Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have to reduce the noise level of motorcycles on public roads.

Technical standards for noise from new motorcycles are set at an International level by both the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). These provisions were updated in 2014 and took effect for new machines from 2016.

The European Commission is planning to introduce new legislation concerning emissions and noise from motorcycles. An independent research-based investigation is currently underway to establish the noise limits and these are expected to take effect in 2020. We anticipate these will be implemented through the UNECE where the UK will continue to play a key role beyond our withdrawal from the EU.

The motorcycle industry are represented at the UNECE discussions and Department for Transport officials also hold routine discussions with them outside this forum.