Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding or guidance her Department provides to police forces running dedicated enforcement operations against illegal e-bikes and e-scooters.

Police already have powers to seize e-scooters and e-bikes where they are being used unlawfully. Under section 165A of the Road Traffic Act 1988, police may seize motor vehicles being driven without insurance or a valid licence. This can include privately owned e-scooters and illegally modified e-bikes where they meet the legal definition of a motor vehicle.

Through the Crime and Policing Act, police no longer need to issue a warning before seizing vehicles used anti-socially, inconsiderately and in a manner causing alarm, distress or annoyance.

The Government has also reduced vehicle disposal timeframes to seven days, taking swift action and preventing opportunities to re-offend.

The Government has provided total funding of £21.2bn to policing this year, of this £18.5bn is for police forces, this is £2bn of increased investment in policing since 2024.

Police forces are operationally independent and are responsible for determining how they deploy their resources and respond to local policing priorities. It is for chief constables to decide whether to undertake dedicated enforcement operations against the illegal use of e-bikes and e-scooters and what tactics to employ based on local circumstances.