Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to publish the results of their targeted stakeholder consultation on the level of statutory fees paid to vehicle recovery operators; and whether as part of that consultation (1) the police, and (2) National Highways, were consulted on whether the service available from recovery operators is timely and efficient.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government’s role is to set the statutory charges which the police can levy when they have exercised their vehicle recovery powers and we will shortly announce the next steps following our consultation.
This consultation did not cover the way in which the police use their power to order vehicle removal, or the operation of recovery schemes and contracts.
These, and any other arrangements which might be made for vehicle recovery, are operational matters for the Police and National Highways.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 24 March 2022 (HL6847), whether there have been any occasions since April 2019 where they have drawn the attention of a Police and Crime Commissioner or Chief Constable to (1) poor, or (2) commendable, performance standards relating to a road safety issue.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
There has been no contact between the Government and Police and Crime Commissioners or Chief Constables on performance standards relating to a road safety issue.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last reviewed the fees paid to Accident Vehicle Recovery Operators; when the next such review will take place; and what assessment they have made of the proportion of the fee that is received by the recovery operator rather than management companies.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office conducted a consultation from 17 May – 10 September 2021 to assess the current statutory fees and whether new levels of charges should be applied to the removal, storage and disposal of vehicles in England and Wales. These charges apply where the police, under various acts of road traffic legislation, have cause to remove or recover a vehicle illegally, dangerously or obstructively parked, broken down or abandoned. This also includes the removal of vehicles being driven anti-socially or without insurance or driving licence and if they are being used in unlawful trespass.
We have now reviewed the statutory fees and are finalising arrangements to publish the Government Response to this consultation shortly.
No assessment has been made of the proportion of the statutory charging fee that is received by the recovery operator rather than the management companies.
The operation of recovery schemes and contracts used by the police and National Highways for vehicle recovery operations are matters between the police and individual recovery operators. The Government’s role is limited to setting the statutory charges which the Police and National Highways can levy when they have exercised their recovery powers.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 7 March (HL6233), whether they have considered any studies of the deployment of roads policing officers that assesses the time spent (1) attending accidents, and (2) preparing court papers, against the time spent on patrols aimed at deterring unacceptable behaviour on the road network.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Decisions regarding the number of road policing officers and how they are deployed are a matter for Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables.
They are best placed to understand how to deal with all the issues for which the force is responsible, taking into account any specific local problems and demands.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 7 March (HL6233), what is the reason for the decline in the number of roads policing officers; and whether this was due to (1) the trends in road accident figures, or (2) representations of organisations promoting road safety.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Decisions regarding the number of road policing officers and how they are deployed are a matter for Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables.
They are best placed to understand how to deal with all the issues for which the force is responsible, taking into account any specific local problems and demands.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many roads policing officers there were in England (1) on 1 January 2019, and (2) today.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the Police workforce, for England and Wales statistical bulletin, which can be found on gov.uk.
Information on the number of police officers by function as at 31 March is published annually in tables F1, accompanying the police workforce statistics. The latest data, covering the situation as at 31 March 2021 are available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1005990/police-workforce-mar21-tables.ods, and below.
The data in this table includes the number of police officers working under in ‘Road Policing’ functions.
Table 1 below summarises the total number of full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers dedicated to ‘Road Policing’ functions as at 31 March 2019 and 2021.
Table 1: Total full-time equivalent police officers dedicated to ‘Road Policing’ functions in the 39 territorial police forces in England
As at 31 March: | Number of ‘Road Policing’ officers (FTE) |
2019 | 4,116 |
2021 | 3,785 |
Notes:
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to include roads policing within the national Strategic Policing Requirement.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR) will set clear direction to policing on the contribution they need to make to respond to national threats including terrorism, serious and organised crime and child sexual abuse. It will highlight where police forces need to work together, using local and/or regional capabilities, to protect the public. Following the SPR review that we concluded earlier this year, we are considering the national threats and policing capabilities, such as roads policing, that are included in the SPR. The revised SPR will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 9 July (HL5647), which items of equipment related to the prevention or reduction of road accidents have been awaiting type approval for longer than 18 months; and in each case, why such items have not yet been approved.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Six items of equipment originally sought type approval more than 18 months ago (i.e. before 20th January 2019). Of these, four items are awaiting manufacturer information, decision or action as follows:
In a further case the manufacturer has now made the necessary changes required for type approval and a report to the Home Office is undergoing technical review.
In the final case, a previously withdrawn aspect of an otherwise type approved product was resubmitted with improvements in April 2019 and a report to the Home Office is currently undergoing technical review.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total number of specialist roads policing officers employed in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the primary function of police officers, as part of the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletins, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales .
These data include 4415 Full Time Equivalent officers whose primary function is “Road Policing”, and officers with multiple responsibilities are recorded under their primary function.
This government is fully committed to giving the police the powers and resources they need to fight crime. The Chief Officer will decide how to deploy available resources in dealing with all the issues for which the force is responsible, including roads policing, taking into account any specific local problems and demands with which they are faced.
The Home Office collect and publish arrests data (available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2019), however, information on the officer making the arrest is not collected.
Manufacturers have 15 devices that are currently seeking product type approval from the Home Office, with varying timelines to approval ranging from a few months to 3 years.
Differing timeframes for the approval process are influenced by a number of complicating factors, for example improvements identified by the type approval process that are required for meeting approval requirements, the submission of valid test reports or the provision of manufacturer’s data.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the amount of time specialist roads policing officers spend investigating accidents, compared to time spent on enforcement aimed at accident prevention.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the primary function of police officers, as part of the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletins, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales .
These data include 4415 Full Time Equivalent officers whose primary function is “Road Policing”, and officers with multiple responsibilities are recorded under their primary function.
This government is fully committed to giving the police the powers and resources they need to fight crime. The Chief Officer will decide how to deploy available resources in dealing with all the issues for which the force is responsible, including roads policing, taking into account any specific local problems and demands with which they are faced.
The Home Office collect and publish arrests data (available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2019), however, information on the officer making the arrest is not collected.
Manufacturers have 15 devices that are currently seeking product type approval from the Home Office, with varying timelines to approval ranging from a few months to 3 years.
Differing timeframes for the approval process are influenced by a number of complicating factors, for example improvements identified by the type approval process that are required for meeting approval requirements, the submission of valid test reports or the provision of manufacturer’s data.