Sarah Coombes MP: written questions
48 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 recordIron and Steel: Carbon EmissionsDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46036More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the support available for UK-based downstream steel companies that are seeking to decarbonise their industrial processes.
Answer: We are developing a suite of policies to enable industry, including UK-based downstream steel companies, to deliver savings through fuel switching from fossil fuels to low carbon alternatives. As we do so, we are closely engaging with industry, both with ...
Answered 24 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 recordAutomatic Number Plate RecognitionHome OfficeTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43130More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding her Department has provided for improving Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems in the last three years.
Answer: A total of £85.45 million has been provided for maintaining and improving national Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems in the last three years.ANPR technology is used for law enforcement purposes, to help detect, deter and disrupt criminality at a ...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPolice: Automatic Number Plate RecognitionHome OfficeTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43129More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of recent trends in levels of police (a) time and (b) resources used to investigate Automatic Number Plate Recognition camer
Answer: A total of £85.45 million has been provided for maintaining and improving national Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems in the last three years.ANPR technology is used for law enforcement purposes, to help detect, deter and disrupt criminality at a ...
Answered 14 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordVehicle Number Plates: FraudDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43128More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking with National Trading Standards to tackle the sale of ghost number plates.
Answer: National Trading Standards (NTS) are working with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), local authorities and the police to address the supply and use of modified number plates. The evidence gather...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordTeachers: SandwellDepartment for EducationTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43095More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to ensure that all schools in Sandwell are listing teaching jobs with a (a) main and (b) upper pay scale.
Answer: For maintained schools, the school teachers’ pay and conditions document (STPCD) sets out which pay range would be appropriate for any teaching role advertised in England, including Sandwell, and includes the main and upper pay ranges. The document is ava...
Answered 9 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: FraudHome OfficeTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39167More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of vehicle number plate cloning offences in the last five years.
Answer: The Home Office does not hold information on the number of vehicle number plate cloning offences recorded by the police in England and Wales as this is included within the offence sub-code of ‘Fraud and forgery associated with registration and licensing d...
Answered 24 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordAutomatic Number Plate RecognitionHome OfficeTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39166More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition camera system.
Answer: ANPR is a valuable tool to help the police tackle crime and keep the road safe.We keep the effectiveness of police and law enforcement use of ANPR under regular review, to ensure it remains a robust tool for identifying vehicles of interest to the police ...
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 RecognitionHome OfficeTabled 17 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 38714More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what number and proportion of vehicle number plates were unreadable by automatic number plate recognition cameras in each of the last three years.
Answer: Data on the readability of ANPR reads is not collected or published.
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordVehicle Number Plates: RegistrationHome OfficeTabled 17 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 38713More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fixed penalty notices were issued for vehicle registration offences in each of the last three years.
Answer: The Home Office collects and publishes data on fixed penalty notices and other outcomes for motoring offences as part of its annual ‘Police Powers and Procedures: Roads policing’ statistical release. The latest data is available here Police powers and pro...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordVehicle Number Plates: FraudHome OfficeTabled 17 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 38712More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the use of modified number plates designed to evade detection by automatic number plate recognition cameras on levels of crime.
Answer: The cloning and defacing of number plates is illegal. We are working with the police, the DVLA and other partners to crack down on these crimes.We have begun work on a new Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade, which aims to reduce road deaths ...
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 recordBroadbandDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23950More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what progress his Department has made on the roll-out of gigabit broadband (a) nationally and (b) in West Bromwich constituency.
Answer: Earlier this month, we announced the signature of four Project Gigabit contracts with Openreach to roll out gigabit-capable broadband to over 130,000 premises in rural and hard-to-reach areas.This announcement marks another significant step towards achiev...
Answered 22 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordResident DoctorsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23949More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of resident doctor training positions.
Answer: We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure that patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. We will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the National Health Servi...
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordUK Shared Prosperity Fund: WalsallMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 17 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20816More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of funding provided by her Department to Steps to Work in Walsall through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Answer: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is committed to evaluating the impacts and effectiveness of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The UKSPF evaluation strategy sets out the approach to evaluation. The department has committed to publish...
Answered 6 Jan 2025
Original Parliament record
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