Written questions by Holden.

When she plans to respond to Question 121893 from the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth.

The responses to these Written Parliamentary Questions have been issued.

When she plans to respond to Question 121539 from the hon. Member for Poole.

The responses to these Written Parliamentary Questions have been issued.

When she plans to respond to Question 120248 from the hon. Member for Windsor.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

When she plans to respond to Question 120171 from the hon. Member for Yeovil.

The responses to these Written Parliamentary Questions have been issued.

Pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2026 to Question 123237, whether her Department is considering the introduction of mandatory Restricted R plates or an equivalent post-test probationary scheme for newly qualified drivers in Great Britain.

Whilst we are not considering mandatory Restricted ‘R’ plates for newly qualified drivers in Great Britain, we are consulting on a Minimum Learning Period in England, Scotland, and Wales before learner drivers can take their test. We know that introducing a Minimum Learning Period has potential to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries. This is why we are consulting on the introduction of pre-test measures and combining these with the post-test measures already in place through the New Drivers Act.

Pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2026 to Question 123507 on Electric Vehicles, where the remaining amount of the committed £7.5 billion funding will be spent.

The Government is investing more than £7.5 billion in the transition to zero emission vehicles, as follows:£4 billion on DRIVE35 to support zero emission vehicle manufacturing and R&D in the UK, to 2035.£2 billion on the Electric Car Grant to cut to cost of new, affordable, and sustainably manufactured zero emission vehicles for consumers, to 2030.£877 million for the Zero Emission Truck Grant and Zero Emission Van Grant to reduce the cost to businesses of buying new zero emission commercial vehicles, to 2030.£600 million to support charging infrastructure, to 2030.£120 million for the former Plug-in Van Grant in 2025.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of (a) Australia’s National Freight Data Hub, (b) the United States’ Commodity Flow Survey and (c) the Republic of Korea’s Transport Database on (i) monitoring driver welfare, (ii) rest provision and working conditions and (iii) fatigue-related risk across the freight and logistics system.

As noted in the answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 120682, the Department for Transport recognises the value of international comparisons for its work, including (a) Australia’s National Freight Data Hub, (b) the United States’ Commodity Flow Survey and (c) the Republic of Korea’s Transport Database. No formal assessments of the type described have been made for the comparators listed, but they are important parts of the Department's broad evidence base for policy making that supports freight and logistics and the wider transport system.

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2026 to Question 120920, what estimate she has made of the conversion rate from application to appointment in Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency driving examiner recruitment campaigns since July 2024; and what steps her Department is taking to improve conversion rates at each stage of the recruitment process.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has run 22 driving examiner recruitment campaigns since early 2021, nine of these have been launched since June 2024. DVSA analyses the success rates for each campaign and adapts its approach for the next one to improve the quality of candidate attracted initially, make sure it is selecting those with the necessary skills and minimise any aspects of the process which are causing applicants to drop out.  The process has been modified several times in the intervening period to maximise the numbers of people with the right skills and aptitudes being made a job offer.DVSA attracts large numbers of applicants to the role of a driving examiner who are not always suited to it.  DVSA has a high drop out rate during the application process and the sift and selection process also removes significant numbers due to candidates not demonstrating the appropriate level of driving ability.Across the nine campaigns since June 2024, DVSA received 16,331 completed applications and has made 1,139 job offers so far, with 724 people starting their training with DVSA and more with start dates agreed.DVSA continues to make job offers from reserve lists from campaign 16 (March 2025) up to campaign 21 (December 25) and has yet to start making offers for people from campaign 22 as the assessments are still ongoing.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2026 to Question 118924, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the proportion of UK Emissions Trading Scheme costs in the maritime sector expected to be passed through to consumers and (b) how that estimate varies by subsector, including ferries and passenger services; and what international evidence underpins those assumptions.

The Impact Assessment finds UK ETS compliance costs are modest relative to operators’ overall costs and does not identify significant consumer price impacts. This is expected to be consistent across maritime subsectors. For ferries and passenger services, the Government has not undertaken route level modelling for the UK ETS domestic maritime expansion, as operators’ commercial decisions, vessel utilisation and fare structures vary widely. The EU ETS, which includes some passenger ferries in scope, shows fare changes have generally been in the low single digit range. Early evidence from the EU scheme suggests short‑sea shipping routes and ferry fares increased by 3-11% under comparable carbon pricing.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of enforcement powers available to Trading Standards authorities at county level to take action against premises engaged in persistent breaches of consumer protection and trading laws; whether he has considered devolving powers to county-level Trading Standards authorities to enable them to apply for the closure of premises in cases of serious or repeat offending; and what discussions he has had with the (a) Home Office and (b) Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on aligning enforcement powers between licensing authorities, the police, and county-level enforcement bodies.

Local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales are responsible for delivering trading standards services, aiming to ensure fair trading and safeguard both consumers and reputable businesses. Trading standards services operate independently from central government and enforce a wide range of laws, tailored to local needs.Where issues impact on a wider group of consumers or businesses, or the detriment is particularly high, other regulators have power to take action. For instance, National Trading Standards plays a role in delivery of broader national and regional enforcement issues, supported by local trading standards services.We keep this system under review, and the Department for Business and Trade is reviewing the current duties of Trading Standards to ensure that consumers remain protected from harm. My department is working with the Home Office, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and other Whitehall Departments in this work.The Business Secretary and the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister recently wrote jointly to Cabinet colleagues to ask them to set out what further action they plan to take in this Parliament to address consumer harms in their areas, including on toughening enforcement actions against conduct and businesses that do the most harm to the community.We will report back on this work in due course.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2026 to Question 120874, whether his Department plans to publish the baseline information it holds on private parking appeals; and if he will provide a breakdown of the number of disputes and appeals relating to private parking charges for each of the last five years.

The government does not hold a breakdown of the number of disputes and appeals relating to private parking charges for each of the last five years. Some baseline information on private parking appeals includes information already in the public domain such as the trade associations’ annual reports and these may be accessed via the IAS and POPLA sites. Any other relevant information will be published in the government response when the Code is laid in autumn 2026.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 March 2026 to Question 122264, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the six-day minimum hire threshold on value for money for Departments using short-term hire vehicles; whether guidance has been issued to Departments on balancing value for money with the objective of increasing the proportion of zero emission vehicles under the Government Fleet Commitment; and what steps she is taking to ensure that efforts to meet the Government Fleet Commitment do not lead to increased costs.

The Government's policy is that all official travel must be efficient and cost-effective. Value for money of short-term vehicle hires is ensured through standard Government procurement and contract management processes. Guidance on the GFC can be found on GOV.UK.

When he plans to respond to Question 110250 tabled by the hon. Member for Reigate on 2 February 2026.

Awaiting answer.

When he plans to respond to Question 116091 from the hon. Member for Birmingham Edgbaston.

Awaiting answer.

When he plans to respond to Question 113778 from the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton.

Awaiting answer.

When he plans to respond to Question 113597 tabled by the hon. Member for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire on 20 February 2026.

Awaiting answer.

When he plans to respond to Question 112182 tabled by the hon. Member for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire on 10 February 2026.

Awaiting answer.

When he plans to respond to Question 113121 tabled by the hon. Member for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire on 12 February 2026.

Awaiting answer.

When he plans to respond to Question 120353 from the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar.

Awaiting answer.

When he plans to respond to Question 119985 from the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar.

Awaiting answer.