Sarah Coombes MP: written questions
4 Jul 2024–3 Jul 2025
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Our reporting years run from 4 July to 3 July, starting with the 2024 general election. They are not official parliamentary sessions. Office costs keep IPSA’s April–March financial years. Records may cover only part of a year; a missing record does not mean no work was done.
Read what this MP said, asked and contributed in Parliament.
14 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Taxis: Vehicle Number PlatesDepartment for TransportTabled 22 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46954More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of (a) taxi and (b) private hire vehicles that use number plates that do not conform with regulations.
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of illegal number plates as well as number plates with raised characters, commonly k...
Answered 25 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordTaxis: LicensingDepartment for TransportTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43206More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of updating the guidance entitled Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing best practice guidance for licensing authorities in England, published on 17 Nove
Answer: It is an offence for any vehicle to display a vehicle registration number plate that does not comply with the relevant regulations. Work is ongoing to quantify the number of illegal plates that may be in circulation on our roads, which will include taxis ...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordRoads: SafetyDepartment for TransportTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43163More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timeframe is for publishing a road safety strategy.
Answer: This Government treats road safety with the utmost seriousness, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. My Department is developing the first road safety strategy in over a decade, and will set out more detai...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordVehicle Number Plates: RegulationDepartment for TransportTabled 27 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42030More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to tackle the use of ghost number plates on public highways.
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs Council, various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of modified number plates, including those commonly known as ‘ghost plates’. T...
Answered 2 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordVehicle Number Plates: RegulationDepartment for TransportTabled 27 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42029More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of regulations governing the use of ghost number plates..
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs Council, various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of modified number plates, including those commonly known as ‘ghost plates’. T...
Answered 2 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordVehicle Number Plates: Automatic Number Plate RecognitionDepartment for TransportTabled 24 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 40679More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the number of ghost plates in circulation.
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of illegal number plates as well as number plates with raised characters, commonly k...
Answered 27 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordTaxis: Vehicle Number PlatesDepartment for TransportTabled 24 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 40678More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with taxi licensing authorities on enforcement on illegal stealth number plates.
Answer: We are aware of the issue of ghost plates being used on vehicles, including taxis and private hire vehicles. We would expect licensing authorities to work with the police to address this.
Answered 27 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordVehicle Number PlatesDepartment for TransportTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39170More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with the DVLA on 4D number plates.
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of illegal number plates as well as number plates with raised characte...
Answered 24 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordVehicle Number Plates: SalesDepartment for TransportTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39169More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation to prevent the sale of novelty number plates.
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of illegal number plates as well as number plates with raised characte...
Answered 24 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordVehicle Number PlatesDepartment for TransportTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39168More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the DVLA's Registered Number Plate Suppliers in preventing vehicle crime.
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of illegal number plates as well as number plates with raised characte...
Answered 24 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordVehicle Number Plates: Automatic Number Plate RecognitionDepartment for TransportTabled 17 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 38715More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the DVLA on tackling the use of modified number plates designed to evade detection by automatic number plate recognition cameras, also known ghost plates.
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of modified number plates, commonly known as ‘ghost plates’. One elemen...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordVehicle Number Plates: Automatic Number Plate RecognitionDepartment for TransportTabled 17 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 38711More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on tackling the use of modified number plates designed to evade detection by automatic number plate recognition cameras, also known as ghost plates.
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of modified number plates, commonly known as ‘ghost plates’. One elemen...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordDangerous Driving: West MidlandsDepartment for TransportTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20316More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many deaths were caused by illegal street racing incidents in the West Midlands in the last ten years.
Answer: Statistics and data on road injury collisions and casualties reported to and recorded by police are collected via the data collection system known as STATS19. While STATS19 collects information on the collision circumstances, vehicles involved and contrib...
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordMotor Insurance: Ethnic GroupsDepartment for TransportTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20311More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the extra cost of car insurance premiums faced by drivers from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Answer: We are committed to tackling the increased costs of motor insurance to deliver on our manifesto commitment, including how this impacts different demographics, geographies, and communities. The cross-government Motor Insurance Taskforce, including the stak...
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
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4 Jul 2024–3 Jul 2025. One record per UIN and tabled date; the named department is not a measure of answer quality.
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