Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many instances of e-scooters being used illegally have been recorded in England; how many e-scooters have been confiscated by the police; and what plans they have to regulate the purchase of e-scooters.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of motoring offences in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales. However, information on numbers and types of vehicle seized is not held centrally.

The Government does not have any plans to regulate the purchase of e-scooters. It is not illegal to sell an e-scooter, however under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 there is a general obligation for traders to give consumers sufficient information about goods and services at the point of sale, so consumers are not misled. The Government is currently considering the best approach to ensuring appropriate information about the use of e-scooters is given to consumers at the point of sale.

Legislation was amended in July 2020 to allow for rental e-scooter trials in 32 selected Local Authority areas, which will run until 31 March 2022. These trials will assess the safety of e-scooters for their users and other road user groups, whether their potential benefits can be realised, and identify other road impacts to be addressed through future legislation.

The police can deal with illegal e-scooter use by fixed penalty notices and penalty points for no insurance, ‘not in accordance’ or riding on pavement offences. Section 165 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provides the power to seize privately owned e-scooters for driving without insurance or a driving licence. It is for the officer dealing with an incident to investigate and to decide upon the appropriate offence and enforcement action.

We will continue to support the police to ensure they have the tools needed to enforce road traffic legislation including those relating to electric scooters.