Written questions by Campbell.

If she will make an assessment of the number of publicly accessible electric vehicle charging points per hundred thousand people in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, and (d) Northern Ireland on 1 December 2024.

The number of publicly available electric vehicle charging devices per 100,000 population by country of the UK is published as part of the department’s quarterly electric vehicle public charging infrastructure statistics. These statistics are published quarterly so an equivalent summary as of 1 December 2024 is not available. Data as of 1 January 2025 is given in the table below: CountryCharging devices per 100,000 populationEngland111.0Wales99.9Scotland112.7Northern Ireland35.6

Whether she made an assessment of the potential impact of relocating HM Coastguard's mud rescue capability from Coleraine to Bangor on the (a) North Coast and (b) North West.

An operational assessment of the impact of relocating HM Coastguard’s mud rescue capability from Coleraine, including the impact on the (a) North Coast and (b) North-West was undertaken both at Area and Divisional level.

What services the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will have available at Post Offices between 2027 and 2029.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s current contract with Post Office Ltd expires on 31 March 2026, with an option to extend until 31 March 2027.  The DVLA is preparing to launch a procurement for a new contract for the service currently provided by Post Office. This contract which will begin when the current contract expires.  The requirements for this contract are currently being developed and the winning supplier will be determined in compliance with UK public procurement regulations.

What large transport infrastructure projects outside the South East she is considering.

Future funding for capital investment in transport will be determined as part of the spending review. This will be underpinned by a range of analysis, to ensure that the right investments are made in the right places. The Government remains committed to improving transport infrastructure across all parts of the United Kingdom, ensuring that benefits are felt at both a regional and national level. While transport is largely devolved to Northern Ireland, the Department for Transport is taking steps to improve links between Great Britain and Northern Ireland by funding Transport Scotland’s A75 feasibility study to explore options to bypass Springholm and Crocketford, supporting the Windsor Framework to streamline transport and customs processes, and through investment in green shipping corridors through the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition. The government is also subsidising flights between City of Derry Airport and London Heathrow Airport through a Public Service Obligation.

When she plans to publish the next National Road Traffic Projections.

The National Road Traffic Projections were last published in December 2022. The Department regularly reviews evidence and data on the drivers of travel demand and will publish an update in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2024 to Question 16707 on Electric Vehicles, what assessment she has made of whether there will be sufficient charging points for the number of electric vehicles that are estimated to be on the road by 2027.

As of 1 January, there are over 73,000 public charging devices installed throughout the UK. In the past year, nearly 20,000 charging devices were added, making it a record-breaking year. This progress was recognised in a report published by the National Audit Office on 13th December 2024 which outlined that chargepoint roll out in the UK is on track to meet forecast demand out to 2030. The fast pace of rollout is set to continue, with the Government’s £381m Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund alone delivering over 100,000 public chargepoints across England over the next few years.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2024 to Question 14917 on Driving Licences: Northern Ireland, when she plans to announce the other measures.

Further measures to support young and novice drivers are being considered. More information will be set out in due course.

If she will hold discussions with train operating companies on the adequacy of rail fare structures for passengers.

While it is our ambition through public ownership to deliver a more affordable railway, any long-term changes or concessions made to rail fares policy require balancing against the potential impacts on passengers, taxpayers and the railway. Through legisl...

Whether her Department plans to review the implementation of the clean maritime plan in 2025.

Maritime has a key role to play in supporting the Governments missions, from clean energy, to growth, and supporting public health through tackling air pollution. We will shortly set out our next steps for reducing shipping emissions in a forthcoming mari...

If she will make an estimate of the number of electric vehicle charging points there will be in each year from 2025 to 2030.

The 2022 EV Charging Infrastructure Strategy (UK electric vehicle infrastructure strategy - GOV.UK) set out forecasts of consumer demand for public chargepoints. These projections indicated that between 280,000 and 720,000 might be needed by 2030. As of t...

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of stopped vehicle detection technology on motorways.

We recognise the importance of technology working to support our road users and that is why the Department commissioned the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to undertake an independent review of the effectiveness of technology on smart motorways, including s...

What recent estimate her Department has made of the number of people who will own an electric vehicle in each year between 2024 and 2030.

The Department for Transport (The Department) doesn’t hold an estimate of the number of people who will own an electric vehicle in each year between 2024 and 2030. The Department does hold an estimate of the number of Battery Electric cars and vans (BEVs)...

Whether she has had discussions with the Minister for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland on the graduated driving licence pilot scheme.

No discussions have taken place with the Minister for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland on the graduated driving licence pilot scheme. Whilst we are not considering Graduated Driving Licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionat...

What steps her Department is taking to help support small regional airports to develop new routes in addition to the use of public service obligations.

Public Service Obligation (PSO) Regulations enable protection of existing domestic routes that are in danger of being lost. DfT currently joint-funds three PSO routes into London from Newquay, Dundee and Derry/Londonderry. Airports invest in their infrast...

What recent estimate she had made of when she will receive the results of the evaluation of future transport zones commissioned by her Department from the National Centre for Social Research.

The Future Transport Zones (FTZ) programme is scheduled to conclude by the end of 2025. Monitoring and evaluation work has been ongoing alongside the programme since it began in 2020. We have recently published the first two waves of evaluation at a natio...