Speeches by Lightwood.

“I am quite certain that the hon. Gentleman will continue his engagement with National Highways, and I am sure that they can have that conversation together. As I said, during the initial design stages of the project, prior to May 2024, National Highways considered and assessed the opportunity of those slip roads. Howev…”

“I hear what the right hon. Gentleman has said. I will leave no stone unturned when looking for solutions to drive down those test delays. Even with all the measures we have put in place—including the additional test allowance incentives for examiners, which resulted in 56,000 additional tests being conducted between Ju…”

“I will make some progress first because there is a lot to cover. When access to driving tests is delayed, those opportunities are put on hold and, frankly, that is unacceptable. Across the south-east and the country, driving test waiting times remain a significant concern. Across Great Britain, the average waiting time…”

“These actions were taken as a consequence of the 90,000 submissions and the work that we did in the DVSA and the Department, so they are based on feedback. These changes will make access fairer and will prevent unofficial businesses and third parties from reselling tests at inflated prices. They will prevent tests from…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I thank the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Dr Pinkerton) for the opportunity to respond to today’s debate on driving test availability in the south-east. I am grateful to all right hon. and hon. Members who have spoken on behalf of their constituents. We ful…”

“As I went on to say, it is important for road safety reasons, and we should never we should never relax road safety. It must be paramount. I have every sympathy with that position, but it is not something that the Government plan to change. Driving is a lifeline for many, especially in areas where public transport is l…”

“I will come on to those points. I assure Members that I will provide regular updates on the bots work as we move towards delivery. I absolutely accept that it is urgent. Our agreement with the Ministry of Defence is not a headline-grabbing gimmick. It is important that we do everything at our disposal to drive down the…”

“I will make some progress. Local learners in quiet areas will have better access to tests at their preferred centres, and examiner resources will be focused where demand is highest. Reform to the booking system will give greater control to learner drivers. It will remove the ability for third parties to exploit the sys…”

“I am enjoying the tour of village halls this morning. Level crossings can be a significant safety risk. Network Rail, the owner of that level crossing, has legal responsibility to reduce risk so that it is as low as practically possible. The Rail Minister would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the specifics o…”

“I will be pleased to meet my hon. Friend. Welfare facilities for drivers are extremely important.”

“Driving test wait times remain too high, and this Government are committed to getting them down. Last week, the Secretary of State announced further actions to do so, including measures to prevent tests being booked up and resold by bots, and bringing in the Army to bolster examiner numbers. We continue to develop and …”

“As my hon. Friend is aware, we have been working closely with operators and manufacturers as part of our bus manufacturing expert panel. We will publish that pipeline of orders in the near future.”

“It is my pleasure to wish my hon. Friend a very merry Christmas. I am pleased to hear about that. We have confirmed £1 billion of funding for buses to support and improve services in 2025-26 and to keep fares affordable.”

“The DVSA has introduced measures to deliver 10,000 additional tests a month by recruiting 450 new driving examiners to increase capacity, introducing incentives for everyone delivering driving tests, encouraging qualified DVSA staff to return to frontline roles, doubling the number of trainers and extending the cancell…”

“The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency conducted a record 1.96 million tests in 2024-25, and delivered nearly 42,000 extra tests between June and September 2025 compared with the same period in 2024. Waiting times remain too long, however, which is why last week the Secretary of State announced measures to prevent tes…”

“Home-to-school transport is the responsibility of the Department for Education. However, we know how important affordable and reliable bus travel is, and we are committed to working with local authorities and bus operators to improve bus services for those passengers. We have already extended the £3 bus fare cap until …”

“Under the Bus Services Act, we are giving local leaders the powers that they need to take back control of their bus services, and to ensure that services truly reflect the needs of their community. We are working closely with local authorities to look at more integrated ticketing, and the hon. Lady will hear more about…”

“It is vital that local bus services work for local communities, and that is at the heart of the Government’s bus reforms. I encourage the local operators to consider the feedback that my hon. Friend has mentioned, recognising the role that bus services play in supporting people to meet their families and friends and ma…”

“We are taking ambitious steps to improve local bus services, including in York and North Yorkshire. These have included the allocation of £12.6 million of funding in 2025-26 through the local authority bus grant. I was pleased that my hon. Friend could join me, alongside the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, to discus…”

“That is why we brought forward the Bus Services Act 2025, which gives local leaders the tools that they need to shape bus services around needs in their community.”