Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given, if any, to the approach of France to highways maintenance and waste clearance by comparison with the UK; what lessons they have drawn from any such consideration; and what plans they have, if any, to apply any such lessons in future policy on highways maintenance and waste clearance.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
On highway maintenance, the Department has committed National Highways to a set of performance targets on how it delivers a well maintained and resilient Strategic Road Network, which is made up of motorways and principal A-roads in England.
On the local road network, local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, as amended, to maintain the highways network in their area. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as it is for each individual local highway authority to assess which parts of its network are in need of repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances.
On waste clearance, Government’s Litter Strategy for England sets out a range of measures to reduce littering within a generation and sits alongside National Highways’ Litter Strategy which is informed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Code of practise on litter and refuse. It commits the organisation to improve the delivery and responsiveness of waste clearance activity as well as partnership working.
Street cleaning and litter picking on the local road network is covered by revenue funding provided by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to relevant Local Authorities.
The Government is aware of the importance of having high standards of maintenance and clearance of our highways can have on those travelling on our roads.
The Government also gains insight of road users' views via the Strategic Roads User Survey and has set a set of performance metrics that National Highways is committed to, to track its performance in maintaining and clearing the Strategic Road Network.
The Government has not given any specific consideration to France’s approach to highways maintenance and waste clearance by comparison with the UK.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the number of electric car charging points in each local authority, and (2) any geographical differences in levels of installation.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The number of public electric vehicle charging devices available at 1 October 2021 in each local authority of the UK, was as follows
Local Authority / Region | Total devices | per 100,000 population |
UNITED KINGDOM | 25,927 | 38.7 |
GREAT BRITAIN | 25,595 | 39.3 |
ENGLAND | 21,925 | 38.8 |
NORTH EAST | 916 | 34.2 |
County Durham | 124 | 23.3 |
Darlington | 31 | 28.9 |
Hartlepool | 11 | 11.7 |
Middlesbrough | 30 | 21.2 |
Northumberland | 186 | 57.4 |
Redcar and Cleveland | 34 | 24.8 |
Stockton-on-Tees | 85 | 43.1 |
Tyne and Wear (Met County) | 415 | 36.2 |
Gateshead | 66 | 32.7 |
Newcastle upon Tyne | 124 | 40.4 |
North Tyneside | 47 | 22.5 |
South Tyneside | 30 | 19.9 |
Sunderland | 148 | 53.3 |
NORTH WEST | 1,725 | 23.4 |
Blackburn with Darwen | 31 | 20.7 |
Blackpool | 24 | 17.3 |
Cheshire East | 112 | 29.0 |
Cheshire West and Chester | 99 | 28.8 |
Halton | 17 | 13.1 |
Warrington | 89 | 42.5 |
Cumbria | 237 | 47.4 |
Allerdale | 19 | 19.4 |
Barrow-in-Furness | 9 | 13.5 |
Carlisle | 49 | 45.2 |
Copeland | 28 | 41.2 |
Eden | 45 | 83.7 |
South Lakeland | 87 | 82.9 |
Greater Manchester (Met County) | 447 | 15.7 |
Bolton | 24 | 8.3 |
Bury | 22 | 11.5 |
Manchester | 112 | 20.2 |
Oldham | 33 | 13.9 |
Rochdale | 27 | 12.1 |
Salford | 76 | 28.9 |
Stockport | 36 | 12.2 |
Tameside | 25 | 11.0 |
Trafford | 52 | 21.9 |
Wigan | 40 | 12.1 |
Lancashire | 409 | 33.3 |
Burnley | 24 | 26.9 |
Chorley | 46 | 38.7 |
Fylde | 16 | 19.7 |
Hyndburn | 21 | 25.9 |
Lancaster | 74 | 50.0 |
Pendle | 15 | 16.3 |
Preston | 53 | 36.8 |
Ribble Valley | 28 | 45.1 |
Rossendale | 15 | 21.0 |
South Ribble | 50 | 45.0 |
West Lancashire | 48 | 41.9 |
Wyre | 19 | 16.8 |
Merseyside (Met County) | 260 | 18.1 |
Knowsley | 20 | 13.1 |
Liverpool | 168 | 33.6 |
Sefton | 26 | 9.4 |
St. Helens | 22 | 12.1 |
Wirral | 24 | 7.4 |
YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER | 1,327 | 24.0 |
East Riding of Yorkshire | 62 | 18.1 |
Kingston upon Hull, City of | 41 | 15.8 |
North East Lincolnshire | 24 | 15.1 |
North Lincolnshire | 25 | 14.5 |
York | 86 | 40.8 |
North Yorkshire | 216 | 34.8 |
Craven | 28 | 48.8 |
Hambleton | 36 | 39.2 |
Harrogate | 53 | 32.8 |
Richmondshire | 19 | 35.4 |
Ryedale | 50 | 89.9 |
Scarborough | 19 | 17.5 |
Selby | 11 | 12.0 |
South Yorkshire (Met County) | 301 | 21.3 |
Barnsley | 45 | 18.1 |
Doncaster | 57 | 18.2 |
Rotherham | 69 | 26.0 |
Sheffield | 130 | 22.1 |
West Yorkshire (Met County) | 572 | 24.4 |
Bradford | 108 | 19.9 |
Calderdale | 47 | 22.2 |
Kirklees | 63 | 14.3 |
Leeds | 289 | 36.2 |
Wakefield | 65 | 18.5 |
EAST MIDLANDS | 1,413 | 29.0 |
Derby | 65 | 25.3 |
Leicester | 79 | 22.3 |
North Northamptonshire | 92 | 26.3 |
Nottingham | 151 | 44.8 |
Rutland | 19 | 46.9 |
West Northamptonshire | 82 | 20.2 |
Derbyshire | 218 | 27.0 |
Amber Valley | 15 | 11.6 |
Bolsover | 39 | 48.0 |
Chesterfield | 55 | 52.4 |
Derbyshire Dales | 36 | 49.7 |
Erewash | 21 | 18.2 |
High Peak | 25 | 27.0 |
North East Derbyshire | 10 | 9.8 |
South Derbyshire | 17 | 15.5 |
Leicestershire | 224 | 31.4 |
Blaby | 48 | 47.1 |
Charnwood | 39 | 20.7 |
Harborough | 37 | 38.7 |
Hinckley and Bosworth | 42 | 37.0 |
Melton | 8 | 15.6 |
North West Leicestershire | 25 | 23.9 |
Oadby and Wigston | 25 | 43.6 |
Lincolnshire | 249 | 32.5 |
Boston | 45 | 63.5 |
East Lindsey | 52 | 36.6 |
Lincoln | 64 | 64.0 |
North Kesteven | 16 | 13.5 |
South Holland | 12 | 12.5 |
South Kesteven | 43 | 30.0 |
West Lindsey | 17 | 17.7 |
Nottinghamshire | 234 | 28.1 |
Ashfield | 23 | 17.9 |
Bassetlaw | 38 | 32.1 |
Broxtowe | 34 | 29.7 |
Gedling | 33 | 27.9 |
Mansfield | 27 | 24.7 |
Newark and Sherwood | 36 | 29.2 |
Rushcliffe | 43 | 35.4 |
WEST MIDLANDS | 1,723 | 28.9 |
Herefordshire, County of | 67 | 34.6 |
Shropshire | 70 | 21.5 |
Stoke-on-Trent | 37 | 14.4 |
Telford and Wrekin | 30 | 16.5 |
Staffordshire | 212 | 24.0 |
Cannock Chase | 24 | 23.6 |
East Staffordshire | 20 | 16.5 |
Lichfield | 17 | 16.1 |
Newcastle-under-Lyme | 41 | 31.6 |
South Staffordshire | 48 | 42.7 |
Stafford | 42 | 30.5 |
Staffordshire Moorlands | 9 | 9.1 |
Tamworth | 11 | 14.3 |
Warwickshire | 252 | 43.2 |
North Warwickshire | 33 | 50.4 |
Nuneaton and Bedworth | 21 | 16.1 |
Rugby | 53 | 47.9 |
Stratford-on-Avon | 77 | 58.2 |
Warwick | 68 | 46.9 |
West Midlands (Met County) | 904 | 30.7 |
Birmingham | 154 | 13.5 |
Coventry | 481 | 126.8 |
Dudley | 38 | 11.8 |
Sandwell | 37 | 11.2 |
Solihull | 119 | 54.7 |
Walsall | 24 | 8.4 |
Wolverhampton | 51 | 19.3 |
Worcestershire | 151 | 25.2 |
Bromsgrove | 42 | 41.8 |
Malvern Hills | 10 | 12.6 |
Redditch | 12 | 14.0 |
Worcester | 29 | 28.9 |
Wychavon | 43 | 32.8 |
Wyre Forest | 15 | 14.8 |
EAST OF ENGLAND | 1,667 | 26.6 |
Bedford | 102 | 58.4 |
Central Bedfordshire | 46 | 15.6 |
Luton | 52 | 24.4 |
Peterborough | 66 | 32.6 |
Southend-on-Sea | 16 | 8.8 |
Thurrock | 19 | 10.8 |
Cambridgeshire | 172 | 26.2 |
Cambridge | 56 | 44.8 |
East Cambridgeshire | 20 | 22.2 |
Fenland | 5 | 4.9 |
Huntingdonshire | 46 | 25.7 |
South Cambridgeshire | 45 | 28.0 |
Essex | 330 | 22.0 |
Basildon | 58 | 30.9 |
Braintree | 71 | 46.4 |
Brentwood | 7 | 9.1 |
Castle Point | 3 | 3.3 |
Chelmsford | 37 | 20.6 |
Colchester | 45 | 22.8 |
Epping Forest | 35 | 26.5 |
Harlow | 12 | 13.7 |
Maldon | 9 | 13.8 |
Rochford | 15 | 17.1 |
Tendring | 16 | 10.9 |
Uttlesford | 22 | 23.7 |
Hertfordshire | 323 | 27.0 |
Broxbourne | 18 | 18.4 |
Dacorum | 23 | 14.8 |
East Hertfordshire | 17 | 11.2 |
Hertsmere | 28 | 26.5 |
North Hertfordshire | 29 | 21.7 |
St Albans | 40 | 26.8 |
Stevenage | 9 | 10.2 |
Three Rivers | 59 | 62.8 |
Watford | 47 | 48.6 |
Welwyn Hatfield | 53 | 42.8 |
Norfolk | 298 | 32.6 |
Breckland | 41 | 29.0 |
Broadland | 20 | 15.2 |
Great Yarmouth | 32 | 32.3 |
King's Lynn and West Norfolk | 53 | 35.0 |
North Norfolk | 66 | 62.8 |
Norwich | 52 | 36.6 |
South Norfolk | 34 | 23.8 |
Suffolk | 243 | 31.9 |
Babergh | 23 | 24.8 |
East Suffolk | 62 | 24.8 |
Ipswich | 55 | 40.4 |
Mid Suffolk | 18 | 17.2 |
West Suffolk | 85 | 47.9 |
LONDON | 7,865 | 87.4 |
Inner London | 4,943 | 135.0 |
Camden | 373 | 133.4 |
City of London | 36 | 329.1 |
Hackney | 139 | 49.5 |
Hammersmith and Fulham | 580 | 316.0 |
Haringey | 92 | 34.5 |
Islington | 286 | 115.3 |
Kensington and Chelsea | 547 | 348.7 |
Lambeth | 307 | 95.4 |
Lewisham | 132 | 43.2 |
Newham | 153 | 43.1 |
Southwark | 390 | 121.9 |
Tower Hamlets | 190 | 57.2 |
Wandsworth | 623 | 188.9 |
Westminster | 1095 | 405.8 |
Outer London | 2,922 | 54.7 |
Barking and Dagenham | 64 | 29.9 |
Barnet | 210 | 52.6 |
Bexley | 45 | 18.1 |
Brent | 237 | 72.3 |
Bromley | 86 | 25.8 |
Croydon | 100 | 25.7 |
Ealing | 280 | 82.3 |
Enfield | 125 | 37.5 |
Greenwich | 257 | 88.9 |
Harrow | 49 | 19.4 |
Havering | 31 | 11.9 |
Hillingdon | 198 | 64.1 |
Hounslow | 282 | 103.8 |
Kingston upon Thames | 96 | 53.6 |
Merton | 199 | 96.4 |
Redbridge | 75 | 24.5 |
Richmond upon Thames | 354 | 178.7 |
Sutton | 51 | 24.6 |
Waltham Forest | 183 | 66.1 |
SOUTH EAST | 3,416 | 37.1 |
Bracknell Forest | 36 | 29.0 |
Brighton and Hove | 345 | 118.3 |
Isle of Wight | 51 | 35.8 |
Medway | 17 | 6.1 |
Milton Keynes | 372 | 137.7 |
Portsmouth | 72 | 33.5 |
Reading | 62 | 38.7 |
Slough | 68 | 45.5 |
Southampton | 87 | 34.4 |
West Berkshire | 108 | 68.2 |
Windsor and Maidenhead | 40 | 26.4 |
Wokingham | 70 | 40.2 |
Buckinghamshire | 165 | 30.2 |
East Sussex | 115 | 20.6 |
Eastbourne | 36 | 34.8 |
Hastings | 15 | 16.2 |
Lewes | 24 | 23.2 |
Rother | 13 | 13.4 |
Wealden | 27 | 16.6 |
Hampshire | 523 | 37.6 |
Basingstoke and Deane | 83 | 46.7 |
East Hampshire | 37 | 29.9 |
Eastleigh | 58 | 42.8 |
Fareham | 12 | 10.3 |
Gosport | 11 | 13.0 |
Hart | 47 | 48.2 |
Havant | 27 | 21.4 |
New Forest | 80 | 44.5 |
Rushmoor | 35 | 37.1 |
Test Valley | 42 | 33.0 |
Winchester | 91 | 72.3 |
Kent | 425 | 26.7 |
Ashford | 32 | 24.4 |
Canterbury | 65 | 39.0 |
Dartford | 35 | 30.7 |
Dover | 31 | 26.2 |
Folkestone and Hythe | 31 | 27.4 |
Gravesham | 10 | 9.4 |
Maidstone | 64 | 37.0 |
Sevenoaks | 29 | 23.9 |
Swale | 37 | 24.5 |
Thanet | 26 | 18.4 |
Tonbridge and Malling | 20 | 15.1 |
Tunbridge Wells | 45 | 37.8 |
Oxfordshire | 310 | 44.5 |
Cherwell | 97 | 63.9 |
Oxford | 105 | 69.3 |
South Oxfordshire | 45 | 31.3 |
Vale of White Horse | 43 | 31.2 |
West Oxfordshire | 20 | 17.9 |
Surrey | 339 | 28.3 |
Elmbridge | 38 | 27.7 |
Epsom and Ewell | 17 | 21.0 |
Guildford | 58 | 38.6 |
Mole Valley | 21 | 24.0 |
Reigate and Banstead | 29 | 19.4 |
Runnymede | 36 | 39.9 |
Spelthorne | 46 | 46.1 |
Surrey Heath | 26 | 29.1 |
Tandridge | 15 | 16.9 |
Waverley | 34 | 26.9 |
Woking | 19 | 19.0 |
West Sussex | 211 | 24.3 |
Adur | 10 | 15.6 |
Arun | 27 | 16.8 |
Chichester | 55 | 45.3 |
Crawley | 41 | 36.5 |
Horsham | 29 | 19.9 |
Mid Sussex | 36 | 23.7 |
Worthing | 13 | 11.7 |
SOUTH WEST | 1,873 | 33.1 |
Bath and North East Somerset | 68 | 34.6 |
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 82 | 20.7 |
Bristol, City of | 123 | 26.4 |
Cornwall | 276 | 48.1 |
Dorset | 123 | 32.4 |
Isles of Scilly | 0 | 0.0 |
North Somerset | 90 | 41.7 |
Plymouth | 74 | 28.2 |
South Gloucestershire | 119 | 41.3 |
Swindon | 47 | 21.1 |
Torbay | 26 | 19.1 |
Wiltshire | 167 | 33.1 |
Devon | 301 | 37.1 |
East Devon | 64 | 43.2 |
Exeter | 49 | 36.8 |
Mid Devon | 27 | 32.4 |
North Devon | 51 | 52.0 |
South Hams | 33 | 37.5 |
Teignbridge | 25 | 18.5 |
Torridge | 24 | 34.9 |
West Devon | 28 | 49.9 |
Gloucestershire | 210 | 32.8 |
Cheltenham | 34 | 29.3 |
Cotswold | 59 | 65.4 |
Forest of Dean | 15 | 17.2 |
Gloucester | 38 | 29.3 |
Stroud | 43 | 35.6 |
Tewkesbury | 21 | 21.7 |
Somerset | 167 | 29.6 |
Mendip | 38 | 32.7 |
Sedgemoor | 33 | 26.7 |
Somerset West and Taunton | 47 | 30.2 |
South Somerset | 49 | 29.0 |
WALES | 994 | 31.4 |
Isle of Anglesey | 55 | 78.1 |
Gwynedd | 81 | 64.7 |
Conwy | 45 | 38.1 |
Denbighshire | 19 | 19.7 |
Flintshire | 34 | 21.7 |
Wrexham | 35 | 25.7 |
Powys | 89 | 66.9 |
Ceredigion | 42 | 57.6 |
Pembrokeshire | 108 | 85.2 |
Carmarthenshire | 74 | 38.9 |
Swansea | 57 | 23.1 |
Neath Port Talbot | 12 | 8.3 |
Bridgend | 27 | 18.3 |
The Vale of Glamorgan | 26 | 19.2 |
Cardiff | 75 | 20.3 |
Rhondda Cynon Taf | 18 | 7.4 |
Merthyr Tydfil | 7 | 11.6 |
Caerphilly | 39 | 21.5 |
Blaenau Gwent | 18 | 25.7 |
Torfaen | 28 | 29.5 |
Monmouthshire | 53 | 55.7 |
Newport | 52 | 33.2 |
SCOTLAND | 2,676 | 49.0 |
Aberdeen City | 99 | 43.2 |
Aberdeenshire | 106 | 40.6 |
Angus | 75 | 64.8 |
Argyll & Bute | 86 | 100.7 |
City of Edinburgh | 146 | 27.7 |
Clackmannanshire | 23 | 44.8 |
Dumfries & Galloway | 102 | 68.8 |
Dundee City | 127 | 85.3 |
East Ayrshire | 67 | 55.1 |
East Dunbartonshire | 25 | 23.0 |
East Lothian | 123 | 114.0 |
East Renfrewshire | 24 | 25.0 |
Falkirk | 53 | 33.0 |
Fife | 114 | 30.5 |
Glasgow City | 203 | 31.9 |
Highland | 224 | 95.1 |
Inverclyde | 34 | 44.1 |
Midlothian | 60 | 64.4 |
Moray | 46 | 48.1 |
Na h-Eileanan Siar | 28 | 105.7 |
North Ayrshire | 50 | 37.2 |
North Lanarkshire | 165 | 48.4 |
Orkney Islands | 40 | 178.6 |
Perth & Kinross | 121 | 79.7 |
Renfrewshire | 71 | 39.6 |
Scottish Borders | 51 | 44.3 |
Shetland Islands | 21 | 91.8 |
South Ayrshire | 57 | 50.8 |
South Lanarkshire | 148 | 46.1 |
Stirling | 115 | 122.2 |
West Dunbartonshire | 26 | 29.4 |
West Lothian | 46 | 25.0 |
NORTHERN IRELAND | 332 | 17.5 |
Antrim and Newtownabbey | 37 | 25.7 |
Ards and North Down | 19 | 11.7 |
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 31 | 14.3 |
Belfast | 53 | 15.5 |
Causeway Coast and Glens | 31 | 21.4 |
Derry City and Strabane | 27 | 17.9 |
Fermanagh and Omagh | 38 | 32.4 |
Lisburn and Castlereagh | 17 | 11.6 |
Mid and East Antrim | 24 | 17.2 |
Mid Ulster | 24 | 16.1 |
Newry, Mourne and Down | 31 | 17.1 |
The Government is supporting all local authorities in the UK to provide public chargepoints for their residents without access to private parking through the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme. This year, £20 million is available under the scheme to ensure more local authorities and residents can benefit.
In addition to grant funding, Government’s forthcoming EV Infrastructure Strategy will define our vision for the continued roll-out of a world-leading charging infrastructure network across the UK. The strategy will focus on how we will unlock the chargepoint rollout needed to enable the transition from early adoption to mass market uptake of EVs across all areas of the UK.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of practical challenges of increasing the number of electric car charging points.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK has been a global front-runner in supporting provision of charging infrastructure along with private sector investment. Our vision is to have one of the best infrastructure networks in the world for electric vehicles (EVs), and we want chargepoints to be accessible, affordable and secure.
Government’s forthcoming EV Infrastructure Strategy will define our vision for the continued roll-out of a world-leading charging infrastructure network across the UK. The strategy will focus on how we will unlock the chargepoint rollout needed to enable the transition from early adoption to mass market uptake of EVs. We will set out our next steps to address barriers to private investment, level up charge point provision, and regulate to protect consumers. The strategy will clearly establish government’s expectations for the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders in the planning and deployment of charging infrastructure.
Building on the £1.9 billion from Spending Review 2020, the Government has committed an additional £620 million to support the transition to electric vehicles. The additional funding will support the rollout of charging infrastructure, with a particular focus on local on street residential charging which has already seen £20 million committed this financial year, and targeted plug-in vehicle grants. The total funding committed by this government to vehicle grants and infrastructure is £2.5 billion.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what their target is for the number of electric car charging points to be installed; and by when.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We have targets for en-route charging on the Strategic Road Network, to ensure there are enough chargepoints to enable long distance journeys:
We have not set targets for the total number of public chargepoints and we expect local authorities to work with the private sector to meet the charging needs of residents, businesses and visitors. Electric vehicle drivers will require rapid chargepoints to enable long distance journeys, but for many drivers, home charging on driveways and garages is expected to be the most convenient option for shorter journeys. Further, the Government has announced it will require new homes and homes undergoing major renovation with associated parking to have a chargepoint installed.
The Government’s forthcoming EV Infrastructure Strategy will define our vision for the continued roll-out of a world-leading charging infrastructure network across the UK. The strategy will focus on how we will unlock the chargepoint rollout needed to enable the transition from early adoption to mass market uptake of EVs. We will set out our next steps to address barriers to private investment, level up charge point provision, and regulate to protect consumers. The strategy will clearly establish the Government’s expectations for the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders in the planning and deployment of charging infrastructure.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether electric scooters are legally required to have lights.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government held a consultation in 2018 to consider cycling offences causing serious injury or death as well as reviewing existing cycling offences.
The Government believes that there should be a separate framework of cycling offences, as compared with motoring offences, because it may not be proportionate to apply offences and their corresponding penalties intended for drivers of motor vehicles, to cyclists. The response to the consultation will be published before the end of this year but early next year at the latest.
On e-scooters, privately-owned e-scooters are illegal to use on the road, cycle lanes or pavements, and they can only be ridden on private land with the permission of the landowner. The law is very clear and there are existing penalties for improper use.
Although it is not a specific offence to cycle and use headphones, cyclists could be prosecuted by the police for careless or dangerous cycling. Cyclists and users of trial e-scooters have a duty to behave in a safe and responsible manner and need to concentrate like all other road users and should not do anything that would affect their concentration and put themselves and other road users in danger.
For those who do not adopt a responsible attitude, or if their use of the highway creates an unsafe environment or causes nuisance, there are laws in place that can make them liable for prosecution.
In the UK, e-scooters are treated like any other motor vehicle under the Road Traffic Act. The Government is running trials of rental e-scooters to assess their safety and wider impacts. We require trial e-scooters to meet minimum standards on the e-scooter design, including what lighting is required through administrative vehicle orders issued by the Secretary of State under s.44 and s.63 of the Road Traffic Act. The evidence gathered during the trials will inform whether e-scooters should be legalised in the future, and how we can ensure their use is as safe as possible.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to bring forward legislation to make the use of headphones while (1) cycling, or (2) operating electric scooters, an offence.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government held a consultation in 2018 to consider cycling offences causing serious injury or death as well as reviewing existing cycling offences.
The Government believes that there should be a separate framework of cycling offences, as compared with motoring offences, because it may not be proportionate to apply offences and their corresponding penalties intended for drivers of motor vehicles, to cyclists. The response to the consultation will be published before the end of this year but early next year at the latest.
On e-scooters, privately-owned e-scooters are illegal to use on the road, cycle lanes or pavements, and they can only be ridden on private land with the permission of the landowner. The law is very clear and there are existing penalties for improper use.
Although it is not a specific offence to cycle and use headphones, cyclists could be prosecuted by the police for careless or dangerous cycling. Cyclists and users of trial e-scooters have a duty to behave in a safe and responsible manner and need to concentrate like all other road users and should not do anything that would affect their concentration and put themselves and other road users in danger.
For those who do not adopt a responsible attitude, or if their use of the highway creates an unsafe environment or causes nuisance, there are laws in place that can make them liable for prosecution.
In the UK, e-scooters are treated like any other motor vehicle under the Road Traffic Act. The Government is running trials of rental e-scooters to assess their safety and wider impacts. We require trial e-scooters to meet minimum standards on the e-scooter design, including what lighting is required through administrative vehicle orders issued by the Secretary of State under s.44 and s.63 of the Road Traffic Act. The evidence gathered during the trials will inform whether e-scooters should be legalised in the future, and how we can ensure their use is as safe as possible.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to bring forward legislation for cycling offences; and whether these will include offences related to the use of electric scooters.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government held a consultation in 2018 to consider cycling offences causing serious injury or death as well as reviewing existing cycling offences.
The Government believes that there should be a separate framework of cycling offences, as compared with motoring offences, because it may not be proportionate to apply offences and their corresponding penalties intended for drivers of motor vehicles, to cyclists. The response to the consultation will be published before the end of this year but early next year at the latest.
On e-scooters, privately-owned e-scooters are illegal to use on the road, cycle lanes or pavements, and they can only be ridden on private land with the permission of the landowner. The law is very clear and there are existing penalties for improper use.
Although it is not a specific offence to cycle and use headphones, cyclists could be prosecuted by the police for careless or dangerous cycling. Cyclists and users of trial e-scooters have a duty to behave in a safe and responsible manner and need to concentrate like all other road users and should not do anything that would affect their concentration and put themselves and other road users in danger.
For those who do not adopt a responsible attitude, or if their use of the highway creates an unsafe environment or causes nuisance, there are laws in place that can make them liable for prosecution.
In the UK, e-scooters are treated like any other motor vehicle under the Road Traffic Act. The Government is running trials of rental e-scooters to assess their safety and wider impacts. We require trial e-scooters to meet minimum standards on the e-scooter design, including what lighting is required through administrative vehicle orders issued by the Secretary of State under s.44 and s.63 of the Road Traffic Act. The evidence gathered during the trials will inform whether e-scooters should be legalised in the future, and how we can ensure their use is as safe as possible.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they collect data on the percentage of cycling accidents that take place after dark where the cyclist does not have lights on their bicycles; and if so, how many such accidents took place in England's cities in the last 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Statistics on reported personal injury road accidents are compiled from data reported by the police in the STATS19 collection system.
STATS19 does not record whether a cyclist involved in an accident has lights on their bicycle, but does include contributory factors assigned by police officers which give an indication of which factors the attending officer thought contributed to the accident, without assigning blame.
In urban areas of England in 2019, the contributory factor ‘Not displaying lights at night or in poor visibility’ was assigned to a pedal cyclist in 134 personal injury road accidents. This represents 2% of such accidents where a police officer attended the scene and at least one contributory factor was reported.
Road safety statistics are reported on a calendar year basis. The latest annual published statistics are for 2019. Data on reported personal injury road accidents in Great Britain for 2020 will be published in September 2021.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have been (1) injured, and (2) killed, in cycling accidents that have taken place (a) in a city, and (b) after dark, in the last 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Statistics on reported personal injury road accidents in Great Britain are compiled from data reported by the police in the STATS19 collection system.
In 2019, 14,616 people were injured and 46 people were killed in reported road accidents in Great Britain which involved at least one pedal cycle and occurred in an urban area.
In 2019, 3,786 people were injured and 29 people were killed in reported road accidents in Great Britain which involved at least one pedal cycle and occurred in darkness. Darkness means half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise.
Road safety statistics are reported on a calendar year basis. The latest annual published statistics are for 2019. Data on reported personal injury road accidents in Great Britain for 2020 will be published in September 2021.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they have issued to police forces in England about the prosecution of cyclists not using lights on their bicycles after dark.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has not issued any such advice. The enforcement of cycling offences is entirely an operational matter for individual chief officers of police.