Motorway Speed Cameras

Lord Burnett of Maldon Excerpts

Wednesday 21st January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

I think the date was October, not September, but we can confirm that. The purpose of the review, which is a serious activity, is to make sure that this does not happen again. In the process, we will discover how long it took to identify, whether that should have been done faster, how it has been handled and what changes are needed to avoid such a thing happening again. The noble Lord is right: we should have confidence in government agencies, and it is important in these matters that people follow the signage and have confidence in the enforcement that goes with it.

[Lord Burnett of Maldon (CB)]

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham, has identified some of the financial costs that might flow from being wrongly picked up for speeding, and it is good to hear that the Government are working on a plan to compensate people. In this context, points do not mean prizes. They mean increased insurance premiums, and it can be extremely difficult for any of us to understand precisely why an insurance premium has increased from one year to another. Will the Government be sympathetic to those who are unable to produce precise figures because their insurers will not give them to them?

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

I understand the point that the noble and learned Lord is making. The Government have to be a good custodian of public money and therefore should understand whether there is a loss and what it is, but if I were a claimant I would think the evidence of one year’s premium against another, if it related solely to points and not to any other form of driving, was admissible.