Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 3 June (HL7863), what action has been taken by police and local authorities under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 against exhausts and silencers that have been deliberately modified or not kept in good working order.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects and publishes data on fixed penalty notices and other outcomes for motoring offences, including noise offences, as part of its annual ‘Police Powers and Procedures: Roads policing’ statistical release.

In 2023, the latest year for which published data are available, excluding offences that were subsequently cancelled, there were 1,073 noise offences recorded by the police in England and Wales. Of these, 973 resulted in a fixed penalty notice.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 3 June (HL7863), how many times the police have taken action under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 in the past year; and how many stops, fines and arrests have been made as a result of excessive vehicle noise.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects and publishes data on fixed penalty notices and other outcomes for motoring offences, including noise offences, as part of its annual ‘Police Powers and Procedures: Roads policing’ statistical release.

In 2023, the latest year for which published data are available, excluding offences that were subsequently cancelled, there were 1,073 noise offences recorded by the police in England and Wales. Of these, 973 resulted in a fixed penalty notice.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 3 June (HL7863), what plans they have to introduce legislation to counter environmental noise nuisance and support local enforcement.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Statutory Nuisance Regime under Section 79 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA) is designed to provide protection from nuisances including noise, odour, smoke, fumes, artificial light, infestations and accumulations.

Local authorities are responsible for investigating nuisance problems brought to their attention under the EPA. If they agree that a statutory nuisance is happening, has happened or will happen in the future, councils must serve an abatement notice (usually on the person responsible). This could result in an unlimited fine if the recipient does not follow the rules of the abatement notice. It could also result in prosecution and an additional fine if found guilty in a Magistrates Court.

Local Authority Environmental Health Officers are qualified to make decisions on what can be considered a statutory nuisance within the local context and issue an abatement notice immediately. At this present time, there are no plans to change the regime.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 16 June (HL8161), what precautions they are overseeing or initiating in seeking to minimise future disruption at UK airports.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The resilience of the UK aviation sector is important, and key to its success. It is the responsibility of the industry to manage demand, recruit, and roster staff. The aviation sector has increased resilience, with ground handlers, airlines, airports and air traffic control providers all undertaking significant recruitment campaigns, whilst investing in new infrastructure, equipment and technology.

The Aviation Minister regularly writes to industry to seek assurances from the aviation sector that they have sufficient resilience plans to manage operations effectively over peak periods, and the department continues to work closely with the sector to understand any potential risks and mitigating actions.

Found: it would not be appropriate to include them within scope of this Bill, my colleague, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill