Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to prevent people from selling high-powered e-bikes and scooters that are not legal for use on roads.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK’s legal framework for product safety places responsibility for the safety of e-bikes and e-scooters on the businesses manufacturing or importing them. The Office for Product Safety and Standards and Local Authority Trading Standards enforce the regulations.
Vehicles sold for a legitimate and permitted use but which are used on public land illegally is an enforcement matter for the police, under the Department for Transport’s road safety regime.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that self-employed delivery riders are included in mandatory training obligations designed to protect (a) themselves and (b) the public.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, self-employed people have duties with regards to health and safety where they employ others, or where their work creates a risk to others who are not their employees. Existing UK laws also require that all consumer products must be safe before businesses can place them on the market, including those sold online.
We recognise that new technologies and ways of working have made it more complex for businesses and workers to apply the law, which is why the Government has committed to consulting on a simpler framework for employment status.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with the Office for Product Safety and Standards on the enforcement of existing standards for (a) e-bike batteries and (b) conversion kits.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Under existing UK product safety law, all consumer products, including e-bike batteries and conversion kits, must meet legal requirements for safety when placed on the market. Tackling unsafe e-bikes is a priority for the Office for Product Safety and Standards, in my Department. They and Local Authority Trading Standards have powers to enforce the law including removing non-compliant products from sale. OPSS has prohibited the supply of certain models of unsafe e-bike batteries, and published 22 separate product recalls for non-compliant e-bikes and similar products since 2022.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to hold online marketplaces accountable for the sale of (a) unsafe and (b) non-compliant e-bike products.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UK product safety law is clear: all products must be safe before being placed on the market, including e-bikes.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards leads a national Online Marketplaces Programme of regulatory action to reduce risks from unsafe and non-compliant goods sold online. This involves a range of activities, including regulatory engagement with online marketplaces on products such as e-bikes and enforcement action where necessary.
The Government has also introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill to allow updates to the product safety framework and ensure consumers are protected; recognising the increasingly important role of online supply chains.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing police forces with new enforcement powers to seize (a) unsafe and (b) non-compliant e-bikes.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission to take back our streets. Any form of anti-social, dangerous or inconsiderate behaviour involving vehicles is a serious issue.
Our Crime and Policing Bill will give the police greater powers to clamp down on all vehicles, including e-bikes, involved in anti-social behaviour including street racing, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles.
On 28 May, the Government launched a six-week consultation on proposals to allow the police to dispose of seized vehicles such as e-bikes, which have been used anti-socially from 14 days to 48 hours. Combined, these proposals will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially and illegally by sending a clear message to would be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the report entitled Unregulated and Unsafe: The Threat of Illegal E-Bikes by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking, published in June 2025, whether his Department plans to commission a review into the exploitation risks faced by gig economy riders using e-bikes.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We recognise that many delivery riders in the platform economy value the flexibility it can bring. However, new technologies and ways of working have made it more complex for businesses and workers to understand and apply the law, which is why the Government is committed to consulting on a simpler framework for employment status.
Our priority is ensuring those workers who are most vulnerable know their rights and have the benefit of protection at work.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve data collection on e-bike (a) collisions and (b) journey purpose.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
E-bikes (both privately owned and as part of bike share schemes) are currently included within the pedal cycle category within the STATS19 system used by police forces to record data on personal injury collisions and overseen by the Standing Committee on Road Injury Collision statistics. The Committee have agreed to explore whether the guidance on reporting of vehicle types, including e-bikes, can be improved.
At a population level, we understand there to be a low rate of usage of e-bikes. As and when usage grows, there is the potential for further insight via the National Travel Survey.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact Avanti West Coast’s non-tilting 110mph (a) Class 805 and (b) Class 807 trains on the capacity of the West Coast Main Line.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The new Avanti trains of classes 805 and 807 will make a material improvement to journeys formerly made on the Voyager trains, and will not reduce the capacity of the West Coast main line.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish an equalities impact assessment of the proposed Personal Independence Payment reforms with specific reference to people with progressive neurological conditions.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As I set out in the House of Commons on 1 July 2025, the Government has listened to the concerns raised by Members from across the House about the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
Clause 5 of the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill would have amended the legal framework underpinning PIP assessments, specifically by implementing a new requirement that claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of PIP.
In light of the concerns raised, I confirmed during the debate that clause 5 would be removed from the Bill in Committee.
(Hansard, 1 July, col 219)
Any changes to PIP eligibility will come after a comprehensive review of the benefit which I shall lead, co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This review aims to ensure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future.