Baroness Pidgeon

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 11th December is attached.

The Baroness Pidgeon MBE

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

17 December 2024

Dear Lady Pidgeon,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question, asking what assessment has been made of the number of jobs in (1) the bicycle manufacturing industry, (2) the e-bike manufacturing industry, and (3) the supply chains of the bicycle and e-bike manufacturing industries (HL3406).

The estimated number of employees in Great Britain working in the manufacture of bicycles and invalid carriages in 2023 was 2,700, according to the latest available data from the Business Register and Employment Survey1.

The latest UK Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities 20072 does not have a unique classification for the manufacture of e-bikes, therefore we are unable to provide an estimate of jobs for this industry.

The supply chain of the bicycle and e-bike manufacturing industries could include a large number of different industrial classifications. We do not hold information on which industries are part of these supply chains and therefore are unable to provide an estimate for the number of jobs in the UK for supply chain industries.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

The Trade Remedies Authority is the UK’s independent investigatory body that exists to defend the UK against unfair international trade practices, including assessing harm from subsidies. Where UK economic interests are being damaged by such unfair practices, action will be taken. The UK has in place an anti-subsidy and an anti-dumping measure on e-bikes from China, and one anti-dumping measure on bikes/bike parts from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Tunisia. The Trade Remedies Authority is currently reviewing all three measures.

Our product safety laws require that all consumer products placed on the UK market, including e-bike batteries and conversion kits, must comply with legal safety requirements, regardless of their origin.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards works to detect and prevent unsafe or non-compliant goods entering the UK at ports and borders, alongside Local Authority Trading Standards and other Government partners. Information on products that present risks are published on gov.uk, including country of origin where known.

OPSS has commissioned technical research into lithium-ion battery safety to strengthen Government’s evidence base on the safety of these products.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards is leading a programme of action to tackle the causes of fires in e-bikes and e-scooters. This includes targeted regulatory action, working with Local Authority Trading Standards at ports and borders, to identify non-compliant businesses and prevent unsafe products entering the market.

OPSS has published 21 product recalls and 28 product safety reports covering regulators’ interventions on e-bikes and e-scooters, lithium-ion batteries and chargers, since 2022.

OPSS’ enforcement actions are published on gov.uk quarterly. Information on products that present risks are published on the Product Recalls and Alerts site on gov.uk.

Every child in care should have a safe and loving home which is also value for money for the taxpayer.

In their 2022 report, the Competition and Markets Authority estimated that the operating profit margins for large children’s social care providers between 2016 and 2020 were 22.6% for children’s homes, 19.4% for Independent Fostering Agencies and 35.5% for supported accommodation.

The department is clear that profiteering from vulnerable children in care is absolutely unacceptable and the department is committed to stamping out profiteering where it occurs in the children’s social care placement market.

On 18 November 2024, the department published its policy paper ‘Keeping children safe, helping families thrive’, setting out ambitious reforms across children’s social care. As part of these, the department is taking forward a package of measures, including through legislation, to rebalance the children’s social care placement market, covering children’s homes, independent fostering agencies and supported accommodation. These measures will improve competition, regulation and commissioning of placements and bring greater visibility to the prices local authorities are paying and the profits providers are making. If the department does not see a reduction in profiteering, the department will not hesitate to take action to cap providers’ profits.

The department will bring forward legislation when parliamentary time allows.

Every child in care should have a safe and loving home which is also value for money for the taxpayer.

In their 2022 report, the Competition and Markets Authority estimated that the operating profit margins for large children’s social care providers between 2016 and 2020 were 22.6% for children’s homes, 19.4% for Independent Fostering Agencies and 35.5% for supported accommodation.

The department is clear that profiteering from vulnerable children in care is absolutely unacceptable and the department is committed to stamping out profiteering where it occurs in the children’s social care placement market.

On 18 November 2024, the department published its policy paper ‘Keeping children safe, helping families thrive’, setting out ambitious reforms across children’s social care. As part of these, the department is taking forward a package of measures, including through legislation, to rebalance the children’s social care placement market, covering children’s homes, independent fostering agencies and supported accommodation. These measures will improve competition, regulation and commissioning of placements and bring greater visibility to the prices local authorities are paying and the profits providers are making. If the department does not see a reduction in profiteering, the department will not hesitate to take action to cap providers’ profits.

The department will bring forward legislation when parliamentary time allows.

Every child in care should have a safe and loving home which is also value for money for the taxpayer.

In their 2022 report, the Competition and Markets Authority estimated that the operating profit margins for large children’s social care providers between 2016 and 2020 were 22.6% for children’s homes, 19.4% for Independent Fostering Agencies and 35.5% for supported accommodation.

The department is clear that profiteering from vulnerable children in care is absolutely unacceptable and the department is committed to stamping out profiteering where it occurs in the children’s social care placement market.

On 18 November 2024, the department published its policy paper ‘Keeping children safe, helping families thrive’, setting out ambitious reforms across children’s social care. As part of these, the department is taking forward a package of measures, including through legislation, to rebalance the children’s social care placement market, covering children’s homes, independent fostering agencies and supported accommodation. These measures will improve competition, regulation and commissioning of placements and bring greater visibility to the prices local authorities are paying and the profits providers are making. If the department does not see a reduction in profiteering, the department will not hesitate to take action to cap providers’ profits.

The department will bring forward legislation when parliamentary time allows.

Although development of Crossrail 2 was paused in 2020, the route remains safeguarded to protect it from conflicting development. Officials from my department regularly discuss the scheme with Transport for London.

The increasing weight of all road vehicles, both electric vehicles (EVs) and their petrol and diesel counterparts, is one of many factors affecting the condition of our roads. While EVs tend to be heavier than their equivalent petrol or diesel counterpart, on average all passenger cars have been increasing in weight for many years. This trend has been driven by consumer choice and improving safety features for passengers. It is the much heavier commercial vehicles, rather than passenger vehicles, that are the dominant factor determining road design and weight limits, and that cause the most wear and tear to road surfaces and other highway structures.

The Government is determined to enable local highway authorities in England to look after their highway networks, and it has already announced a funding uplift of £500 million for the 2025/26 financial year. It has also started the process of updating its guidance to local highway authorities on managing their highway infrastructure, and the revised guidance will reflect, where necessary, the impacts on local highway networks of new vehicle types as well as other changes such as the changing climate.

The Department is also committed to securing multi-year funding settlements for local authorities, to enable them to plan ahead more strategically for the long term, and to invest in appropriate materials and maintenance processes.

As set out in the current consultation document, our intention is that, once established, Great British Railways should be required in legislation to retain discounts targeted at groups for which cost is more likely to be a barrier to rail travel. There are no current plans to review railcards in advance of the transition to Great British Railways but it will have the opportunity to take a fresh look at the justification of the eligibility and restrictions of some railcards.

The Rail Delivery Group administer the back-office systems that allow third-party retailers to sell railcards. They maintain regular dialogue with retailers, including how retailers might be able to expand their offer of products such as disabled person's railcards.

This government has set out its ambition to simplify fares, ticketing and passenger compensation systems to drive innovation across the network and improve the passenger experience. We will share further details of progress in due course.

In December 2025 the Chancellor launched the second stage of the Spending Review. This is a zero-based Spending Review, to ensure every line of spending – including the transport infrastructure portfolio – delivers the Plan for Change and provides good value for taxpayers. We expect the Spending Review to conclude by June 2025, and will therefore be unable to comment on the status of individual projects until that point. I can confirm, however, that delivery of the scheme is not required to enable introduction of the proposed recast East Coast Main Line timetable, scheduled for December 2025.

Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM) is currently provided via the National Barrier Asset (NBA) on five bridges within central London. The NBA measures provide a high level of protection to these bridges, and discussions are ongoing between CT Policing and relevant local stakeholders regarding the installation of permanent structures. Permanent measures have been installed on Westminster Bridge since 2022.

Discussions take place periodically between CT Policing and relevant London bodies, such as Transport for London, to progress this matter.