Written questions by Holden.

Whether the Government has considered advertising driving examiner vacancies on the GOV.UK page “Apply to become a driving instructor”.

Since 4 July 2024, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has run seven driving examiner recruitment campaigns. The table below shows in which months these were live and the number of vacancies advertised. MonthDriving examiner vacancies advertisedSeptember 2024244March 2025189July 2025147Two adverts in September 2025322Two adverts in December 2025260 All DVSA driving examiner roles are civilian posts and are open to applications from people seeking full-time, or part-time, employment. DVSA does not recruit Defence Driving Examiner posts as these are employed by the Ministry of Defence.DVSA seeks to attract applications from as wide a pool as possible, and not just from those who may have a driving instructor background. For this reason, DVSA has not chosen to target people who may previously have been unsuccessful in alternate roles in the industry.DVSA has a recruitment page on the GOV.UK website that provides information on how to become a driving examiner. The agency uses Government Recruitment Services, Civil Service Jobs and external recruitment organisations to support it in reaching as many interested parties as possible.

How many job advertisements for driving test examiners were listed on the Civil Service Jobs Search gov.uk website in each month since 4 July 2024; and how many of those roles were (a) full-time and (b) part-time and (i) civilian or (ii) defence Driving Examiner posts.

Since 4 July 2024, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has run seven driving examiner recruitment campaigns. The table below shows in which months these were live and the number of vacancies advertised. MonthDriving examiner vacancies advertisedSeptember 2024244March 2025189July 2025147Two adverts in September 2025322Two adverts in December 2025260 All DVSA driving examiner roles are civilian posts and are open to applications from people seeking full-time, or part-time, employment. DVSA does not recruit Defence Driving Examiner posts as these are employed by the Ministry of Defence.DVSA seeks to attract applications from as wide a pool as possible, and not just from those who may have a driving instructor background. For this reason, DVSA has not chosen to target people who may previously have been unsuccessful in alternate roles in the industry.DVSA has a recruitment page on the GOV.UK website that provides information on how to become a driving examiner. The agency uses Government Recruitment Services, Civil Service Jobs and external recruitment organisations to support it in reaching as many interested parties as possible.

What estimate the RAF has made of the cost of the incremental move to being 22% sustainable aviation fuel by 2040 in each year individual year for which figures are available.

The RAF is able to provide an estimated cost of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Power to Liquid (PtL) fuel in accordance with the SAF mandate for each year up to 2040; however, these figures are subject to fluctuation. Costs are currently based on the trading of SAF certificates which are, at market average, £3.30 per litre for conventional SAF and estimated at approximately £4.00 per litre for PtL when the PtL Obligation is introduced in 2028. The below figures are based on an annual fuel consumption of 250 million litres per annum. This does not include operational flying activity which is dependent on operational tempo and external factors that are difficult to accurately predict. The estimated market cost sits below the buyout ceiling, which is the per-litre penalty cost at which non-compliance with the mandate is charged. Therefore, column F is indicative of the overall cost of fuel purchase under the SAF mandate inclusive of penalty costs were the RAF unable to meet the mandate targets. Department for Transport analysis predicts that by 2040, the domestic SAF position will have matured and there is potential for SAF to be purchased at £1.20 per litre. Should this be the case, the figures in the above table would be greatly reduced. ABCDEFYearTotal Oblig. (%)PtL Sub-target (%)Main SAF Target (%)Est. Market Cost (£) Buy-out Ceiling (£)20252.00%-2.00%£16,500,000£23,500,00020263.60%-3.60%£29,700,000£42,300,00020275.20%-5.20%£42,900,000£61,100,00020286.80%0.20%6.60%£56,450,000£80,050,00020298.40%0.20%8.20%£69,650,000£98,850,000203010.00%0.50%9.50%£83,375,000£117,625,000203110.75%0.50%10.25%£89,562,500£126,687,500203211.75%0.75%11.00%£98,250,000£138,750,000203312.75%1.00%11.75%£106,937,500£150,812,500203413.75%1.25%12.50%£115,625,000£162,875,000203515.00%1.50%13.50%£126,375,000£177,375,000203616.40%1.90%14.50%£138,625,000£194,412,500203717.80%2.30%15.50%£150,875,000£210,875,000203819.20%2.70%16.50%£163,125,000£227,625,000203920.60%3.10%17.50%£175,375,000£244,375,000204022.00%3.50%18.50%£187,625,000£261,125,000

Whether any arm’s-length bodies sponsored by his Department incurred additional costs as a result of Net Zero or sustainability requirements applied to procurement contracts over £10,000 in 2024-25.

Arm's-length bodies sponsored by the Department have not incurred additional costs as a result of Net Zero or sustainability requirements applied to procurement contracts over £10,000 in 2024-25.

Pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2026 to Question 108797, what the estimated costs were of proposals, programmes or initiatives aimed at reducing official travel emissions in a) 2024–25 and b) 2025-26.

The Department has no programmes aimed specifically at reducing official travel emissions and therefore has incurred no costs of proposals, programmes or initiatives aimed at reducing official travel emissions.

Pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2026 to Question 108798, whether any British Business Bank programmes or business lines have been discussed, designated or promoted as relating to net zero, decarbonisation, sustainability or the green economy; and what the budgets for those programmes or business lines were in a) 2024–25, and b) 2025-26.

The only British Business Bank programme that relates specifically to the green economy is the green variant of the Growth Guarantee Scheme. This was announced on 11 February 2025 with an initial £30 million portfolio. This pilot programme is funded from the Growth Guarantee Scheme budget and does not represent additional expenditure.The Bank does not operate any standalone programmes or business lines designated or promoted as relating to net zero, decarbonisation, sustainability or the green economy. The Bank considers sustainability and decarbonisation as cross-cutting themes across its activities and there were no separate budgets allocated to such themes in either of the years mentioned.

What criteria her Department uses to assess the adequacy of private sector delivery of public electric vehicle charge points for meeting the Government's 2030 target.

The majority of public charge points will be delivered by the private sector, which has committed to investing over £6 billion in public charging infrastructure by 2030. Many chargepoints are delivered through a combination of public and private sector funding. This includes the estimated 100,000 chargepoints expected to be delivered under the Government’s £400 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Scheme, which is leveraging significant private sector investment alongside public funding.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2026 to Question 108803, when her Department expects to publish its formal response to the Office of Rail and Road’s June 2025 review into revenue protection practices.

In June 2025, the Office of Rail and Road published its independent review of revenue protection practices. The Department has accepted its five recommendations in full. We have been working with industry to address the recommendations and expect to publish a full response shortly.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2026 to Question 107776, if she will make an estimate the number of uninsured motorcycles on roads.

The Department for Transport has not made an estimate on the number of uninsured motorcycles on our roads. However, we take uninsured driving very seriously and work with motor insurance stakeholders and law enforcement to crack down on those who choose not to insure their vehicles. As part of the Government’s new Road Safety Strategy, published on 7 January 2026, the Department has launched a consultation on motoring offences, including a review of existing penalties for unlicensed driving or for driving not in accordance with a licence.

Whether the DVSA has proposed any future changes to the driving test centre estate.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has no current plans for any future changes to the driving test centre estate.

If she will list all visits undertaken outside the UK by i.) ministers ii.) officials from her Department or it's arms length bodies, since 4 July 2024; and, for each such visit, to state (a) the number of i.) ministers ii.) officials in attendance at each visit and their grade, and (b) the total cost of the visit.

Information on overseas travel by Ministers is published quarterly and can be accessed by using the following link:DfT: ministerial travel and meetings - GOV.UKInformation on expenses including for overseas travel by the DfT's senior officials is also published quarterly and can also be found using the following link:DfT: senior officials’ business expenses, hospitality and meetings - GOV.UK

Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2026 to Question 108796, where the portrait of William Shakespeare formerly displayed in the Pillared Room at 10 Downing Street is located.

The Government Art Collection (GAC) is a working collection, used across government buildings in the UK and the global estate, which means that artworks may change their display location from time to time. The GAC removed this portrait from the Pillared Drawing Room at No.10 to install a refreshed display of artworks celebrating 125 years of the Government Art Collection, planned prior to the General Election in July 2024. Locations of artworks in the collection can be found on the GAC’s website.

Whether her Department has assessed the potential impact of the Wheels to Work scheme on youth unemployment; and what steps she is taking to support that scheme.

I refer the Rt Honourable Gentleman to the answer given on 3 February 2026 to question number 108310.

When he plans to respond to the publication of the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts.

Part 1 of Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts was published on 9 July 2025, which contained a number of recommendations for structural reform of the criminal courts. On 2 December, the Deputy Prime Minister set out the reforms Government intends to pursue, alongside investment and modernisation. On 4 February 2026 Sir Brian Leveson published Part 2 of his report, where he makes 135 recommendations to improve efficiency and modernise the criminal courts. The report is thorough and I welcome his ambition to see real improvements in the system. We will urgently consider the latest recommendations, alongside Sir Brian’s remaining recommendations from Part 1, and respond to them in the coming months.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2026 to Question 110889, when the shore power trial at Portsmouth International Port began; what the outcomes have been; and whether any evaluation has been produced.

The shore power demonstrator trial at Portsmouth International Port was publicly awarded nearly £20m of R&D funding in September 2023. Portsmouth International Port began delivery of the project shortly afterwards as part of the UK SHORE Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure (ZEVI) competition.Most civil and electrical infrastructure works within the port side boundaries of Portsmouth International Port are now complete and the multi-berth shore power units are now on the berths. In November 2025, a successful dry connection test (without the provision of electricity) was completed, where one of the shore power units was plugged into Britanny Ferries’ Guillaume de Normandie vessel.Separate to the UK SHORE funded project, Portsmouth International Port accepted a connection offer from Scottish and Southern Electricity (SSE). This connection offer was for a 15 Megawatt grid upgrade to secure the grid capacity for the shore power units. The Port is awaiting final details from SSE on energisation of the grid upgrade.No specific evaluation for this project has yet been completed as the demonstration phase isn’t complete. A technical study is underway for all ZEVI projects, including Portsmouth, that will analyse the data generated throughout the multi-year demonstration period.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2026 to Question 107165, in which month the final text of the National Policy Statement for Ports is expected to be published.

I expect the final text to be laid in March 2026.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2026 to Question 108300, how many fires involving road vehicles of all types were recorded by Fire and Rescue Services in England in each of the last 15 years.

MHCLG collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) in England through the Fire & Rescue Data Platform (FaRDaP), and previously through the Incident Recording System (IRS). This includes information on primary fires, fire-related fatalities, and non-fatal casualties in road vehicles. Data covering the year ending March 2025 is published here: Fire statistics data tables - GOV.UK, see FIRE 0302 ‘Primary fires, fatalities and non-fatal casualties in road vehicles by motive and vehicle type, England’. These tables present the number of primary fires for each recorded type of road vehicle per year. Data is also available on the number of accidents involving fire and rescue authority vehicles, by fire and rescue authority, in the FIRE1402 data table. Incident level data for road vehicle fires can be found here: Fire statistics incident level datasets - GOV.UK, see ‘Road vehicle fires dataset’ for the raw data, and ‘Road vehicles fire dataset guidance’ for guidance on the dataset.

Pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2026 to Question 108800, what projects undertaken by the Competition and Markets Authority in 2024–25 related to net zero, sustainability and climate policy.

The following projects undertaken by the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) in 2024 to 2025 related to net zero, sustainability and climate policy, carried out consistently with its statutory duty and functions: Sustainability Taskforce – supporting businesses to comply with competition law when engaging in collaboration to achieve outcomes related to sustainability. An investigation into anti-competitive conduct in the advertising of recycling-related features of new cars, and in the recycling of old or written-off (or ‘end-of-life’) cars and vans. Guidance to help fashion businesses comply with consumer protection law when making environmental claims. An investigation into environmental claims made about products in the consumer goods sector. An investigation into Worcester Bosch over concerns it may have been misleading consumers in its marketing of boilers as ‘hydrogen-blend ready’. Other work has included a review and report on the impact of restrictions on the sale of single use plastics on the UK Internal Market, and 13 reports on referrals of subsidies under the UK Subsidy Control Regime.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2026 to Question 108309, in which month the upcoming national strategy for integrated transport is expected to be published.

The Department is committed to publishing the integrated national transport strategy shortly, which will set the long‑term vision for domestic transport across England.

When she plans to introduce a statutory definition of honour-based abuse; what progress she has made on introducing such a definition; and if she will publish a timetable for bringing forward necessary legislation and statutory guidance.

The VAWG Strategy, published on 18 December, set out clear action to tackle ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) including legislating to introduce multi-agency statutory guidance and an accompanying statutory definition of HBA. The Government will introduce this statutory definition as an amendment in the Crime and Policing Bill at Report Stage in the House of Lords.The Government has engaged extensively with specialist sector charities, statutory safeguarding professionals, and other government departments in the development of this definition and will do the same as we develop the statutory guidance which we will publish as soon as possible.