Road Injuries and Deaths

Lord Lennie Excerpts

Wednesday 19th November 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Lennie]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the annual number of serious injuries and deaths on the roads.

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill) (Lab)]

My Lords, the annual report on road casualties in 2024 was published on 25 September. Sadly, it detailed 1,602 fatalities and a total of 29,467 people killed or seriously injured. These are awful numbers, but, in the last decade, they have largely plateaued. We are committed to reducing them and making our roads safer than ever by publishing the first road safety strategy in over a decade.

[Lord Lennie (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend the Minister for that helpful Answer. This week sees the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. For me, this is a deeply personal issue. My brother Magnus died exactly a year ago today, having spent four months in Addenbrooke’s Hospital following a crash between a van and his motorbike. Bedfordshire Police attending the crash failed to collect evidence, failed to pursue the crash, failed to breathalyse the van driver involved in the crash and failed my brother’s immediate family in their ongoing search for the truth of the cause of this crash.

Magnus’s family are extremely grateful to Tim Blackwell, a trustee of DocBike, a growing national charity determined to reduce the number of accidents and victims of motorbike crashes, for supporting them in their fight for justice. Magnus became one of the 30,000 or so victims and the 1,800 or so deaths on the road last year that the Minister mentioned. If these numbers were victims of, say, knife crime, there would be a public outcry and appropriate action taken. So I ask the Minister what specific plans the Government have to significantly reduce these shocking figures?

[Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Lab)]

I am sure the first thing to say is that your Lordships’ House will join me in offering our condolences to my noble friend on the loss of his brother. The road safety strategy will be comprehensive, covering all road users. Measures being considered include improving enforcement, the better use of vehicle data and modern technology, targeted measures for vulnerable road users, including motorcyclists, who are 1% of traffic but, sadly, 21% of fatalities and 20% of casualties, and changes to motoring offences.

P&O Ferries

Lord Lennie Excerpts

Tuesday 29th March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I can reassure my noble friend that we are maintaining the pressure on P&O Ferries. The Secretary of State wrote to the chief executive of P&O Ferries yesterday, explicitly asking him to reconsider the actions that it is taking, to take the opportunity to do right by its workforce, and then to return to the table to have discussions with seafarers to ensure that we can find a way forward.

[Lord Lennie (Lab)]

My Lords, now that Mr Hebblethwaite has apparently rejected the Government’s proposals which they made to him in writing yesterday, where they explained that they wanted him to re-engage the workforce, how will the Government ensure that he does it?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I too noticed that a letter from Mr Hebblethwaite had been published on Twitter earlier today. Unfortunately, I do not have an update following that letter. Obviously, we are considering his response and will have an update in due course, while of course working speedily on a package of measures. We note the response from Mr Hebblethwaite; we have views on that.

Parking on Pavements

Lord Lennie Excerpts

Monday 11th February 2019 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Lennie]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to prevent motor vehicles parking on pavements.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Sugg) (Con)]

My Lords, in Greater London there is already a general ban on pavement parking. Across the rest of England, local authorities can implement local bans using traffic regulation orders. In recent months the Department for Transport has carried out a review of pavement parking, gathering evidence on the effectiveness of current legislation and the case for reform. That review is now complete and we are considering its findings.

[Lord Lennie (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for that Answer. Do the Government accept the views of Guide Dogs, the RNIB, the Living Streets charity campaign, all wheelchair users and all parents pushing a pushchair along the pavements, as well as all the local authorities that have to repair them after they have been damaged, that legislation should move to a default position, as is the case in London, of no parking on pavements unless designated otherwise, rather than just discourage- ment, which is currently the case?

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, a recent survey by the RNIB of more than 500 blind and partially sighted people found that 95% of them had collided with a street obstacle in the past three months. A vehicle parked on a pavement was the single most reported obstacle, so I do agree with the noble Lord that pavement parking is a problem. There are calls for the Government to introduce a law that bans all pavement parking across England, and the roads Minister is keen to make the process as simple as possible. However, before seeking new primary legislation we are evaluating the effectiveness of the current legislation. We want to understand the issues that have prevented councils taking action already.