Every parliamentary written question tabled by Rupert Lowe this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 41–60 of 93 · Department for Transport
What information her Department holds on the number of (a) unlicensed and (b) illegal taxi drivers operating in major cities.
The Department for Transport does not hold this data, as such vehicles are not operating within a legal framework.
What information her Department holds on the number of licensed (a) taxi and (b) private hire drivers who are foreign nationals, broken down by their country of origin.
The Department for Transport does not collect that data. Licensing authorities may hold this information as part of the application processes to prevent illegal working as taxi or private hire vehicle drivers.
What information her Department holds on the number of (a) taxi and (b) private hire vehicle drivers that have (i) an overseas criminal conviction and (ii) been granted a licence in each of the last five years.
Licensing authorities may hold this information. As at 1 April 2024, all authorities in England reported that they required an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) security check for all drivers. The statutory guidance issued by the Department for Transport in 2020 to taxi and private hire vehicle licensing authorities recommends that when an individual has spent an extended period (3 or more continuous months) outside the UK, licensing authorities should seek or require applicants to provide where possible criminal records information or a certificate of good character from overseas to properly assess risk and support its decision-making process. This enables licensing authorities to make an informed decision when considering if a person is ‘fit and proper’ to hold a taxi or private hire vehicle driver licence.
What information her Department holds on the number of foreign nationals who hold (a) taxi and (b) private hire vehicle licences who have been deported due to criminal convictions in the last decade.
The Department for Transport does not hold information on the number of deportations due to criminal convictions.
If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation to ensure all (a) taxis and (c) private hire vehicles are fitted with CCTV.
In response to Baroness Casey’s report on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, the Government committed to legislate to address the important issues raised, tackling the inconsistent standards of taxi and private hire vehicle driver licensing. We will work as quickly as possible and consider all options – including national standards – seeking the best overall outcomes for passenger safety. CCTV in vehicles will naturally be explored as part of these considerations.
what information her Department holds on the number of (a) taxi and (b) private hire drivers who have had their licences revoked due to a criminal conviction in the last 10 years.
All licensing authorities in England have a duty to ensure that any person to whom they grant a taxi or private hire vehicle driver’s licence is a fit and proper person to be a licensee and that they remain so throughout the duration of the licence. Licensing authorities make decisions based on “the balance of probability”, so when determining whether a driver remains fit and proper to hold a licence, a driver should not be given the benefit of doubt. If a licensing authority is only fifty percent certain as to whether a licensee is fit and proper, they should not hold a licence. The threshold used here is lower than for a criminal conviction (that being beyond reasonable doubt). This means that driver licences may be revoked even if any safety concerns do not result in a criminal conviction. Since 27 April 2023, all licensing authorities in England have been required to use a national database to record instances where a taxi or private hire vehicle driver’s licence is refused, revoked or suspended because of safeguarding, road safety or equality concerns. The Department has published data about licensing authorities’ use of the database. Between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, 3117 revocations were recorded on the database.
What information her Department holds on the number of councils that do not require enhanced DBS checks for (a) taxi and (b) private hire vehicle drivers.
As at 1 April 2024, all authorities in England reported that they required an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) security check for taxi and private hire vehicle drivers.
How much her Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.
Over the last 12 months, the Department for Transport has spent £830,731.27 on social media advertising and £1,488,420.01 on online advertising through the THINK! Road safety campaign. This has been done to reach and influence the behaviours of our target audience of 17-24 males, who are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured on the road than drivers aged 25 and over. Campaigns have tackled priority issues such as drink driving and speeding to reduce casualties and fatalities. All budgets have been scrutinised to ensure value for money, with behaviour change communications often a cost-effective way to support policy interventions, as well as being a core part of the safe-systems approach to road safety. As part of the THINK! campaign to reduce speeding among young men, the department ran a media partnership with youth platform LadBible which involved working with two content creators as part of a wider partnership. However, we are unable to provide a cost breakdown on influencers specifically due to commercial sensitivities which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.
How much their Department has spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation for languages other than (i) British Sign Language and (ii) languages native to the UK for people contacting (A) their Department and (B) its agencies in 2025.
The Department and its agencies have spent £298,446.92 on translation and interpretation costs in 2025 (this covers the period from 1st January 2025 to 31st May 2025). The table below outlines the split of costs between the Department and each Agency. It should be noted that information is not held at the level requested.AreaTranslation and Interpretation costsDfTc£196,794.16DVSA£86,581DVLA£12,218.31MCA£2,853.45VCA£0ATE£0Total£298,446.92
What the average time was to obtain a UK driving test in each region in the most recent 12 months for which data is available; and what percentage of applicants were foreign nationals.
The table below shows the average waiting time for a car practical driving test by driving test centre regions, for the financial year 2024/25. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) does not collect any data regarding the customer's nationality when they book, or attend, their car practical driving test. RegionAverage Waiting Time In WeeksZone A (Scotland and North-East England)17.1Zone B (Wales and North-West England)17.5Zone C (Midlands and South-West England)21.6Zone D (London and South-East England)22.4National19.5
If they will make it their policy to not provide (a) translation and (b) interpretation for speakers of non-UK languages for services provided by their Department.
Language service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of population changes due to immigration on public transport (a) capacity and (b) congestion levels in urban centres.
The Department models future demand for transport based on the Common Analytical Scenarios (CAS), which are a wide range of plausible scenarios related to population, the economy, behavioural change and decarbonisation. DfT publish the National Road Traffic Projections (NRTP) which are a set of estimates of road traffic using the CAS, these include estimates of urban congestion. Rail analysis also accounts for population and demographic change when estimating future capacity impacts. The population forecasts used at the DfT are published by the Office of National Statistics and include changes in population arising from births, deaths and immigration and other demographic changes.
Whether their Department plans to amend its policies on access to (a) toilets, (b) changing facilities and (c) other single-sex spaces in (i) Departmental buildings and (ii) other buildings within their Department’s remit following the Supreme Court judgement in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025.
The Supreme Court ruling made it clear that the provision of single-sex spaces is on the basis of biological sex. Providers should note and follow the ruling. It is important that we ensure dignity and respect for all. Trans people should have access to services they need but in keeping with the ruling.The Equality & Human Rights Commission, as Britain’s Equalities watchdog, is developing updated guidance to support service providers. Ministers will consider the EHRC’s updated draft once they have submitted it following further work in light of this ruling. The Government is considering the implications of the Court’s judgment, including what this means for Government buildings.
What (a) religious and (b) cultural holidays are observed by their Department.
The UK Civil Service only formally observes the government-set bank holidays.
What information her Department holds on the number of people impacted by train delays in 2024.
The Department does not hold information on the number of people affected by train delays. Rail industry data measures train delays. The Office of Rail and Road publishes quarterly and periodic (four-weekly) statistics on punctuality, reliability and causes of delay for passenger trains operating on the mainline network in Great Britain. This data set includes the percentage of recorded station stops that were arrived at ‘On Time’ (early or less than one minute after the scheduled time). In the year ending 4 January 2025, the proportion of station stops that were arrived at ‘On Time’ was 67.1%. These statistics can be found on the passenger rail performance data portal at https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/ .
What the total number of minutes was by which trains were delayed in 2024.
The ORR publish statistics on delay minutes on their website at https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/ (Table 3184). In the year ending 4 January 2025, a total of 15,897,997 delay minutes (15.9 million) were recorded in Great Britain. For context, there were a total of 7,335,930 (7.3 million) trains planned in the calendar year January 2024 to December 2024 (Table 3123).Of these trains, 85.2% were measured as either arriving within 5 minutes at the scheduled final destination time (for London, South-East, Regional and Scotland operators) or within 10 minutes of the final scheduled destination time (for long distance operators) (Table 3113, Public Performance Measure). Ministers have been clear that rail services have been failing passengers, we need to improve services for passengers and deliver better value for money for the taxpayer.The Rail Minister is meeting with the Managing Directors of all train operators and their Network Rail counterparts, to address poor performance and demand immediate action to raise standards.
If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the powers of train conductors to tackle disruptive levels of noise on trains.
Train operating companies including their conductors can already use the Railway Byelaws to address disruptive levels of noise, and we have no plans to make changes to this currently. To ensure ease of travel and safety for everyone using the railway, the rules set out in Byelaws must be adhered to and enforcement action can be taken against those who do not comply with them.
If she will make an estimate of revenue lost to train companies from fare avoidance in 2024.
The Rail Delivery Group estimated in 2014 that, £240 million a year is lost due to fare evasion on Great Britain’s railways. The Department is working with its industry partners to provide an updated figure and recognises the importance of reducing fraud.
If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the powers of train conductors to tackle avoidable disruptive behaviour on trains.
Train Operating Companies are already able to seek additional powers for their staff, to tackle incidents such as anti-social behaviour, via the Rail Safety Accreditation Scheme operated by the British Transport Police. The Department does not have any plans to increase the powers available through the existing scheme. Information on the scheme can be found here: Railway Safety Accreditation Scheme | British Transport Police.
If she will publish the total cost to the public purse for the provision of diversity, equality and inclusion courses for staff in her Department in 2024.
The Department for Transport provides an online training course entitled “Civil Service Expectations”. The course focuses on diversity and inclusion, The Equality Act 2010, Civil Service code, and Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. This course is provided by Government Campus and is free at the point of delivery.