Written questions by Robertson.

How many potholes were filled on local roads in England in each of the last three financial years; what estimate her Department has made of the number of potholes filled in (a) 2024–25 and (b) 2025–26 to date; what baseline year is being used to measure the Government’s commitment to fix an additional one million potholes per year; and how many additional potholes have been repaired above that baseline since July 2024.

Under section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, local highway authorities are responsible for the condition of their local road networks, including repairing defects such as potholes. Data on the number of potholes repaired by each local highway authority during the last five years is published in authorities’ highways maintenance transparency reports. The record £7.3 billion funding settlement over the next four years will bring annual funding for local authorities to repair and renew their roads and fix potholes to over £2 billion annually, doubling annual funding by 2029-30 compared to 2024-25 levels. This funding increase is enough to enable local authorities to fill millions of additional potholes in each year of this Parliament when compared to 2024-25. At the same time, the Department is also expecting local highway authorities to adopt best practice in highways maintenance, which includes a greater focus on preventative maintenance so that fewer potholes form in the first place and a greater focus on permanent pothole repairs to reduce the need for repeated and more costly temporary repairs.

What the latest electric vehicle market share is as a proportion of new car registrations; and what projections her Department has made for that figure.

The zero emission vehicle share of new cars registered in 2025 was 22.9% according to DfT's faster indicators of transport activity, updated March 2026: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/developing-faster-indicators-of-transport-activity#:~:text=Cars%20and%20light%20goods%20vehicles%20registered%20for%20the%20first%20time%20by%20body%20type%20and%20fuel%20type The Government last published projections for new zero emission vehicle sales in the Cost Benefit Analysis for the Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2025. The Government regularly updates its analysis to account for changes in the market environment.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2026 to Question 116584 on Aviation: Colour Vision Deficiency, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the published evidence and legal findings relating to operational colour vision assessments in other jurisdictions.

While some national aviation authorities have begun to explore operational colour vision assessments, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is not aware of any peer‑reviewed evidence demonstrating their validation or safety equivalence to established testing methods. The UK CAA does liaise with other regulators that have implemented operational colour vision assessments. This includes discussions on their experience with these assessments, which will be taken into consideration to inform future UK CAA policy.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2026 to Question 116791, which organisations representing disabled people were engaged in relation to the guidance entitled Floating Bus Stops: Provision and Design; on what dates that engagement began and concluded; and what form that engagement took.

Three workshops were held on the floating bus stop guidance, one in-person (17 November 2025) and two online (18 and 24 November 2025). All three workshops were facilitated by Transport for All and attended by officials from the Department and ATE. They consisted of facilitated discussions about the draft guidance. The groups attending and representing the interests of disabled people were Guide Dogs, Mencap, Motability Foundation, Transport for All and Wheels for Wellbeing. Age UK represented issues affecting older people, including mobility and accessibility. Seventeen disabled people with lived experience attended, representing eight different impairment types and using 12 types of mobility aids. Other groups represented included the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cycling and Walking, Bikeability Trust, Campaign for Better Transport, Confederation of Passenger Transport, Cycling UK, Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, Policy Connect, and Walk Wheel Cycle Trust. Officials from the department held meetings online to discuss the guidance with representatives from the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) on 9 June 2025 and 19 January 2026, with Guide Dogs on 17 October 2025, and with Living Streets on 22 October 2025. All of the above organisations and the Royal National Institute of Blind People, were asked to comment on the draft guidance, circulated via email, from 26 November to 2 December 2025. The department and ATE also sought feedback from the Urban Transport Group, Transport for London, and ATE’s Technical Oversight and Advisory Group. A full list of those involved in the consultation process is included in the guidance: www.gov.uk/government/publications/floating-bus-stops-provision-and-design/floating-bus-stops-provision-and-design#consultation-requirements.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the number of train driver training places.

It is the responsibility of operators to determine their own workforce requirements, including the number of train drivers they need to recruit and train.  However, we recognise that the rail industry faces an acute shortage of train drivers and that a system-wide approach is needed to address this.  We therefore look to the Department for Transport Operator (DfTO) and, ultimately, Great British Railways, to provide industry leadership and coordination in this area. In the interim, the Department has asked train operators to develop comprehensive plans to address train driver availability and resilience in the short and medium term.  The Department is also taking legislative steps to make it easier to recruit and train drivers, including reducing the legal minimum age to become a train driver from 20 to 18, which is scheduled to come into force on 30 June 2026, subject to Parliamentary approval.

What international case studies her Department has examined to establish best practice for the enhancement of key data and insight capabilities on the freight and logistics system.

The Department recognises the value of international comparisons when developing freight and logistics analytical projects. Recent examples include:Australia’s National Freight Data Hub, which provides a central platform for sharing freight data to improve supply‑chain visibility.The United States’ Bureau of Transportation Statistics national commodity flow survey to understand performance monitoring.Republic of Korea’s Transport Database to understand integration of multimodal transport data to support long‑term planning. The Department will continue to monitor international best practice as we strengthen the evidence base for the freight and logistics system.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2026 to Question 115449, in which month in Q2 2026 the Department expects to publish the findings of the Call for Evidence on Restricting the generation of surplus funds from traffic contraventions.

It remains the Department’s plan to publish the findings of the Call for Evidence: 'Restricting the generation of surplus funds from traffic contraventions' in March. This was commissioned by the previous Government as part of its Plan for Drivers.

What the staff costs are of each nationalised train operator company under the control of DfT Operator Limited.

Official statistics on train operator costs are published on the Office of Rail and Road portal. Rail industry finance (UK) | ORR Data Portal Rail industry finance (UK) – April 2024 to March 2025 Table 7223 – Franchised Passenger Train Operator Finances by Franchise(latest year) | ORR Data Portal

When she expects the DVLA Fee Strategy to be published.

While the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency keep its fees under constant review, there are currently no plans to publish a fees strategy.

What steps her Department is taking in 2025-26 to reduce the fee deficit of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

The MCA undertakes services, such as vessel surveys, seafarer certification and the registration of seamen and shipping for which it charges fees. These activities are pivotal to maritime safety, helping to prevent loss of life and pollution incidents at sea. For the year (2024/25), the Agency incurred costs of £14.1m and received income of £11.0m based on the charges for these services as set in the Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2018, resulting in a deficit of £3.1m. A public consultation on the replacement for the Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2018 will be held in 2026. Following the public consultation, the Agency will aim to implement these regulations in a timely manner to ensure it can recover costs incurred in delivering its statutory services.

Whether Rule H1 was developed as part of the Government’s active travel or modal shift objectives; and what steps she took to consult motorcyclist and motorist organisations during drafting.

The previous Government updated the Highway Code in 2022 to improve road safety for people walking, cycling and riding horses including the introduction of a hierarchy of road users. This review of the Highway Code was announced as part of the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy Safety Review in September 2017. When undertaking the review of The Highway Code the Department for Transport worked closely with representative organisations to seek their views and experiences, including motoring groups. The consultation on the proposed changes ran for 3 months and generated a huge response with nearly 21,000 replies received from a wide range of road users.

Whether the Government will establish a national database of licensed taxi and private hire vehicle drivers accessible to licensing authorities.

Since 2023 all licensing authorities have been required to use a national licensing database to facilitate the sharing of information when a taxi or private hire vehicle driver has had a licence refused, suspended or revoked on the grounds of safeguarding, road safety or equality discrimination concerns. The Department for Transport is considering options to reform the regulation of the sector, and as part of this intends to have a national licensing database with the details of every driver, vehicle and private hire vehicle operator licence.

Whether her Department plans to introduce a single national definition of a fit and proper person for taxi and private hire vehicle driver licensing.

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.

What discussions her Department has had with (a) the Royal National Institute of Blind People, (b) Guide Dogs, and (c) the National Federation of the Blind of the UK on the accessibility of floating bus stop designs.

The Department engages with a wide range of stakeholders in developing policy on street design. My officials and I have met with a range of groups in developing policy on floating bus stops including the Royal National Institute of Blind People, Guide Dogs and the National Federation of the Blind UK.

Whether local highway authorities are eligible for central government funding for bus stop schemes that do not incorporate floating bus stop designs.

The Department is providing all local transport authorities (LTAs) with multi-year consolidated funding settlements, delivering our commitment in the English Devolution White Paper to simplify funding. These consolidated local transport settlements will give LTAs greater freedom and flexibility to make the investment decisions that best impact their local areas. LTAs can therefore use this funding to introduce or upgrade bus stops in their areas if they wish to do so.On 20 November 2025 the Department wrote to local authorities requesting they put on hold certain designs of floating bus stop which require people to board or alight directly from or into a cycle track. This applies to new schemes at the design stage. Local authorities must have regard to the statutory guidance on floating bus stop provision and design published on 26 January and available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/floating-bus-stops-provision-and-design/floating-bus-stops-provision-and-design.

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2026 to Question 113159, whether the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency holds contact details for individuals who have previously failed the Approved Driving Instructor Part 3 test; and whether it has assessed the potential merits of using that cohort as a potential recruitment pool for driving examiner vacancies.

As with any customer who uses the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) services, their data will be retained on record for a period of time. There are, however, Data Protection rules regulating how this data can be used. As stated in the answer to Question 113159, DVSA seeks to attract applications from as wide a pool as possible, and not just from those who may have a driving instructor background. DVSA are aware, however, that driving examiner (DE) vacancies likely attract a significant proportion of approved driving instructors (ADI) via our regular advertising. All DE vacancies are publicly advertised on Civil Service Jobs on GOV.UK. DVSA also uses online jobsites and places posters in driving test centres to publicise roles. DVSA uses the Government Recruitment Service hosted applicant tracking system, through a contract with the Department for Transport. DVSA cannot get details of applicant referral sources from this service. DVSA can collect click-through rates for some areas, such as some forms of advertising.

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2026 to Question 113161, whether (a) her Department and (b) the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency collects data on traffic, click-through rates and referral sources for driving examiner applications.

As with any customer who uses the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) services, their data will be retained on record for a period of time. There are, however, Data Protection rules regulating how this data can be used. As stated in the answer to Question 113159, DVSA seeks to attract applications from as wide a pool as possible, and not just from those who may have a driving instructor background. DVSA are aware, however, that driving examiner (DE) vacancies likely attract a significant proportion of approved driving instructors (ADI) via our regular advertising. All DE vacancies are publicly advertised on Civil Service Jobs on GOV.UK. DVSA also uses online jobsites and places posters in driving test centres to publicise roles. DVSA uses the Government Recruitment Service hosted applicant tracking system, through a contract with the Department for Transport. DVSA cannot get details of applicant referral sources from this service. DVSA can collect click-through rates for some areas, such as some forms of advertising.

Whether her Department has made recommendations to UK airports on increasing modal shift away from private car use.

My Department has introduced a range of measures to encourage and support UK airports in moving passengers and staff away from private car use. All major UK Airports have been required to have a Surface Access Strategy since 2000, with clear modal‑shift and sustainable transport objectives. Specific targets for airports to reduce private car modal share typically come from planning obligations linked to expansion proposals. In addition, my Department continues to invest in public transport networks to provide passengers with credible and convenient alternatives to car travel.

If she will review the evidential basis for the Colour Assessment Diagnosis test.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) keeps the evidential basis for colour vision testing under regular review. The Colour Assessment and Diagnosis (CAD) test, developed with City University London, is currently the only advanced colour vision test accepted by the CAA because independent analysis has shown that it, along with anomaloscopes when used correctly, provides 100% sensitivity and specificity. The CAD test is also used by other aviation authorities including the United States’ Federal Aviation Authority, Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand. We recognise the importance of this issue for the pilot community and will continue to monitor emerging evidence and international practice carefully. International bodies, including the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), are also actively examining developments in this area. EASA has commissioned a major research programme on colour vision in aviation, expected to conclude in 2026, which may inform future policy. The Government’s priority remains maintaining the high level of aviation safety expected in the UK.

Whether (a) ministers, (b) advisors, and (c) officials in her Department have held conversations with Clean Cities Campaign since 4 July 2024.

The Department has engaged with Clean Cities Campaign as part of routine stakeholder engagement.