Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with West Midlands Police on the potential impact on its decision to un-cap speeding prosecutions on road traffic accident rates in the region.

The Government takes road safety seriously and recognises the important role that roads policing and speed enforcement play in reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads. Operational policing decisions, however, are taken locally by chief officers based on local needs and priorities.

The Home Office has not made an assessment of the effectiveness of average speed cameras in supporting the enforcement of speed limits in urban areas, nor has it had discussions with West Midlands Police regarding its approach to enforcement of speeding offences. Decisions on the deployment of speed cameras, including the type of camera used and where it is installed, the deployment of roads policing officers and the enforcement of speeding offences are operational matters for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners. Speed enforcement forms part of wider operational road safety activity undertaken by police forces in response to local risks and priorities.