Asked by: Viscount Goschen (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prosecutions have been brought for the use of electric motorcycles which have not been registered, taxed and insured.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department does not hold this information.
Asked by: Viscount Goschen (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of electric motorcycles ridden on public roads without registration, taxation or insurance.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Electric bikes which comply with the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983 do not require registration, tax or insurance. No assessment has been made concerning the number ridden on public roads.
Asked by: Viscount Goschen (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency undertakes roadside testing to ensure electric bicycles are complaint with the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles Regulations 1983 (SI 1983/1168).
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not undertake roadside testing of electric bicycles for compliance with the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles Regulations 1983.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) undertakes market surveillance activity in relation to vehicles placed on the market, including e-bikes. This includes testing samples of vehicles at the point of sale. Enforcement of road traffic legislation and the use of vehicles on the road is a matter for the police.
Asked by: Viscount Goschen (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to regulate importers and retailers of electric bicycles which do not comply with the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles Regulations 1983 (SI 1983/1168).
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s Market Surveillance Unit (MSU) monitors the market for non-compliant or misleadingly marketed e-bikes and other vehicles. Where issues are identified, MSU can take proportionate action in line with its statutory remit.
Asked by: Viscount Goschen (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they have taken to publicise the fact that electrically-powered bicycles which do not conform with the requirements of the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles Regulations 1983 (SI 1983/1168) are classified as motorcycles and must be registered, taxed and insured.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department has published online guidance for consumers on electric bikes. This guidance covers the rules that e-bikes need to comply with to be classed as an Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle (EAPC) and the rules that apply to e-bikes that do not meet the EAPC requirements and are therefore classed as a motorcycle or moped.
Asked by: Viscount Goschen (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with major delivery organisations regarding the importance of ensuring compliance with regulators governing the use of electric bicycles; and what has been the outcome of those discussions.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
In December last year the Minister for Local Transport wrote to the main food delivery companies to remind them of their obligations including the use of modified e-cycles by some delivery riders. The letter signposted government guidance on the safe use of e-cycle batteries including the Office for Product Safety and Standard’s ‘Buy Safe, Be Safe’ campaign. The Department is considering next steps in the light of the responses received.
Asked by: Viscount Goschen (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the incidence of use of electric bicycles and electric scooters which do not comply with the relevant regulations.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Enforcement of the rules and regulations in respect of both e-cycles and e-scooters is a matter for the police.
Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (e-cycles) are legal to use on public roads so long as they comply with the requirements of the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983. Broadly, this means that maximum continuous power of the electric motor must not exceed 250 watts, that the e-cycle must be fitted with pedals capable of propelling it, and that the electrical assistance must cut-off at 15.5mph. The Department does not have data on the number of e-cycles in use that do not comply with these requirements.
Private e-scooters remain illegal to use on public roads, cycle lanes and pavements, and rental e-scooters can only be used in national rental e-scooter trial areas.
Asked by: Viscount Goschen (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the condition of road infrastructure.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
In addition to the provision of over £5.5 billion of highways maintenance capital funding for local highways authorities in England over this Parliament, the Department works with all local highway authorities in England along with National Highways to assess road surface condition on a national level. This information is presented annually in “Road conditions in England to March 2022” published on GOV.UK. It includes surface condition, skidding resistance and highway maintenance treatments and expenditure.
The Department is also working with the British Standards Institute and the Transport Research Laboratory to develop a new standard for assessing road condition. This will help authorities identify, assess, and deal with road defects, including potholes, and help drive innovation within the road monitoring sector.
Asked by: Viscount Goschen (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the level of crime involving the use of motorcycles.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Reports of crimes involving motorcycles, mopeds and scooters are clearly a concern. The Government has been determined to ensure that everything was being done to support police efforts to tackle this threat. That is why we brought the police, industry, local government, civil society groups and others together to see what more could be done to prevent offending and keep the public safe.
This work sits alongside the Government’s consultation on police pursuits, which seeks to give police greater confidence to pursue suspects and will help tackle these crimes. The consultation closed on 13 August and we will set out the next steps shortly.
Asked by: Viscount Goschen (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many instances of fly tipping have been reported in each of the past three financial years; and how many successful prosecutions have been brought over the same period.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The number of instances of fly-tipping reported by local authorities, and the number of successful prosecutions brought over the last three years are set out in the table below.
Financial year | Number of Incidents | Number of successful prosecutions |
2013/14 | 852,036 | 1,953 |
2014/15 | 899,763 | 1,771 |
2015/16 | 936,090 | 2,091 |
The data is published on the GOV.UK website.
The overall trend in fly-tipping incidents had shown a steady decline between 2007/08 and 2012/13 until 2013/14 when there was an increase to 852,000 incidents. Prosecutions have been more variable, with a peak in 2011/12. The 2015/16 figure is more average.
Many local authorities have started to improve the way they capture and report fly-tips over the past few years, so the increase over time should be interpreted with some care. It has also been brought to our attention that the definitions used to describe fly-tips are interpreted broadly from the guidance.