Written questions by Mayhew.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the National Audit Office’s report entitled Investigation into car driving test waiting areas, published on 17 December 2025; and how many examiners the DVSA is on target to recruit.

Following the publication of the NAO report and the appointment of a new Chief Executive, DVSA is accelerating its efforts to increase the supply of tests in order to reduce waiting times. DVSA is driving a strengthened and faster recruitment pipeline and working to expand its training sites and reduce training timelines to get new DEs conducting tests almost 30% more quickly.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of limiting learners and Driver Trainers to two practical car driving test changes from 31 March 2026 on failure-to-attend rates and unused test slots.

The Secretary of State for Transport announced on 12 November 2025 significant changes to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) driving test booking system following a public consultation. These changes are being introduced incrementally during the Spring. DVSA announced on 3 February that the first change, which will limit the number of times a test can be moved or swapped, will be introduced on 31 March. A leaner who wishes to make further changes, can cancel their booking and receive a full refund and book a new test. Further changes will be brought in later in the Spring. This will include allowing only the learner driver to book a test, at which point approved driving instructors and businesses will no longer have access to the booking system. These changes are designed to prevent learner drivers being exploited by people who book up tests and sell them at inflated prices. An Options Assessment of the proposed measures has been carried out and reviewed by the Better Regulation Unit. This options assessment will be published once the statutory instrument amending the legislation has been laid before Parliament.

If she will amend statutory taxi and private hire vehicle licensing guidance to ensure that licensing authorities require taxi and private hire vehicle drivers to undertake safeguarding training and demonstrate safeguarding knowledge as a condition of licensing.

The Department’s existing statutory guidance recommends that licensing authorities should require taxi and private hire vehicle drivers to undertake safeguarding training. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, currently being considered by the House of Lords, seeks to provide a power for the Secretary of State to set in regulations requirements that must be met for any taxi or private hire vehicle licence to be issued and held.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2026 to Question 109216, what estimate she has made of the annual amount of UK Emissions Trading Scheme revenue generated from domestic maritime emissions allocated to maritime decarbonisation projects by programme.

Domestic maritime emissions will be subject to the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) from July this year. The OBR’s November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook states that the UK ETS overall raised £3.4bn in 2024-25. Revenues from the scheme are not hypothecated but accrue to the consolidated fund, and support spending on government priorities, which includes maritime decarbonisation.

What discussions her Department has had with the Department of Health and Social Care on promoting regular sight tests for drivers as part of the Government’s road safety strategy.

Both Department for Transport and Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency officials have worked with officials from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) while developing the proposed changes to eyesight testing for older drivers, and we will continue to engage with the DHSC as our policies develop further. The Department for Transport fully supports the NHS’s recommendation that adults should have their eyes tested every two years. All drivers, regardless of age, have a legal responsibility to inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) if they develop a medical condition that may affect their ability to drive. On 7 January 2026 we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. Alongside the strategy, we launched five consultations including a consultation on introducing mandatory eyesight testing for older drivers. Once the consultation has concluded, we will publish our response in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2026 to Question 108013, whether the Department has identified any financial year in which the cumulative efficiency savings attributed to Network Rail are expected to exceed the cumulative costs of the major technology investments cited in support of those efficiencies.

Network Rail's overall Control Period 7 (running from April 2024 to March 2029) efficiency target is £3.9 billion, which it remains on track to achieve. This will significantly exceed the cumulative cost in Control Period 7 of the major technology investments previously cited (Digital Signalling, Electrical Safety and Delivery, and Project Reach).

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2026 to Question 109207, whether she plans to publish a breakdown of UK Emissions Trading Scheme receipts derived from maritime emissions alongside Government expenditure supporting maritime decarbonisation.

Receipts from the UK ETS derive from the sale of UK ETS allowances at fortnightly auctions at the prevailing market price. The OBR have estimated 2024-25 receipts to be £3.4bn. ETS operators can buy and sell allowances – including free allocation - on the secondary market at any time. As such it is not possible to break down ETS receipts by sector.

Whether the information safeguards referred to on page 88 of her Department's publication entitled A Railway Fit for Britain’s Future: Government Response, published 5 November 2025, will be defined within the rail retail Code of Practice, the Great British Railways licence, or other statutory or regulatory instruments.

The code of practice will set out measures to ensure fairness and manage any concerns of GBR preferencing its own retail arm. We expect the code will ensure that the retail industry management functions managed by GBR will have reporting lines that are separate and distinct from its operational and commercial arm – with appropriate information safeguards also put in place. The full detail of the code will be produced in consultation with industry, via a process led by the Office of Rail and Road.

How many and what proportion of rail journeys used fully digital tickets in January 2026.

The approximate proportion of tickets fulfilled as Digital Tickets for January 2026 are: January 2026Digital87%105mNon Digital13%15m

What estimate her Department has made of the number of collisions and near misses in the last five years involved drivers with vision below the legal standard.

Data on road injury collisions in Great Britain is reported to the Department by police forces using a data collection system known as STATS19.STATS19 does not record near misses or identify whether drivers involved in collisions have vision below the legal standard. Police officers attending collisions can assign a range of factors that in their judgement may have contributed to the collision occurring, including ‘Driver or rider had uncorrected or defective eyesight’. The latest figures are published as part of the Department’s road casualty statistics available from the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/reported-road-accidents-vehicles-and-casualties-tables-for-great-britain#factors-contributing-to-collisions-and-casualties-ras07.

What forms of corrective action the Office of Rail and Road will be able to require where it finds non-compliance with the rail retail Code of Practice, including whether it will be able to impose directions, behavioural remedies, or operational changes on Great British Railways.

The retail industry code of practice announced in the Government's response to the Railways Bill consultation will incorporate clear requirements for how Great British Railways (GBR) should interact with all market participants. The code of practice will be owned and managed by the Office of Rail and Road. GBR’s licence will require it to comply, with the Office of Rail and Road able to demand corrective action if it considers that GBR has not done so.

Whether her Department plans to include reminders about sight testing in driving licence renewal notices.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) already include clear messaging on the required eyesight standards for driving and the importance of regular eyesight tests on reminders, application forms, information leaflets and online guidance provided as part of the driving licence renewal process. The published guidance also sets out the legal requirement to be able to read a number plate at 20 metres, to meet the minimum visual acuity and visual field standards for driving and the requirement to notify the DVLA of any relevant eye conditions.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2026 to Question 108013, if she will list those technology investments and provide the Benefit-Cost Ratio for each of those investments.

I have asked Network Rail to write to you on this matter.

What steps he plans to take to prevent the UK ETS from operating as a pay-to-pollute scheme for maritime operators unable to access decarbonisation infrastructure.

The Emissions Trading Scheme is a cap-and-trade system with a declining cap that ensures emissions from the traded sector, including the domestic maritime sector, fall in line with the United Kingdom’s statutory net zero commitments. The scheme limits total emissions and enables reductions to occur where they are most cost effective, without prescribing specific technologies in any sector.For maritime operators, the scheme provides a clear price signal that supports investment in cleaner vessels, operational efficiency and emerging low carbon fuels. The Government will continue to work with industry to support the development of infrastructure and technologies needed to facilitate decarbonisation.

Whether revenues generated by the inclusion of domestic maritime within the UK Emissions Trading Scheme will be ringfenced for maritime decarbonisation.

The government is committed to maintaining an ambitious carbon pricing scheme to ensure that polluters continue to pay for their emissions. The UK Emissions Trading Scheme is our key lever to do so. This supports a cost-efficient transition toward net zero. In July 2025, the UK Emissions Trading Scheme Authority confirmed an expansion to emissions from domestic maritime regime, commencing on 1 July 2026. The UK does not hypothecate revenue from the UK ETS. All receipts from the UK ETS accrue to the consolidated fund, and go to funding government priorities, which includes decarbonisation support for the maritime sector.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of ringfencing UK ETS revenues generated from maritime emissions for investment in shore power, grid upgrades, vessel retrofits and alternative fuels.

The government is committed to maintaining an ambitious carbon pricing scheme to ensure that polluters continue to pay for their emissions. The UK Emissions Trading Scheme is our key lever to do so. This supports a cost-efficient transition toward net zero. In July 2025, the UK Emissions Trading Scheme Authority confirmed an expansion to emissions from domestic maritime regime, commencing on 1 July 2026. The UK does not hypothecate revenue from the UK ETS. All receipts from the UK ETS accrue to the consolidated fund, and go to funding government priorities, which includes decarbonisation support for the maritime sector.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the UK ETS on lifeline ferry services outside Scotland, including routes serving the Isle of Wight, the Isles of Scilly and Northern Ireland.

An Impact Assessment was published alongside the main Authority Response in November 2025, which includes analysis of regional and distributional impacts. To mitigate risks of competitive impacts with routes between Great Britain and Ireland, we intend to introduce a 50% surrender deduction on voyages between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. All ferries serving the Isles of Scilly and most serving the Isle of Wight will not be in scope of the ETS under the planned rules. Potential or realised impacts on UK islands will be considered within our 2028 review and future decisions will be based on the evidence available at that time.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of Network Rail’s Liverpool Street station viability appraisal.

The viability appraisal has been submitted as part of the planning application and the determining authority will review this as part of its planning report.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential future costs to the public purse of the Liverpool Street Station redevelopment.

The proposed redevelopment of Liverpool Street station could enable substantial private investment in one of the busiest stations in the UK.

What evidence the Department has that the inclusion of emissions at berth in the UK ETS will lead to emissions reductions in the absence of widespread shore power and alternative fuel availability.

The Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy sets the strategic direction to reduce all domestic maritime emissions, which includes all emissions at berth, and therefore it is important that these emissions are brought into the scope of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The key policies of the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy, including the expansion of the UK ETS to cover maritime, alongside the investment of a further £448 million in maritime decarbonisation, will both drive investment and encourage the development of alternative fuels and shore power, increasing their availability. An analytical annex was published alongside the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy, which sets out the evidence on emissions reductions across the sector.