to Question 94307, establishing GBR through the Railways Bill will provide an integrated approach and greater longer-term certainty for rail, giving the private sector the confidence it needs to invest and support innovation throughout the sector. The Railways Bill Impact Assessment provides an assessment of the potential impacts of the rail reform policies within the Railways Bill, including the impacts on Business Environment.

What the cost to the public purse was for commissioning or licensing material from Dovetail Games for use in promotional content relating to the Great British Railways branding, including the computer-generated train livery featured in public communications.

The new brand for Great British Railways (GBR) was developed in-house by the Department for Transport with support from a livery design specialist working for a train operator in public ownership, with the only minimal design cost being audience testing. This approach was chosen to ensure good value for money for the taxpayer. As part of unveiling the new branding, the Department collaborated with Dovetail Games to connect with a larger audience. Though details of licencing contracts are commercially confidential, this agreement returns a premium to the department through licencing fees, rather than being a cost to the public purse. No payments have been made, or are due to, Dovetail Games.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 96260 on Railways: Government Assistance, what her Department’s latest estimate is of the level of net Government support to the rail sector per passenger journey in the 2027-28 financial year.

Given the forecast steady decrease in the level of the Department's support for the 14 contracted operators and Network Rail, the level of support in 2027/28 is estimated to be slightly higher than in 2028/29.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 86754 on Railways: Industrial Disputes and 2 December 2025 to Question 93782 on British Transport Police: Industrial Disputes, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of Section 280 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 when applied to the British Transport Police.

Section 280 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 is applicable to the British Transport Police as it is for a Home Office force. The effect of section 280(1) is to remove police officers from the statutory protections set out in legislation for those who take industrial action. Therefore, if BTP constables were to strike they would have no access to the legal protections provided in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 that other workers have when they strike. The definition of “police service” is set out in section 280(2) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 and would include the constables of the British Transport Police.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 60138 on Road Traffic Control: Finance, whether she is providing central support for congestion improvement measures.

The Department provides a range of funding mechanisms to local authorities to enable them to deliver their objectives. It is for them to determine how best to use this to manage their roads to fulfil their Network Management Duty.

What estimate she has made of the net fiscal cost of freezing rail prices in each of the next five years.

I refer the Honourable Member to the response I provided him to question 95968 on 4 December 2025.

What estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the rail fare freeze.

I refer the Honourable Member to the response I provided him to question 95968 on 4 December 2025.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 90397 on Road Traffic Control: Oxford, what information the DVLA holds on which intermediary companies are currently used by (a) Oxford City Council and (b) Oxfordshire County Council.

While the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is aware of the third-party providers used by the councils referenced to facilitate requests for vehicle keeper information, this relates to a commercial arrangement between them and the third parties and it would not be appropriate to disclose that information.

When she expects the Office for National Statistics to (a) determine a timescale for its review of rolling stock leasing agreements and (b) identify which leases or train operating companies will form part of the review sample.

Timescales for its work in this area are for the ONS to determine, as an independent body.

What commission percentage is charged on ticket sales made through the digital platforms of all train operating companies managed by DfT Operator Limited.

Commission rates currently payable in connection with the sale of rail tickets are available to view on the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) website: https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/our-services/retail-commercial/how-to-become-a-retailer/documents/13079-rail-industry-commission-rates-from-1st-october-2024/file.html. Further detail on the setup of Great British Railway's (GBR's) retailer and the future governance of the rail retail market, when GBR has taken on RDG functions, will be set out in due course.

What steps she is taking to attract private sector investment to increase the number of hydrogen refuelling stations.

The Department for Transport has launched a number of technology agnostic match-funding programmes across modes, attracting private sector investment in zero emission solutions (for which hydrogen and its associated infrastructure have been eligible). One of the biggest lessons learned from these programmes has been to ensure that hydrogen supply, including refuelling stations, and fleet demand are matched.

Whether Great British Railways will charge a commission percentage on ticket sales made through its digital platforms once it is established.

Commission rates currently payable in connection with the sale of rail tickets are available to view on the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) website: https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/our-services/retail-commercial/how-to-become-a-retailer/documents/13079-rail-industry-commission-rates-from-1st-october-2024/file.html. Further detail on the setup of Great British Railway's (GBR's) retailer and the future governance of the rail retail market, when GBR has taken on RDG functions, will be set out in due course.