Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing legislation to enable local authorities and other public organisations reclaim the costs of removing dumped electric hire-scheme bikes and scooters from scheme operators.

The dumping of hire bikes and e-scooters is clearly unacceptable. As announced in December’s English Devolution White Paper, we will legislate to empower local leaders to manage shared cycle schemes. This will include consideration of how costs arising from monitoring of and enforcement against this kind of antisocial use could be recouped by local authorities in the future. Existing e-scooter trials are run under the supervision of the Department for Transport. Within these trials, local authorities, working with their e-scooter operator, will determine requirements for fleet management, including how to tackle overcrowding at parking bays.