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.

The Department requires its operators to plan services and rail timetables that are designed to meet expected passenger demand. These should be resilient and provide value for money for the taxpayer.

Typically, demand for services on Boxing Day is low and much of the network is closed to provide opportunity for essential maintenance. We expect operators and in future, Great British Railways, to continue to consider the case for Boxing Day services where there is demand and they do not further increase the burden on taxpayers.

The Department will continue to work with Transport for London (TfL) with the aim to place it on a long-term financially sustainable footing as part of Phase 2 of the Spending Review. The Government remains committed to supporting London and the transport network on which it depends and continues to regularly engage with TfL to understand its investment plans.

The Zero Emission Bus budget for this financial year has already been allocated against ZEBRA 2 projects. The Department’s spending envelope for Financial Year 2025/2026 was announced at the Budget. Allocations for individual funding lines will be agreed as part of the regular departmental business planning process and will be set out in due course.

This Government takes road safety seriously, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. My Department is developing our road safety strategy and will set out more details in due course.

The Government works closely with local areas and bus operators to ensure issues and concerns with bus electrification are fully understood, and best practice is shared.

More widely, the Government is committed to expanding the electricity network to support the Clean Energy Superpower mission and is working closely with Ofgem and industry to mobilise the required investment at the scale and pace required. Price controls set by Ofgem ensure network companies are investing in infrastructure build, as well as smart management of network assets, to ensure the network has sufficient capacity.

Under the current distribution (low voltage) price control covering 2023-2028, Ofgem has allowed £22.2bn for upfront network investment, including £3.1bn for network upgrades which will help the grid to be ready for changing infrastructure needs.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has also announced that the newly formed National Energy System Operator has been asked to produce the first strategic spatial plan for energy, and it is also looking at reforming the connection process. Both those actions will help bus operators.

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.