Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to facilitate the carriage of (a) e-scooters and (b) e-bikes on rural train services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It is for individual train operators to decide whether e-scooters and e-bikes are accepted on their trains, following risk assessments to determine the safety of accepting these vehicles onboard. In general, e-scooters are not permitted on train services, whilst e-bikes are permitted provided they meet certain conditions. This includes being road-legal, stored in a designated area and not charged on trains.
In terms of wider public transport, the government recognises the benefits that e-scooters and e-bikes can bring and published guidance to public transport operators in February 2024, aimed at ensuring that responses to fire risks are appropriately targeted, effective, and proportionate, so that the potential of these forms of transport is not unnecessarily limited.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to improve enforcement measures against street racing in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for the Government and a key part of the Safer Streets Mission.
On 25 February 2025, the Crime and Policing Bill was introduced to Parliament. The Bill includes proposals to give the police greater powers to clamp down on all vehicles involved in anti-social behaviour including street racing, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles.
This will strengthen the law and send a clear message that antisocial street racing will not be tolerated.
Excess speed is a major cause of death and serious injury on our roads and anyone who breaks the speed limit should expect to face the full force of the law.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to (a) support Community Speed Watch schemes and (b) deter (i) antisocial driving and (ii) street racing in rural areas.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Community Speedwatch schemes are initiatives coordinated by the police working with local volunteers to target speeders, and decisions on whether to operate local schemes are operational matters for the police. The Department for Transport agrees that these schemes can be a useful way of monitoring speeds and encouraging drivers to stay within speed limits. However, it has not made any assessment of the effectiveness of the programmes in the West Dorset constituency.
Turning to the deterrence of antisocial driving and street racing in rural areas, the Crime and Policing Bill, introduced to Parliament in February, includes proposals to give the police greater powers to clamp down on all vehicles involved in anti-social behaviour including street racing, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of Community Speed Watch programmes in reducing speeding in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Community Speedwatch schemes are initiatives coordinated by the police working with local volunteers to target speeders, and decisions on whether to operate local schemes are operational matters for the police. The Department for Transport agrees that these schemes can be a useful way of monitoring speeds and encouraging drivers to stay within speed limits. However, it has not made any assessment of the effectiveness of the programmes in the West Dorset constituency.
Turning to the deterrence of antisocial driving and street racing in rural areas, the Crime and Policing Bill, introduced to Parliament in February, includes proposals to give the police greater powers to clamp down on all vehicles involved in anti-social behaviour including street racing, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of supporting driving instructors with operational costs.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency does not employ driving instructors and so has no power or control over what they charge for their services, including lessons.
Fees charged by Approved Driving Instructors (ADI) for driving lessons anywhere in the country, including rural areas are a commercial business arrangement. The department has not offered any form of financial support to ADIs since the register's inception and there are no plans to change this.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department is taking steps to help reduce the cost of driving lessons for learners in rural areas.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency does not employ driving instructors and so has no power or control over what they charge for their services, including lessons.
Fees charged by Approved Driving Instructors (ADI) for driving lessons anywhere in the country, including rural areas are a commercial business arrangement. The department has not offered any form of financial support to ADIs since the register's inception and there are no plans to change this.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve road safety for horse riders in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In my answer of 28 April 2025 to WPQ-45414, WPQ-45415 and WPQ-45416 on horse rider safety, I stated that The Highway Code was updated in 2022 to improve the safety of all road users, particularly the most vulnerable. Key changes included the introduction of a Hierarchy of Road Users, which ensures that those who do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat that they pose to others, along with the strengthening of guidance on safe passing distances and speeds when overtaking horse riders.
The Government's flagship road safety campaign, THINK!, ran campaigns to alert road users of the changes as they came into effect and broader behaviour campaigns to encourage understanding and uptake of the guidance. Results from the last campaign showed that by September 2023 93% of drivers agreed it was their responsibility to give space to vulnerable road users. We will continue to promote The Highway Code changes on THINK! and DfT social media channels and via our partner organisations.
Local authorities are responsible for road safety on the local road network. Section 39 of the Road Traffic Act (RTA) 1988 puts a 'statutory duty' on the local authorities to provide a safe local road network. This includes road construction, accident investigation and analysis, traffic calming and setting speed limits. The Government treats road safety with the utmost seriousness and provides local authorities with guidance on road safety measures, but it should be noted that it is up to individual authorities to determine how they meet their statutory duty.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of integrating cycling infrastructure with rural train stations.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We have recently announced £222.5 million to local authorities outside of London for the delivery of active travel schemes and community engagement. It is for local authorities to make their own decisions about where to prioritise investment in local transport networks, including links between different transport modes.
The Government agrees on the importance of a properly integrated national transport system and will be saying more on this in due course in a new Integrated Transport Strategy. Active Travel England works with local authorities to help design and deliver high-quality networks that are properly integrated with other local transport services.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to increase protection for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty from development.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 21471 on 21 January 2025.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has conducted public awareness campaigns on the dangers of mobile phone use while driving.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
THINK! is the Government’s flagship road safety campaign, which aims to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads by addressing a range of issues, including mobile phone distraction. In 2022, the Government ran a THINK! Campaign targeting 17-24 year old men and women, which coincided with the broadening of the legal offence of using a handheld phone while driving.
The campaign led to 75% of young men agreeing that it is always dangerous to use a handheld phone when you are at the wheel, with between two thirds to 80% of the audience taking action to change their behaviour after seeing the campaign’s short films.
Previous THINK! campaigns have addressed the role of passengers in distracting drivers, including through mobile phone use. Mobile phone campaigns also ran in 2017 and 2018 after the 2017 increase in penalties for driving while using a handheld phone. A radio advert asking drivers to ‘Put your phone away’ runs throughout the year via the Fillers service, through which radio stations run public service adverts at no cost.