Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will establish a cross-departmental task force to tackle illegal motorcycling.

The Home Office has no current plans to establish a cross-departmental task force to tackle illegal motorcycling. Enforcement of road traffic law and how available resources are deployed is the responsibility of individual Chief Officers and Police and Crime Commissioners, taking into account the specific local problems and demands with which they are faced.

The Government has established a joint Home Office, Department for Transport and National Police Chiefs’ Council Roads Policing Review to understand what can be done better to tackle road crime and improve road safety.

In addition, last year the Government launched the Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan (Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ensuring the police, local authorities and other relevant agencies have the powers they need to tackle the blight of anti-social behaviour, including motorcycle nuisance, facing communities across England and Wales.

The plan is backed by £160m of funding and includes supporting an increased police and other uniformed presence to target anti-social behaviour hotspots. Initially we worked with 10 police force areas, including Durham Constabulary, but from April we are providing funding of £66m to every police force in England and Wales to support a hotspot enforcement approach for both anti-social behaviour and serious violence. Hotspot patrols could be used in areas where anti-social behaviour involving motorcycles is an issue.

The Government will continue to support the police to ensure they have the tools needed to enforce road traffic legislation, including in relation to offences involving motorcycles.