Lord Mawson Portrait

Lord Mawson

Crossbench - Life peer

Became Member: 29th March 2007


Lord Mawson is not a member of any APPGs
Children and Families Act 2014 Committee
19th Jan 2022 - 21st Nov 2022
Regenerating Seaside Towns and Communities Committee
17th May 2018 - 19th Mar 2019
EU Internal Market Sub-Committee
23rd Jun 2015 - 15th May 2018
Information Committee (Lords)
12th Jun 2014 - 31st Aug 2016
European Union Committee
8th Jun 2015 - 12th May 2016
Refreshment Committee (Lords)
20th Jun 2012 - 30th Mar 2015
Draft Deregulation Bill (Joint Committee)
17th Jul 2013 - 11th Dec 2013
Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Committee
29th May 2012 - 28th Feb 2013


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Lord Mawson has voted in 191 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
View All Lord Mawson Division Votes

Debates during the 2019 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Lord Kamall (Conservative)
(5 debate interactions)
Baroness Swinburne (Conservative)
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
(2 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Department of Health and Social Care
(12 debate contributions)
Leader of the House
(8 debate contributions)
Department for International Trade
(1 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
Health and Care Act 2022
(8,052 words contributed)
Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023
(1,364 words contributed)
Assisted Dying Bill [HL] 2021-22
(638 words contributed)
Fisheries Act 2020
(133 words contributed)
View All Legislation Debates
View all Lord Mawson's debates

Lords initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Lord Mawson, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.


Lord Mawson has not introduced any legislation before Parliament

Lord Mawson has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
2 Other Department Questions
29th Nov 2022
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what assessment he has made of the installation of the telephone system on the parliamentary estate; and what procurement lessons have been learned for the Restoration and Renewal Programme with regard to (1) cost, (2) ratio of possible to actual users, (3) consultation and involvement of users, (4) unnecessary capabilities and specifications, and (5) efficiency for its primary purpose.

There have been several recent incidents with desk-based handsets. These incidents have had protracted resolution times and the Parliamentary Digital Service (PDS) is dependent on third parties, including Microsoft, to identify and fix the root cause.

The need to improve voice services has been identified and PDS is working closely with relevant service providers to resolve these issues. In improving telephony services as part of the ‘Voice Programme’, members will be engaged through user groups to ensure needs and requirements are met.

PDS has a robust lessons learned process that is well-embedded and the Voice Programme is procuring a new telephony solution to support communication services in Parliament using a Crown Commercial Services framework with a focus on increasing quality, efficiency and value.

This work will not be left to the Restoration and Renewal Programme – both because the timescales for implementation would be too long, and because the implementation of telephony is not completely tied to the fabric of the building.

The two Houses agreed a new approach to the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster, as agreed in the resolution passed by the House on 13 July [HL deb. Col. 1497]. All proposals for the restoration works will require parliamentary approval, as set out in section 7 of the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019.

22nd Nov 2021
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker how many electric car charging points there are in the House of Lords.

The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. There are currently no electric car charging points on the House of Lords estate. The Services Committee has been considering a proposal for the installation of charging points, the Clerk of the Parliaments as Accounting Officer has decided that the project does not offer value for money. The Services Committee endorsed this decision and has asked the Administration to consider alternative options for the provision of electric car charging for members.

28th Jun 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether Civil Service processes to measure social value are having a positive impact on the lives of poor communities; and how they ensure that previous processes which were unsuccessful are not repeated.

The Social Value Act 2012 was designed to improve procurement practice and diversify suppliers to the government. Implementation is the responsibility of individual public service commissioners. The Social Value Model is the latest government intervention that is enabling the government to evaluate social value policy in the central government.

The Social Value Model launched in January 2021 (PPN 06/20), standardises the assessment of bidder’s proposals for delivering social value outcomes based on government’s priorities. The Model takes into account factors such as the number of local jobs or apprenticeships a contractor will provide, the number of SMEs involved in their wider supply chain and improving community integration.

Implementation of the Model across central government is underpinned by a detailed training programme, and central government departments are now required to report supplier social value commitments against Key Performance Indicators.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
28th Jun 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to measure the success of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.

The Social Value Act 2012 was designed to improve procurement practice and diversify suppliers to the government. Implementation is the responsibility of individual public service commissioners. The Social Value Model is the latest government intervention that is enabling the government to evaluate social value policy in the central government.

The Social Value Model launched in January 2021 (PPN 06/20), standardises the assessment of bidder’s proposals for delivering social value outcomes based on government’s priorities. The Model takes into account factors such as the number of local jobs or apprenticeships a contractor will provide, the number of SMEs involved in their wider supply chain and improving community integration.

Implementation of the Model across central government is underpinned by a detailed training programme, and central government departments are now required to report supplier social value commitments against Key Performance Indicators.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
28th Jun 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government, in relation to the social value elements of large procurement contracts by government departments or bodies wholly-owned by His Majesty's Government, to what extent they assess tenders by evaluating (1) the absolute number of social value programmes the successful bidder will undertake, and (2) the impact and effectiveness of the social value programme; and what assessment they have made of the relative impact of each form of evaluation.

The Social Value Act 2012 was designed to improve procurement practice and diversify suppliers to the government. Implementation is the responsibility of individual public service commissioners. The Social Value Model is the latest government intervention that is enabling the government to evaluate social value policy in the central government.

The Social Value Model launched in January 2021 (PPN 06/20), standardises the assessment of bidder’s proposals for delivering social value outcomes based on government’s priorities. The Model takes into account factors such as the number of local jobs or apprenticeships a contractor will provide, the number of SMEs involved in their wider supply chain and improving community integration.

Implementation of the Model across central government is underpinned by a detailed training programme, and central government departments are now required to report supplier social value commitments against Key Performance Indicators.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
21st Apr 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UK's performance in delivery of the integration of public services; and of how this performance compares to that of EU member states.

The new Central Digital and Data Office is currently working with government departments to assess digital, data and technology capability.

In recent years, there have been significant changes to the way organisations provide services and to user expectations. It’s now commonplace for services to be:

  • personalised and proactive;

  • low-friction;

  • available on any device and multiple channels, like voice assistant.

Economic benefits have been measured through case study examples of integrated public services. Analysis of these found the monetizable benefits in avoiding users repeating tasks ranged from £50k to £850k per service, depending on its purpose.

Delivering integrated services is key to the government’s approach to digital transformation. The government is committed to increasing the cost-efficiency and quality of online public services.

The UK participates annually in the EU National Interoperability Framework Observatory. This provides regular monitoring of the state of play of interoperability and digital public services in Europe, enabling contributor countries to share best practices and measure their performance.



Lord True
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
21st Apr 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the factors that are delaying the integration of public services, and (2) the cost to the taxpayer of such delays.

The new Central Digital and Data Office is currently working with government departments to assess digital, data and technology capability.

In recent years, there have been significant changes to the way organisations provide services and to user expectations. It’s now commonplace for services to be:

  • personalised and proactive;

  • low-friction;

  • available on any device and multiple channels, like voice assistant.

Economic benefits have been measured through case study examples of integrated public services. Analysis of these found the monetizable benefits in avoiding users repeating tasks ranged from £50k to £850k per service, depending on its purpose.

Delivering integrated services is key to the government’s approach to digital transformation. The government is committed to increasing the cost-efficiency and quality of online public services.

The UK participates annually in the EU National Interoperability Framework Observatory. This provides regular monitoring of the state of play of interoperability and digital public services in Europe, enabling contributor countries to share best practices and measure their performance.



Lord True
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
20th Apr 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential cost savings of integrated public services.

The new Central Digital and Data Office is currently working with government departments to assess digital, data and technology capability.

In recent years, there have been significant changes to the way organisations provide services and to user expectations. It’s now commonplace for services to be:

  • personalised and proactive;

  • low-friction;

  • available on any device and multiple channels, like voice assistant.

Economic benefits have been measured through case study examples of integrated public services. Analysis of these found the monetizable benefits in avoiding users repeating tasks ranged from £50k to £850k per service, depending on its purpose.

Delivering integrated services is key to the government’s approach to digital transformation. The government is committed to increasing the cost-efficiency and quality of online public services.

The UK participates annually in the EU National Interoperability Framework Observatory. This provides regular monitoring of the state of play of interoperability and digital public services in Europe, enabling contributor countries to share best practices and measure their performance.



Lord True
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
20th Apr 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether there is increasing demand from the public for more integrated public services.

The new Central Digital and Data Office is currently working with government departments to assess digital, data and technology capability.

In recent years, there have been significant changes to the way organisations provide services and to user expectations. It’s now commonplace for services to be:

  • personalised and proactive;

  • low-friction;

  • available on any device and multiple channels, like voice assistant.

Economic benefits have been measured through case study examples of integrated public services. Analysis of these found the monetizable benefits in avoiding users repeating tasks ranged from £50k to £850k per service, depending on its purpose.

Delivering integrated services is key to the government’s approach to digital transformation. The government is committed to increasing the cost-efficiency and quality of online public services.

The UK participates annually in the EU National Interoperability Framework Observatory. This provides regular monitoring of the state of play of interoperability and digital public services in Europe, enabling contributor countries to share best practices and measure their performance.



Lord True
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
23rd Apr 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the accuracy of data collection across the UK in respect of COVID-19; and whether they have identified any regional variability in the quality of data collection processes.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

Dear Lord Mawson,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what assessments have been made of the accuracy of data collection across the UK in respect to Covid-19, and any regional variability in the data collection processes (HL3420).

In my role as National Statistician, I have a responsibility to ensure the presentation of all data and analysis across Government is useful, transparent about its caveats, and of a high quality. Trustworthy, coherent and relevant data and statistics to support democratic decision-making is as important now as ever. As part of our response to Covid-19, we are working to ensure that the UK has the vital information needed to respond to the impact of this pandemic on our economy and society. I have been pleased with the response of colleagues in stepping up to that challenge by adapting data collection methods and sources, and publishing relevant, timely information. It is a strength of the UK statistical system that we provide equality of access to data on which important decisions will rely.

Data collection processes feeding into the production of evidence to support the response to COVID-19 are monitored, and any reports of differences in data collection investigated. Currently there are a very small number of those investigations ongoing. Those investigations would not have an impact on ONS weekly deaths statistics, which remain the most complete source of information.

The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) has also been helpful in adapting processes for assessing accuracy and coherence of statistics during this crisis. These steps further enhance the trustworthiness of the statistical system’s response.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

Lord True
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
23rd Apr 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the date by which they will have robust data on the number of deaths from COVID-19 that occur outside of hospitals.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

Dear Lord Mawson,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking for the date by which robust data on the number of deaths from COVID-19 that occur outside of hospitals will be available (HL3417).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for producing a weekly report on the provisional number of deaths registered in England and Wales including deaths involving the coronavirus (COVID-19)[1]. As part of this report, data is published for deaths registered where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate by place of occurrence, which includes places outside of hospitals such as care homes or the home of the deceased. Additionally, on 28 April, the ONS published data from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on the number of deaths in care homes involving COVID-19[2]. Going forward, data from the CQC will be published alongside the weekly report.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/previousReleases

[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/numberofdeathsincarehomesnotifiedtothecarequalitycommissionengland

Lord True
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
21st Apr 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the average interest rate that will be charged to businesses who have been supported via a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan following the end of the 12-month zero-interest rate period of that scheme.

Interest rates charged under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) are set at the discretion of each lender. The UK Government expects that the benefit of the guarantee under the CBILS is reflected in the interest that is charged on the CBILS Facility. This expectation is re-enforced by the State aid rules that also require this.

The Government held discussions with the banking industry prior to the launch of the CBILS and the Business Secretary continues to hold regular calls with each of the biggest CBILS lenders to address feedback on how the scheme has been working and closely monitor its implementation to ensure that companies feel the full benefits of this support.

CBILS lenders have agreed that no early repayment charges will be levied should a borrower choose to repay their CBILS facility earlier than planned.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
21st Apr 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what the interest rates will be for businesses who have been supported via a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan, following the end of the 12-month zero-interest rate period of that scheme; and what plans they have to ensure that such rates stay below 6 per cent.

Interest rates charged under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) are set at the discretion of each lender. The UK Government expects that the benefit of the guarantee under the CBILS Scheme is reflected in the interest that is charged on the CBILS Facility. This expectation is re-enforced by the State Aid rules that also require this.

The Government held discussions with the banking industry prior to the launch of CBILS and the Business Secretary continues to hold regular calls with each of the biggest CBILS lenders to address feedback on how the scheme has been working and closely monitor its implementation to ensure that companies feel the full benefits of this support.

CBILS lenders have agreed that no early repayment charges will be levied should a borrower choose to repay their CBILS facility earlier than planned.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
21st Apr 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans are being processed quickly and efficiently; and how long, on average, they estimate it will take for a business to receive such a loan.

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) opened for applications on 23 March. Since that date, we have made changes to widen the scheme’s eligibility so that more small businesses across the UK can benefit from the scheme, by extending loans to all viable small businesses affected by the Coronavirus, not just those unable to secure regular commercial financing. We have worked with the lenders to implement some technical changes to the British Business Bank’s processes that ensure that applications will be processed faster. As of 21 April, over £2.8bn worth of loans have been issued under CBILS, to over 16,000 businesses.

Lenders, such as banks, are responsible for providing loans supported by the guarantee. The exact terms of each loan and length of application will vary from lender to lender. Lenders are fully aware of the current urgency, so we would expect them to respond appropriately to their customers’ needs.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
21st Apr 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support charities during the COVID-19 pandemic; and what plans are in place to ensure the future of charities once normal trading conditions are returned to.

The £750 million funding package announced on 8 April will support front line charities providing vital services and helping vulnerable people affected by Covid-19.

DCMS is now working with NLCF to design the eligibility, application and assessment criteria for funding and we expect the application system for this fund to be operational shortly.

The government will also be providing match funding for funds raised through the BBC’s Big Night In, held on the 23rd April with Comic Relief and Children in Need, of which £20 million will go to the National Emergencies Trust appeal supporting local charities through the UK Community Foundation network.

We are proactively engaging across the sector, to maintain a complete picture of the impact of coronavirus on charities. We have also started to consider potential scenarios for the post COVID-19 recovery phase and how government and civil society can best respond to them.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
9th Mar 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve internet coverage in rural areas; and to what timescale.

The Government’s manifesto set out its ambition to deliver nationwide gigabit-capable coverage by 2025. The Budget committed £5 billion to support the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband in the most difficult to reach 20% of the country, so that all areas are able to benefit. This builds on existing initiatives such as the Superfast broadband programme and £200 million Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme. We are currently engaging closely with industry, Local Authorities and Devolved Administrations to design this new programme.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
9th Mar 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what comparison they have made of 4G signal strength and reliability between rural areas in (1) England, and (2) France.

The Government announced on 9 March that it had agreed a deal with the mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network programme. This will see Government and industry jointly invest to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by end-2025. Coverage is based on Ofcom’s definition of good quality 4G coverage, which is the minimum signal strength required to deliver a 90-second telephone call and a download speed of at least 2Mbit/s, 95% of the time.

The Shared Rural Network is underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments from each operator to have reached at least 90%, which will be assessed in 2026. Ofcom will regularly report on coverage improvements towards this goal through its Connected Nations report.

Exact site deployment plans will be managed by the operators themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes. However, we expect that consumers will feel the benefit of the programme long before its conclusion and the operators will consult with communities as roll out plans become clearer.

While the biggest improvements in coverage arising from the Shared Rural Network will be in Scotland and Wales, there will be improvements across all four nations. 4G geographic coverage in England is currently 97% from at least one operator and 81% from all four operators. As a result of the programme, this will increase to 98% coverage from at least one operator, and 90% from all four by end-2025.

The Shared Rural Network will help close the digital divide between urban and rural areas by improving mobile coverage in largely rural areas across the whole of the UK. The programme is not directly aimed at improving coverage in dense inner-city areas such as the West End of London which, typically, have good 4G coverage from all four operators, and it will remain a commercial decision for operators to decide whether to improve coverage in such areas.

We are aware of the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index report 2019, which compares 4G coverage of homes across Member States. The report, available via the following link, https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi suggests that in 2018, based on an average of operator coverage, there was 98% 4G coverage of UK homes. This compared to 95% for France, and an EU average of 94%. The Shared Rural Network will help to improve our European standing by providing additional coverage to 280,000 premises.

While the vast majority of commercial rollout of 5G services will be delivered by industry and according to their own timeframes, government is committed to being a world leader in 5G technology and providing a 5G signal to a majority of the population by 2027. The Government is investing in a nationally coordinated programme of 5G testbed facilities and application trials to help achieve this, and has allocated £200 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund to the 5G Programme, which launched in 2017 and will run until March 2022.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
5th Mar 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of London has reliable 4G coverage; and how that percentage compares to the reliability of such coverage in Paris.

The Government announced on 9 March that it had agreed a deal with the mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network programme. This will see Government and industry jointly invest to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by end-2025. Coverage is based on Ofcom’s definition of good quality 4G coverage, which is the minimum signal strength required to deliver a 90-second telephone call and a download speed of at least 2Mbit/s, 95% of the time.

The Shared Rural Network is underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments from each operator to have reached at least 90%, which will be assessed in 2026. Ofcom will regularly report on coverage improvements towards this goal through its Connected Nations report.

Exact site deployment plans will be managed by the operators themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes. However, we expect that consumers will feel the benefit of the programme long before its conclusion and the operators will consult with communities as roll out plans become clearer.

While the biggest improvements in coverage arising from the Shared Rural Network will be in Scotland and Wales, there will be improvements across all four nations. 4G geographic coverage in England is currently 97% from at least one operator and 81% from all four operators. As a result of the programme, this will increase to 98% coverage from at least one operator, and 90% from all four by end-2025.

The Shared Rural Network will help close the digital divide between urban and rural areas by improving mobile coverage in largely rural areas across the whole of the UK. The programme is not directly aimed at improving coverage in dense inner-city areas such as the West End of London which, typically, have good 4G coverage from all four operators, and it will remain a commercial decision for operators to decide whether to improve coverage in such areas.

We are aware of the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index report 2019, which compares 4G coverage of homes across Member States. The report, available via the following link, https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi suggests that in 2018, based on an average of operator coverage, there was 98% 4G coverage of UK homes. This compared to 95% for France, and an EU average of 94%. The Shared Rural Network will help to improve our European standing by providing additional coverage to 280,000 premises.

While the vast majority of commercial rollout of 5G services will be delivered by industry and according to their own timeframes, government is committed to being a world leader in 5G technology and providing a 5G signal to a majority of the population by 2027. The Government is investing in a nationally coordinated programme of 5G testbed facilities and application trials to help achieve this, and has allocated £200 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund to the 5G Programme, which launched in 2017 and will run until March 2022.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
5th Mar 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to invest in (1) 4G, and (2) 5G, infrastructure over the next four years; what reception improvements are expected as a result of such investment; and when they estimate reception will improve.

The Government announced on 9 March that it had agreed a deal with the mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network programme. This will see Government and industry jointly invest to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by end-2025. Coverage is based on Ofcom’s definition of good quality 4G coverage, which is the minimum signal strength required to deliver a 90-second telephone call and a download speed of at least 2Mbit/s, 95% of the time.

The Shared Rural Network is underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments from each operator to have reached at least 90%, which will be assessed in 2026. Ofcom will regularly report on coverage improvements towards this goal through its Connected Nations report.

Exact site deployment plans will be managed by the operators themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes. However, we expect that consumers will feel the benefit of the programme long before its conclusion and the operators will consult with communities as roll out plans become clearer.

While the biggest improvements in coverage arising from the Shared Rural Network will be in Scotland and Wales, there will be improvements across all four nations. 4G geographic coverage in England is currently 97% from at least one operator and 81% from all four operators. As a result of the programme, this will increase to 98% coverage from at least one operator, and 90% from all four by end-2025.

The Shared Rural Network will help close the digital divide between urban and rural areas by improving mobile coverage in largely rural areas across the whole of the UK. The programme is not directly aimed at improving coverage in dense inner-city areas such as the West End of London which, typically, have good 4G coverage from all four operators, and it will remain a commercial decision for operators to decide whether to improve coverage in such areas.

We are aware of the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index report 2019, which compares 4G coverage of homes across Member States. The report, available via the following link, https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi suggests that in 2018, based on an average of operator coverage, there was 98% 4G coverage of UK homes. This compared to 95% for France, and an EU average of 94%. The Shared Rural Network will help to improve our European standing by providing additional coverage to 280,000 premises.

While the vast majority of commercial rollout of 5G services will be delivered by industry and according to their own timeframes, government is committed to being a world leader in 5G technology and providing a 5G signal to a majority of the population by 2027. The Government is investing in a nationally coordinated programme of 5G testbed facilities and application trials to help achieve this, and has allocated £200 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund to the 5G Programme, which launched in 2017 and will run until March 2022.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
5th Mar 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve 4G reception in the West End of London.

The Government announced on 9 March that it had agreed a deal with the mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network programme. This will see Government and industry jointly invest to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by end-2025. Coverage is based on Ofcom’s definition of good quality 4G coverage, which is the minimum signal strength required to deliver a 90-second telephone call and a download speed of at least 2Mbit/s, 95% of the time.

The Shared Rural Network is underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments from each operator to have reached at least 90%, which will be assessed in 2026. Ofcom will regularly report on coverage improvements towards this goal through its Connected Nations report.

Exact site deployment plans will be managed by the operators themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes. However, we expect that consumers will feel the benefit of the programme long before its conclusion and the operators will consult with communities as roll out plans become clearer.

While the biggest improvements in coverage arising from the Shared Rural Network will be in Scotland and Wales, there will be improvements across all four nations. 4G geographic coverage in England is currently 97% from at least one operator and 81% from all four operators. As a result of the programme, this will increase to 98% coverage from at least one operator, and 90% from all four by end-2025.

The Shared Rural Network will help close the digital divide between urban and rural areas by improving mobile coverage in largely rural areas across the whole of the UK. The programme is not directly aimed at improving coverage in dense inner-city areas such as the West End of London which, typically, have good 4G coverage from all four operators, and it will remain a commercial decision for operators to decide whether to improve coverage in such areas.

We are aware of the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index report 2019, which compares 4G coverage of homes across Member States. The report, available via the following link, https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi suggests that in 2018, based on an average of operator coverage, there was 98% 4G coverage of UK homes. This compared to 95% for France, and an EU average of 94%. The Shared Rural Network will help to improve our European standing by providing additional coverage to 280,000 premises.

While the vast majority of commercial rollout of 5G services will be delivered by industry and according to their own timeframes, government is committed to being a world leader in 5G technology and providing a 5G signal to a majority of the population by 2027. The Government is investing in a nationally coordinated programme of 5G testbed facilities and application trials to help achieve this, and has allocated £200 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund to the 5G Programme, which launched in 2017 and will run until March 2022.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
5th Mar 2020
4G
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the percentage of 4G coverage in the UK in comparison to such coverage in France.

The Government announced on 9 March that it had agreed a deal with the mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network programme. This will see Government and industry jointly invest to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by end-2025. Coverage is based on Ofcom’s definition of good quality 4G coverage, which is the minimum signal strength required to deliver a 90-second telephone call and a download speed of at least 2Mbit/s, 95% of the time.

The Shared Rural Network is underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments from each operator to have reached at least 90%, which will be assessed in 2026. Ofcom will regularly report on coverage improvements towards this goal through its Connected Nations report.

Exact site deployment plans will be managed by the operators themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes. However, we expect that consumers will feel the benefit of the programme long before its conclusion and the operators will consult with communities as roll out plans become clearer.

While the biggest improvements in coverage arising from the Shared Rural Network will be in Scotland and Wales, there will be improvements across all four nations. 4G geographic coverage in England is currently 97% from at least one operator and 81% from all four operators. As a result of the programme, this will increase to 98% coverage from at least one operator, and 90% from all four by end-2025.

The Shared Rural Network will help close the digital divide between urban and rural areas by improving mobile coverage in largely rural areas across the whole of the UK. The programme is not directly aimed at improving coverage in dense inner-city areas such as the West End of London which, typically, have good 4G coverage from all four operators, and it will remain a commercial decision for operators to decide whether to improve coverage in such areas.

We are aware of the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index report 2019, which compares 4G coverage of homes across Member States. The report, available via the following link, https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi suggests that in 2018, based on an average of operator coverage, there was 98% 4G coverage of UK homes. This compared to 95% for France, and an EU average of 94%. The Shared Rural Network will help to improve our European standing by providing additional coverage to 280,000 premises.

While the vast majority of commercial rollout of 5G services will be delivered by industry and according to their own timeframes, government is committed to being a world leader in 5G technology and providing a 5G signal to a majority of the population by 2027. The Government is investing in a nationally coordinated programme of 5G testbed facilities and application trials to help achieve this, and has allocated £200 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund to the 5G Programme, which launched in 2017 and will run until March 2022.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
5th Mar 2020
4G
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of England is covered by 4G.

The Government announced on 9 March that it had agreed a deal with the mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network programme. This will see Government and industry jointly invest to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by end-2025. Coverage is based on Ofcom’s definition of good quality 4G coverage, which is the minimum signal strength required to deliver a 90-second telephone call and a download speed of at least 2Mbit/s, 95% of the time.

The Shared Rural Network is underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments from each operator to have reached at least 90%, which will be assessed in 2026. Ofcom will regularly report on coverage improvements towards this goal through its Connected Nations report.

Exact site deployment plans will be managed by the operators themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes. However, we expect that consumers will feel the benefit of the programme long before its conclusion and the operators will consult with communities as roll out plans become clearer.

While the biggest improvements in coverage arising from the Shared Rural Network will be in Scotland and Wales, there will be improvements across all four nations. 4G geographic coverage in England is currently 97% from at least one operator and 81% from all four operators. As a result of the programme, this will increase to 98% coverage from at least one operator, and 90% from all four by end-2025.

The Shared Rural Network will help close the digital divide between urban and rural areas by improving mobile coverage in largely rural areas across the whole of the UK. The programme is not directly aimed at improving coverage in dense inner-city areas such as the West End of London which, typically, have good 4G coverage from all four operators, and it will remain a commercial decision for operators to decide whether to improve coverage in such areas.

We are aware of the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index report 2019, which compares 4G coverage of homes across Member States. The report, available via the following link, https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi suggests that in 2018, based on an average of operator coverage, there was 98% 4G coverage of UK homes. This compared to 95% for France, and an EU average of 94%. The Shared Rural Network will help to improve our European standing by providing additional coverage to 280,000 premises.

While the vast majority of commercial rollout of 5G services will be delivered by industry and according to their own timeframes, government is committed to being a world leader in 5G technology and providing a 5G signal to a majority of the population by 2027. The Government is investing in a nationally coordinated programme of 5G testbed facilities and application trials to help achieve this, and has allocated £200 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund to the 5G Programme, which launched in 2017 and will run until March 2022.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
15th Jan 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what provisions have been made, if any, for UK citizens to stay for longer than 90 days in any 180 day period in the Schengen area after Brexit.

The Government recognises the importance of mobility for economic, social and cultural cooperation. This includes the value of visa-free travel arrangements for UK nationals and EU citizens traveling to each other's territories for short-term visits. ONS figures show that in 2018, UK residents made c.54 million visits to the EU of which c.87% lasted for a period of 13 nights or fewer.

The EU has already legislated such that UK nationals will not need a visa when travelling to the Schengen area for short stays of up to 90 days in every 180-day period. This will apply once free movement ends and after the end of the implementation period.


The Political Declaration sets out the aspects of mobility that the UK and the EU have committed to discuss in the negotiations on the future relationship. This includes providing for visa-free travel for short-term visits. Any provisions agreed in the negotiations would benefit all UK nationals, including those who own property in the EU. The detail of future mobility arrangements with the EU will be subject to negotiation.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
15th Jan 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with the European Council about extending the period of time that UK citizens will be granted visa free travel in the Schengen area after Brexit.

The Government recognises the importance of mobility for economic, social and cultural cooperation. This includes the value of visa-free travel arrangements for UK nationals and EU citizens traveling to each other's territories for short-term visits. ONS figures show that in 2018, UK residents made c.54 million visits to the EU of which c.87% lasted for a period of 13 nights or fewer.

The EU has already legislated such that UK nationals will not need a visa when travelling to the Schengen area for short stays of up to 90 days in every 180-day period. This will apply once free movement ends and after the end of the implementation period.


The Political Declaration sets out the aspects of mobility that the UK and the EU have committed to discuss in the negotiations on the future relationship. This includes providing for visa-free travel for short-term visits. Any provisions agreed in the negotiations would benefit all UK nationals, including those who own property in the EU. The detail of future mobility arrangements with the EU will be subject to negotiation.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
15th Jan 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of UK citizens who will be affected by the 90 day in any 180 day limit on visa free travel in the Schengen area after Brexit; and, in particular, what assessment they have made of the impact on UK citizens who own property in the Schengen area.

The Government recognises the importance of mobility for economic, social and cultural cooperation. This includes the value of visa-free travel arrangements for UK nationals and EU citizens traveling to each other's territories for short-term visits. ONS figures show that in 2018, UK residents made c.54 million visits to the EU of which c.87% lasted for a period of 13 nights or fewer.

The EU has already legislated such that UK nationals will not need a visa when travelling to the Schengen area for short stays of up to 90 days in every 180-day period. This will apply once free movement ends and after the end of the implementation period.


The Political Declaration sets out the aspects of mobility that the UK and the EU have committed to discuss in the negotiations on the future relationship. This includes providing for visa-free travel for short-term visits. Any provisions agreed in the negotiations would benefit all UK nationals, including those who own property in the EU. The detail of future mobility arrangements with the EU will be subject to negotiation.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
31st Jan 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the condition of the road network in England, particularly with regard to potholes, and (2) the efficacy of measures designed to address such road maintenance issues.

Local highway authorities including Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire County Councils have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 (as amended) to maintain the highways network in their area. Dealing with any compensation claims due to possible defects, including potholes, on the highway network is entirely the responsibility of the relevant highway authority, and the Department has made no formal assessment of this matter.

The Department is providing over £1 billion of highway maintenance capital grant funding to local authorities in the current financial year. This funding goes to eligible local highway authorities across England, outside of London and the mayoral combined authorities who are in receipt of City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements. As a result of the funding increases announced at Budget 2023 and in the Prime Minister’s Network North programme, local highway authorities in England are generally receiving around 30% more highway maintenance funding from the Department for Transport in the current financial year than in the previous financial year. The Network North programme includes an unprecedented increase of £8.3 billion for local highway maintenance over the period up to 2033/34 to help fix the blight of potholes on our local highway networks up and down the country.

Funding allocations for all eligible local authorities are published on gov.uk. Gloucestershire County Council received a total of £29.1 million of highway maintenance capital grant funding, and Oxfordshire County Council a total of £27.2 million, in the 2023/24 financial year. In each case this was an increase of around 30% compared to the 2022/23 financial year. The Department for Transport has asked local highway authorities to publish on their websites by 15 March 2024 plans setting out how the additional Network North highway maintenance funding will be used, and thereafter quarterly reports on how the funding has been spent.

The Department takes the condition of local roads very seriously. Well-planned, proactive, and good quality maintenance works are vital in preventing prevent potholes and other defects from forming. Councils that do this effectively get better value for every pound spent.

To ensure transparency in the condition of our local road networks, road condition statistics are published annually by the Department and are available on gov.uk. The Government is working with the British Standards Institution and the Transport Research Laboratory to develop a new data standard for assessing road condition to help local authorities identify, assess, and deal with road defects, including potholes.

Lord Davies of Gower
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
31st Jan 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of local authority processes whereby motorists claim for vehicular damage arising from a lack of adequate road surface maintenance.

Local highway authorities including Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire County Councils have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 (as amended) to maintain the highways network in their area. Dealing with any compensation claims due to possible defects, including potholes, on the highway network is entirely the responsibility of the relevant highway authority, and the Department has made no formal assessment of this matter.

The Department is providing over £1 billion of highway maintenance capital grant funding to local authorities in the current financial year. This funding goes to eligible local highway authorities across England, outside of London and the mayoral combined authorities who are in receipt of City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements. As a result of the funding increases announced at Budget 2023 and in the Prime Minister’s Network North programme, local highway authorities in England are generally receiving around 30% more highway maintenance funding from the Department for Transport in the current financial year than in the previous financial year. The Network North programme includes an unprecedented increase of £8.3 billion for local highway maintenance over the period up to 2033/34 to help fix the blight of potholes on our local highway networks up and down the country.

Funding allocations for all eligible local authorities are published on gov.uk. Gloucestershire County Council received a total of £29.1 million of highway maintenance capital grant funding, and Oxfordshire County Council a total of £27.2 million, in the 2023/24 financial year. In each case this was an increase of around 30% compared to the 2022/23 financial year. The Department for Transport has asked local highway authorities to publish on their websites by 15 March 2024 plans setting out how the additional Network North highway maintenance funding will be used, and thereafter quarterly reports on how the funding has been spent.

The Department takes the condition of local roads very seriously. Well-planned, proactive, and good quality maintenance works are vital in preventing prevent potholes and other defects from forming. Councils that do this effectively get better value for every pound spent.

To ensure transparency in the condition of our local road networks, road condition statistics are published annually by the Department and are available on gov.uk. The Government is working with the British Standards Institution and the Transport Research Laboratory to develop a new data standard for assessing road condition to help local authorities identify, assess, and deal with road defects, including potholes.

Lord Davies of Gower
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
31st Jan 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what sums they have provided for the purposes of road maintenance to (1) Oxfordshire, and (2) Gloucestershire, county councils in the most recent financial year for which figures are available; and what assessment they have made of the extent to which this money has actually been spent on road maintenance.

Local highway authorities including Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire County Councils have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 (as amended) to maintain the highways network in their area. Dealing with any compensation claims due to possible defects, including potholes, on the highway network is entirely the responsibility of the relevant highway authority, and the Department has made no formal assessment of this matter.

The Department is providing over £1 billion of highway maintenance capital grant funding to local authorities in the current financial year. This funding goes to eligible local highway authorities across England, outside of London and the mayoral combined authorities who are in receipt of City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements. As a result of the funding increases announced at Budget 2023 and in the Prime Minister’s Network North programme, local highway authorities in England are generally receiving around 30% more highway maintenance funding from the Department for Transport in the current financial year than in the previous financial year. The Network North programme includes an unprecedented increase of £8.3 billion for local highway maintenance over the period up to 2033/34 to help fix the blight of potholes on our local highway networks up and down the country.

Funding allocations for all eligible local authorities are published on gov.uk. Gloucestershire County Council received a total of £29.1 million of highway maintenance capital grant funding, and Oxfordshire County Council a total of £27.2 million, in the 2023/24 financial year. In each case this was an increase of around 30% compared to the 2022/23 financial year. The Department for Transport has asked local highway authorities to publish on their websites by 15 March 2024 plans setting out how the additional Network North highway maintenance funding will be used, and thereafter quarterly reports on how the funding has been spent.

The Department takes the condition of local roads very seriously. Well-planned, proactive, and good quality maintenance works are vital in preventing prevent potholes and other defects from forming. Councils that do this effectively get better value for every pound spent.

To ensure transparency in the condition of our local road networks, road condition statistics are published annually by the Department and are available on gov.uk. The Government is working with the British Standards Institution and the Transport Research Laboratory to develop a new data standard for assessing road condition to help local authorities identify, assess, and deal with road defects, including potholes.

Lord Davies of Gower
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
31st Jan 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the percentage of the road network in England that is a danger to motorists as a result of inadequate road surface maintenance.

Local highway authorities including Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire County Councils have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 (as amended) to maintain the highways network in their area. Dealing with any compensation claims due to possible defects, including potholes, on the highway network is entirely the responsibility of the relevant highway authority, and the Department has made no formal assessment of this matter.

The Department is providing over £1 billion of highway maintenance capital grant funding to local authorities in the current financial year. This funding goes to eligible local highway authorities across England, outside of London and the mayoral combined authorities who are in receipt of City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements. As a result of the funding increases announced at Budget 2023 and in the Prime Minister’s Network North programme, local highway authorities in England are generally receiving around 30% more highway maintenance funding from the Department for Transport in the current financial year than in the previous financial year. The Network North programme includes an unprecedented increase of £8.3 billion for local highway maintenance over the period up to 2033/34 to help fix the blight of potholes on our local highway networks up and down the country.

Funding allocations for all eligible local authorities are published on gov.uk. Gloucestershire County Council received a total of £29.1 million of highway maintenance capital grant funding, and Oxfordshire County Council a total of £27.2 million, in the 2023/24 financial year. In each case this was an increase of around 30% compared to the 2022/23 financial year. The Department for Transport has asked local highway authorities to publish on their websites by 15 March 2024 plans setting out how the additional Network North highway maintenance funding will be used, and thereafter quarterly reports on how the funding has been spent.

The Department takes the condition of local roads very seriously. Well-planned, proactive, and good quality maintenance works are vital in preventing prevent potholes and other defects from forming. Councils that do this effectively get better value for every pound spent.

To ensure transparency in the condition of our local road networks, road condition statistics are published annually by the Department and are available on gov.uk. The Government is working with the British Standards Institution and the Transport Research Laboratory to develop a new data standard for assessing road condition to help local authorities identify, assess, and deal with road defects, including potholes.

Lord Davies of Gower
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
31st Jan 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the costs to motorists arising from potholes.

Local highway authorities including Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire County Councils have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 (as amended) to maintain the highways network in their area. Dealing with any compensation claims due to possible defects, including potholes, on the highway network is entirely the responsibility of the relevant highway authority, and the Department has made no formal assessment of this matter.

The Department is providing over £1 billion of highway maintenance capital grant funding to local authorities in the current financial year. This funding goes to eligible local highway authorities across England, outside of London and the mayoral combined authorities who are in receipt of City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements. As a result of the funding increases announced at Budget 2023 and in the Prime Minister’s Network North programme, local highway authorities in England are generally receiving around 30% more highway maintenance funding from the Department for Transport in the current financial year than in the previous financial year. The Network North programme includes an unprecedented increase of £8.3 billion for local highway maintenance over the period up to 2033/34 to help fix the blight of potholes on our local highway networks up and down the country.

Funding allocations for all eligible local authorities are published on gov.uk. Gloucestershire County Council received a total of £29.1 million of highway maintenance capital grant funding, and Oxfordshire County Council a total of £27.2 million, in the 2023/24 financial year. In each case this was an increase of around 30% compared to the 2022/23 financial year. The Department for Transport has asked local highway authorities to publish on their websites by 15 March 2024 plans setting out how the additional Network North highway maintenance funding will be used, and thereafter quarterly reports on how the funding has been spent.

The Department takes the condition of local roads very seriously. Well-planned, proactive, and good quality maintenance works are vital in preventing prevent potholes and other defects from forming. Councils that do this effectively get better value for every pound spent.

To ensure transparency in the condition of our local road networks, road condition statistics are published annually by the Department and are available on gov.uk. The Government is working with the British Standards Institution and the Transport Research Laboratory to develop a new data standard for assessing road condition to help local authorities identify, assess, and deal with road defects, including potholes.

Lord Davies of Gower
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
6th Mar 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to clear the litter discarded by the side of motorways and major roads in Britain; and what are the blockages preventing this from being dealt with so far.

Safety is paramount when clearing litter from the Strategic Road Network in England and should only be undertaken by professionals after stringent organisational planning. Litter picking usually requires traffic management and overnight working. Relevant organisations across Government work closely together to improve collaboration between organisations responsible for litter clearance, influence littering behaviour, and improve the operational effectiveness of litter clearance. National Highways staff undertake weekly road inspections along the Network to identify litter, detritus and safety hazards. National Highways arrange for appropriate action as soon as possible in line with the Code of practice on litter and refuse, published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. This is in addition to ad hoc work taken in response to road users’ reports.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
6th Mar 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the amount of litter discarded by the side of motorways and major roads in Britain has increased or decreased in the last 12 months.

National Highways reported that over 2021/22, 60.8% of relevant parts of the Strategic Road Network had no litter, refuse or detritus, or was predominately free of litter, refuse or detritus apart from some small items, per the Code of practice on litter and refuse. This is the most recent data available. Data for 2022/23 will be reported to the Department for Transport and the Office of Rail and Road, and published in annual reports to Parliament, this summer.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
16th Dec 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of gritting of (1) roads, and (2) pavements, during icy weather.

Section 41(1A) of the Highways Act 1980 places a duty on local authorities to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway (which covers both the carriageway and footway) is not endangered by snow or ice. It is the local authority’s responsibility to assess the need to grit and ensure that there are adequate drivers available to carry out gritting operations.

The Government recognises that it is not possible nor proportionate to grit every road or pavement in the country. Instead, local highway authorities prioritise parts of the network that contain essential services such as bus routes, hospitals, and shopping centres. Councils provide winter information including details of their gritting routes on their websites.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
7th Sep 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given, if any, to the approach of France to highways maintenance and waste clearance by comparison with the UK; what lessons they have drawn from any such consideration; and what plans they have, if any, to apply any such lessons in future policy on highways maintenance and waste clearance.

On highway maintenance, the Department has committed National Highways to a set of performance targets on how it delivers a well maintained and resilient Strategic Road Network, which is made up of motorways and principal A-roads in England.

On the local road network, local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, as amended, to maintain the highways network in their area. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as it is for each individual local highway authority to assess which parts of its network are in need of repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances.

On waste clearance, Government’s Litter Strategy for England sets out a range of measures to reduce littering within a generation and sits alongside National Highways’ Litter Strategy which is informed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Code of practise on litter and refuse. It commits the organisation to improve the delivery and responsiveness of waste clearance activity as well as partnership working.

Street cleaning and litter picking on the local road network is covered by revenue funding provided by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to relevant Local Authorities.

The Government is aware of the importance of having high standards of maintenance and clearance of our highways can have on those travelling on our roads.

The Government also gains insight of road users' views via the Strategic Roads User Survey and has set a set of performance metrics that National Highways is committed to, to track its performance in maintaining and clearing the Strategic Road Network.

The Government has not given any specific consideration to France’s approach to highways maintenance and waste clearance by comparison with the UK.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
7th Sep 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the reputational impact on England of poor highways maintenance and waste clearance when experienced by visitors arriving from abroad.

On highway maintenance, the Department has committed National Highways to a set of performance targets on how it delivers a well maintained and resilient Strategic Road Network, which is made up of motorways and principal A-roads in England.

On the local road network, local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, as amended, to maintain the highways network in their area. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as it is for each individual local highway authority to assess which parts of its network are in need of repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances.

On waste clearance, Government’s Litter Strategy for England sets out a range of measures to reduce littering within a generation and sits alongside National Highways’ Litter Strategy which is informed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Code of practise on litter and refuse. It commits the organisation to improve the delivery and responsiveness of waste clearance activity as well as partnership working.

Street cleaning and litter picking on the local road network is covered by revenue funding provided by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to relevant Local Authorities.

The Government is aware of the importance of having high standards of maintenance and clearance of our highways can have on those travelling on our roads.

The Government also gains insight of road users' views via the Strategic Roads User Survey and has set a set of performance metrics that National Highways is committed to, to track its performance in maintaining and clearing the Strategic Road Network.

The Government has not given any specific consideration to France’s approach to highways maintenance and waste clearance by comparison with the UK.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
22nd Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what their target is for the number of electric car charging points to be installed; and by when.

We have targets for en-route charging on the Strategic Road Network, to ensure there are enough chargepoints to enable long distance journeys:

  • By 2023, we aim to have at least 6 high powered, open access chargepoints (150 - 350 kilowatt capable) at each motorway service areas in England.
  • By 2030, we are planning for there to be around 2,500 high powered chargepoints across England’s motorways and major A roads.
  • By 2035, we expect the number to increase to around 6,000 high powered chargers across the network.

We have not set targets for the total number of public chargepoints and we expect local authorities to work with the private sector to meet the charging needs of residents, businesses and visitors. Electric vehicle drivers will require rapid chargepoints to enable long distance journeys, but for many drivers, home charging on driveways and garages is expected to be the most convenient option for shorter journeys. Further, the Government has announced it will require new homes and homes undergoing major renovation with associated parking to have a chargepoint installed.

The Government’s forthcoming EV Infrastructure Strategy will define our vision for the continued roll-out of a world-leading charging infrastructure network across the UK. The strategy will focus on how we will unlock the chargepoint rollout needed to enable the transition from early adoption to mass market uptake of EVs. We will set out our next steps to address barriers to private investment, level up charge point provision, and regulate to protect consumers. The strategy will clearly establish the Government’s expectations for the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders in the planning and deployment of charging infrastructure.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
22nd Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of practical challenges of increasing the number of electric car charging points.

The UK has been a global front-runner in supporting provision of charging infrastructure along with private sector investment. Our vision is to have one of the best infrastructure networks in the world for electric vehicles (EVs), and we want chargepoints to be accessible, affordable and secure.

Government’s forthcoming EV Infrastructure Strategy will define our vision for the continued roll-out of a world-leading charging infrastructure network across the UK. The strategy will focus on how we will unlock the chargepoint rollout needed to enable the transition from early adoption to mass market uptake of EVs. We will set out our next steps to address barriers to private investment, level up charge point provision, and regulate to protect consumers. The strategy will clearly establish government’s expectations for the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders in the planning and deployment of charging infrastructure.

Building on the £1.9 billion from Spending Review 2020, the Government has committed an additional £620 million to support the transition to electric vehicles. The additional funding will support the rollout of charging infrastructure, with a particular focus on local on street residential charging which has already seen £20 million committed this financial year, and targeted plug-in vehicle grants. The total funding committed by this government to vehicle grants and infrastructure is £2.5 billion.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
22nd Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the number of electric car charging points in each local authority, and (2) any geographical differences in levels of installation.

The number of public electric vehicle charging devices available at 1 October 2021 in each local authority of the UK, was as follows

Local Authority / Region

Total devices

per 100,000 population

UNITED KINGDOM

25,927

38.7

GREAT BRITAIN

25,595

39.3

ENGLAND

21,925

38.8

NORTH EAST

916

34.2

County Durham

124

23.3

Darlington

31

28.9

Hartlepool

11

11.7

Middlesbrough

30

21.2

Northumberland

186

57.4

Redcar and Cleveland

34

24.8

Stockton-on-Tees

85

43.1

Tyne and Wear (Met County)

415

36.2

Gateshead

66

32.7

Newcastle upon Tyne

124

40.4

North Tyneside

47

22.5

South Tyneside

30

19.9

Sunderland

148

53.3

NORTH WEST

1,725

23.4

Blackburn with Darwen

31

20.7

Blackpool

24

17.3

Cheshire East

112

29.0

Cheshire West and Chester

99

28.8

Halton

17

13.1

Warrington

89

42.5

Cumbria

237

47.4

Allerdale

19

19.4

Barrow-in-Furness

9

13.5

Carlisle

49

45.2

Copeland

28

41.2

Eden

45

83.7

South Lakeland

87

82.9

Greater Manchester (Met County)

447

15.7

Bolton

24

8.3

Bury

22

11.5

Manchester

112

20.2

Oldham

33

13.9

Rochdale

27

12.1

Salford

76

28.9

Stockport

36

12.2

Tameside

25

11.0

Trafford

52

21.9

Wigan

40

12.1

Lancashire

409

33.3

Burnley

24

26.9

Chorley

46

38.7

Fylde

16

19.7

Hyndburn

21

25.9

Lancaster

74

50.0

Pendle

15

16.3

Preston

53

36.8

Ribble Valley

28

45.1

Rossendale

15

21.0

South Ribble

50

45.0

West Lancashire

48

41.9

Wyre

19

16.8

Merseyside (Met County)

260

18.1

Knowsley

20

13.1

Liverpool

168

33.6

Sefton

26

9.4

St. Helens

22

12.1

Wirral

24

7.4

YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER

1,327

24.0

East Riding of Yorkshire

62

18.1

Kingston upon Hull, City of

41

15.8

North East Lincolnshire

24

15.1

North Lincolnshire

25

14.5

York

86

40.8

North Yorkshire

216

34.8

Craven

28

48.8

Hambleton

36

39.2

Harrogate

53

32.8

Richmondshire

19

35.4

Ryedale

50

89.9

Scarborough

19

17.5

Selby

11

12.0

South Yorkshire (Met County)

301

21.3

Barnsley

45

18.1

Doncaster

57

18.2

Rotherham

69

26.0

Sheffield

130

22.1

West Yorkshire (Met County)

572

24.4

Bradford

108

19.9

Calderdale

47

22.2

Kirklees

63

14.3

Leeds

289

36.2

Wakefield

65

18.5

EAST MIDLANDS

1,413

29.0

Derby

65

25.3

Leicester

79

22.3

North Northamptonshire

92

26.3

Nottingham

151

44.8

Rutland

19

46.9

West Northamptonshire

82

20.2

Derbyshire

218

27.0

Amber Valley

15

11.6

Bolsover

39

48.0

Chesterfield

55

52.4

Derbyshire Dales

36

49.7

Erewash

21

18.2

High Peak

25

27.0

North East Derbyshire

10

9.8

South Derbyshire

17

15.5

Leicestershire

224

31.4

Blaby

48

47.1

Charnwood

39

20.7

Harborough

37

38.7

Hinckley and Bosworth

42

37.0

Melton

8

15.6

North West Leicestershire

25

23.9

Oadby and Wigston

25

43.6

Lincolnshire

249

32.5

Boston

45

63.5

East Lindsey

52

36.6

Lincoln

64

64.0

North Kesteven

16

13.5

South Holland

12

12.5

South Kesteven

43

30.0

West Lindsey

17

17.7

Nottinghamshire

234

28.1

Ashfield

23

17.9

Bassetlaw

38

32.1

Broxtowe

34

29.7

Gedling

33

27.9

Mansfield

27

24.7

Newark and Sherwood

36

29.2

Rushcliffe

43

35.4

WEST MIDLANDS

1,723

28.9

Herefordshire, County of

67

34.6

Shropshire

70

21.5

Stoke-on-Trent

37

14.4

Telford and Wrekin

30

16.5

Staffordshire

212

24.0

Cannock Chase

24

23.6

East Staffordshire

20

16.5

Lichfield

17

16.1

Newcastle-under-Lyme

41

31.6

South Staffordshire

48

42.7

Stafford

42

30.5

Staffordshire Moorlands

9

9.1

Tamworth

11

14.3

Warwickshire

252

43.2

North Warwickshire

33

50.4

Nuneaton and Bedworth

21

16.1

Rugby

53

47.9

Stratford-on-Avon

77

58.2

Warwick

68

46.9

West Midlands (Met County)

904

30.7

Birmingham

154

13.5

Coventry

481

126.8

Dudley

38

11.8

Sandwell

37

11.2

Solihull

119

54.7

Walsall

24

8.4

Wolverhampton

51

19.3

Worcestershire

151

25.2

Bromsgrove

42

41.8

Malvern Hills

10

12.6

Redditch

12

14.0

Worcester

29

28.9

Wychavon

43

32.8

Wyre Forest

15

14.8

EAST OF ENGLAND

1,667

26.6

Bedford

102

58.4

Central Bedfordshire

46

15.6

Luton

52

24.4

Peterborough

66

32.6

Southend-on-Sea

16

8.8

Thurrock

19

10.8

Cambridgeshire

172

26.2

Cambridge

56

44.8

East Cambridgeshire

20

22.2

Fenland

5

4.9

Huntingdonshire

46

25.7

South Cambridgeshire

45

28.0

Essex

330

22.0

Basildon

58

30.9

Braintree

71

46.4

Brentwood

7

9.1

Castle Point

3

3.3

Chelmsford

37

20.6

Colchester

45

22.8

Epping Forest

35

26.5

Harlow

12

13.7

Maldon

9

13.8

Rochford

15

17.1

Tendring

16

10.9

Uttlesford

22

23.7

Hertfordshire

323

27.0

Broxbourne

18

18.4

Dacorum

23

14.8

East Hertfordshire

17

11.2

Hertsmere

28

26.5

North Hertfordshire

29

21.7

St Albans

40

26.8

Stevenage

9

10.2

Three Rivers

59

62.8

Watford

47

48.6

Welwyn Hatfield

53

42.8

Norfolk

298

32.6

Breckland

41

29.0

Broadland

20

15.2

Great Yarmouth

32

32.3

King's Lynn and West Norfolk

53

35.0

North Norfolk

66

62.8

Norwich

52

36.6

South Norfolk

34

23.8

Suffolk

243

31.9

Babergh

23

24.8

East Suffolk

62

24.8

Ipswich

55

40.4

Mid Suffolk

18

17.2

West Suffolk

85

47.9

LONDON

7,865

87.4

Inner London

4,943

135.0

Camden

373

133.4

City of London

36

329.1

Hackney

139

49.5

Hammersmith and Fulham

580

316.0

Haringey

92

34.5

Islington

286

115.3

Kensington and Chelsea

547

348.7

Lambeth

307

95.4

Lewisham

132

43.2

Newham

153

43.1

Southwark

390

121.9

Tower Hamlets

190

57.2

Wandsworth

623

188.9

Westminster

1095

405.8

Outer London

2,922

54.7

Barking and Dagenham

64

29.9

Barnet

210

52.6

Bexley

45

18.1

Brent

237

72.3

Bromley

86

25.8

Croydon

100

25.7

Ealing

280

82.3

Enfield

125

37.5

Greenwich

257

88.9

Harrow

49

19.4

Havering

31

11.9

Hillingdon

198

64.1

Hounslow

282

103.8

Kingston upon Thames

96

53.6

Merton

199

96.4

Redbridge

75

24.5

Richmond upon Thames

354

178.7

Sutton

51

24.6

Waltham Forest

183

66.1

SOUTH EAST

3,416

37.1

Bracknell Forest

36

29.0

Brighton and Hove

345

118.3

Isle of Wight

51

35.8

Medway

17

6.1

Milton Keynes

372

137.7

Portsmouth

72

33.5

Reading

62

38.7

Slough

68

45.5

Southampton

87

34.4

West Berkshire

108

68.2

Windsor and Maidenhead

40

26.4

Wokingham

70

40.2

Buckinghamshire

165

30.2

East Sussex

115

20.6

Eastbourne

36

34.8

Hastings

15

16.2

Lewes

24

23.2

Rother

13

13.4

Wealden

27

16.6

Hampshire

523

37.6

Basingstoke and Deane

83

46.7

East Hampshire

37

29.9

Eastleigh

58

42.8

Fareham

12

10.3

Gosport

11

13.0

Hart

47

48.2

Havant

27

21.4

New Forest

80

44.5

Rushmoor

35

37.1

Test Valley

42

33.0

Winchester

91

72.3

Kent

425

26.7

Ashford

32

24.4

Canterbury

65

39.0

Dartford

35

30.7

Dover

31

26.2

Folkestone and Hythe

31

27.4

Gravesham

10

9.4

Maidstone

64

37.0

Sevenoaks

29

23.9

Swale

37

24.5

Thanet

26

18.4

Tonbridge and Malling

20

15.1

Tunbridge Wells

45

37.8

Oxfordshire

310

44.5

Cherwell

97

63.9

Oxford

105

69.3

South Oxfordshire

45

31.3

Vale of White Horse

43

31.2

West Oxfordshire

20

17.9

Surrey

339

28.3

Elmbridge

38

27.7

Epsom and Ewell

17

21.0

Guildford

58

38.6

Mole Valley

21

24.0

Reigate and Banstead

29

19.4

Runnymede

36

39.9

Spelthorne

46

46.1

Surrey Heath

26

29.1

Tandridge

15

16.9

Waverley

34

26.9

Woking

19

19.0

West Sussex

211

24.3

Adur

10

15.6

Arun

27

16.8

Chichester

55

45.3

Crawley

41

36.5

Horsham

29

19.9

Mid Sussex

36

23.7

Worthing

13

11.7

SOUTH WEST

1,873

33.1

Bath and North East Somerset

68

34.6

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

82

20.7

Bristol, City of

123

26.4

Cornwall

276

48.1

Dorset

123

32.4

Isles of Scilly

0

0.0

North Somerset

90

41.7

Plymouth

74

28.2

South Gloucestershire

119

41.3

Swindon

47

21.1

Torbay

26

19.1

Wiltshire

167

33.1

Devon

301

37.1

East Devon

64

43.2

Exeter

49

36.8

Mid Devon

27

32.4

North Devon

51

52.0

South Hams

33

37.5

Teignbridge

25

18.5

Torridge

24

34.9

West Devon

28

49.9

Gloucestershire

210

32.8

Cheltenham

34

29.3

Cotswold

59

65.4

Forest of Dean

15

17.2

Gloucester

38

29.3

Stroud

43

35.6

Tewkesbury

21

21.7

Somerset

167

29.6

Mendip

38

32.7

Sedgemoor

33

26.7

Somerset West and Taunton

47

30.2

South Somerset

49

29.0

WALES

994

31.4

Isle of Anglesey

55

78.1

Gwynedd

81

64.7

Conwy

45

38.1

Denbighshire

19

19.7

Flintshire

34

21.7

Wrexham

35

25.7

Powys

89

66.9

Ceredigion

42

57.6

Pembrokeshire

108

85.2

Carmarthenshire

74

38.9

Swansea

57

23.1

Neath Port Talbot

12

8.3

Bridgend

27

18.3

The Vale of Glamorgan

26

19.2

Cardiff

75

20.3

Rhondda Cynon Taf

18

7.4

Merthyr Tydfil

7

11.6

Caerphilly

39

21.5

Blaenau Gwent

18

25.7

Torfaen

28

29.5

Monmouthshire

53

55.7

Newport

52

33.2

SCOTLAND

2,676

49.0

Aberdeen City

99

43.2

Aberdeenshire

106

40.6

Angus

75

64.8

Argyll & Bute

86

100.7

City of Edinburgh

146

27.7

Clackmannanshire

23

44.8

Dumfries & Galloway

102

68.8

Dundee City

127

85.3

East Ayrshire

67

55.1

East Dunbartonshire

25

23.0

East Lothian

123

114.0

East Renfrewshire

24

25.0

Falkirk

53

33.0

Fife

114

30.5

Glasgow City

203

31.9

Highland

224

95.1

Inverclyde

34

44.1

Midlothian

60

64.4

Moray

46

48.1

Na h-Eileanan Siar

28

105.7

North Ayrshire

50

37.2

North Lanarkshire

165

48.4

Orkney Islands

40

178.6

Perth & Kinross

121

79.7

Renfrewshire

71

39.6

Scottish Borders

51

44.3

Shetland Islands

21

91.8

South Ayrshire

57

50.8

South Lanarkshire

148

46.1

Stirling

115

122.2

West Dunbartonshire

26

29.4

West Lothian

46

25.0

NORTHERN IRELAND

332

17.5

Antrim and Newtownabbey

37

25.7

Ards and North Down

19

11.7

Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon

31

14.3

Belfast

53

15.5

Causeway Coast and Glens

31

21.4

Derry City and Strabane

27

17.9

Fermanagh and Omagh

38

32.4

Lisburn and Castlereagh

17

11.6

Mid and East Antrim

24

17.2

Mid Ulster

24

16.1

Newry, Mourne and Down

31

17.1

The Government is supporting all local authorities in the UK to provide public chargepoints for their residents without access to private parking through the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme. This year, £20 million is available under the scheme to ensure more local authorities and residents can benefit.

In addition to grant funding, Government’s forthcoming EV Infrastructure Strategy will define our vision for the continued roll-out of a world-leading charging infrastructure network across the UK. The strategy will focus on how we will unlock the chargepoint rollout needed to enable the transition from early adoption to mass market uptake of EVs across all areas of the UK.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
9th Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether electric scooters are legally required to have lights.

The Government held a consultation in 2018 to consider cycling offences causing serious injury or death as well as reviewing existing cycling offences.

The Government believes that there should be a separate framework of cycling offences, as compared with motoring offences, because it may not be proportionate to apply offences and their corresponding penalties intended for drivers of motor vehicles, to cyclists. The response to the consultation will be published before the end of this year but early next year at the latest.

On e-scooters, privately-owned e-scooters are illegal to use on the road, cycle lanes or pavements, and they can only be ridden on private land with the permission of the landowner. The law is very clear and there are existing penalties for improper use.

Although it is not a specific offence to cycle and use headphones, cyclists could be prosecuted by the police for careless or dangerous cycling. Cyclists and users of trial e-scooters have a duty to behave in a safe and responsible manner and need to concentrate like all other road users and should not do anything that would affect their concentration and put themselves and other road users in danger.

For those who do not adopt a responsible attitude, or if their use of the highway creates an unsafe environment or causes nuisance, there are laws in place that can make them liable for prosecution.

In the UK, e-scooters are treated like any other motor vehicle under the Road Traffic Act. The Government is running trials of rental e-scooters to assess their safety and wider impacts. We require trial e-scooters to meet minimum standards on the e-scooter design, including what lighting is required through administrative vehicle orders issued by the Secretary of State under s.44 and s.63 of the Road Traffic Act. The evidence gathered during the trials will inform whether e-scooters should be legalised in the future, and how we can ensure their use is as safe as possible.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
9th Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to bring forward legislation for cycling offences; and whether these will include offences related to the use of electric scooters.

The Government held a consultation in 2018 to consider cycling offences causing serious injury or death as well as reviewing existing cycling offences.

The Government believes that there should be a separate framework of cycling offences, as compared with motoring offences, because it may not be proportionate to apply offences and their corresponding penalties intended for drivers of motor vehicles, to cyclists. The response to the consultation will be published before the end of this year but early next year at the latest.

On e-scooters, privately-owned e-scooters are illegal to use on the road, cycle lanes or pavements, and they can only be ridden on private land with the permission of the landowner. The law is very clear and there are existing penalties for improper use.

Although it is not a specific offence to cycle and use headphones, cyclists could be prosecuted by the police for careless or dangerous cycling. Cyclists and users of trial e-scooters have a duty to behave in a safe and responsible manner and need to concentrate like all other road users and should not do anything that would affect their concentration and put themselves and other road users in danger.

For those who do not adopt a responsible attitude, or if their use of the highway creates an unsafe environment or causes nuisance, there are laws in place that can make them liable for prosecution.

In the UK, e-scooters are treated like any other motor vehicle under the Road Traffic Act. The Government is running trials of rental e-scooters to assess their safety and wider impacts. We require trial e-scooters to meet minimum standards on the e-scooter design, including what lighting is required through administrative vehicle orders issued by the Secretary of State under s.44 and s.63 of the Road Traffic Act. The evidence gathered during the trials will inform whether e-scooters should be legalised in the future, and how we can ensure their use is as safe as possible.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
9th Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to bring forward legislation to make the use of headphones while (1) cycling, or (2) operating electric scooters, an offence.

The Government held a consultation in 2018 to consider cycling offences causing serious injury or death as well as reviewing existing cycling offences.

The Government believes that there should be a separate framework of cycling offences, as compared with motoring offences, because it may not be proportionate to apply offences and their corresponding penalties intended for drivers of motor vehicles, to cyclists. The response to the consultation will be published before the end of this year but early next year at the latest.

On e-scooters, privately-owned e-scooters are illegal to use on the road, cycle lanes or pavements, and they can only be ridden on private land with the permission of the landowner. The law is very clear and there are existing penalties for improper use.

Although it is not a specific offence to cycle and use headphones, cyclists could be prosecuted by the police for careless or dangerous cycling. Cyclists and users of trial e-scooters have a duty to behave in a safe and responsible manner and need to concentrate like all other road users and should not do anything that would affect their concentration and put themselves and other road users in danger.

For those who do not adopt a responsible attitude, or if their use of the highway creates an unsafe environment or causes nuisance, there are laws in place that can make them liable for prosecution.

In the UK, e-scooters are treated like any other motor vehicle under the Road Traffic Act. The Government is running trials of rental e-scooters to assess their safety and wider impacts. We require trial e-scooters to meet minimum standards on the e-scooter design, including what lighting is required through administrative vehicle orders issued by the Secretary of State under s.44 and s.63 of the Road Traffic Act. The evidence gathered during the trials will inform whether e-scooters should be legalised in the future, and how we can ensure their use is as safe as possible.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
11th May 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they collect data on the percentage of cycling accidents that take place after dark where the cyclist does not have lights on their bicycles; and if so, how many such accidents took place in England's cities in the last 12 months.

Statistics on reported personal injury road accidents are compiled from data reported by the police in the STATS19 collection system.

STATS19 does not record whether a cyclist involved in an accident has lights on their bicycle, but does include contributory factors assigned by police officers which give an indication of which factors the attending officer thought contributed to the accident, without assigning blame.

In urban areas of England in 2019, the contributory factor ‘Not displaying lights at night or in poor visibility’ was assigned to a pedal cyclist in 134 personal injury road accidents. This represents 2% of such accidents where a police officer attended the scene and at least one contributory factor was reported.

Road safety statistics are reported on a calendar year basis. The latest annual published statistics are for 2019. Data on reported personal injury road accidents in Great Britain for 2020 will be published in September 2021.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
11th May 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have been (1) injured, and (2) killed, in cycling accidents that have taken place (a) in a city, and (b) after dark, in the last 12 months.

Statistics on reported personal injury road accidents in Great Britain are compiled from data reported by the police in the STATS19 collection system.

In 2019, 14,616 people were injured and 46 people were killed in reported road accidents in Great Britain which involved at least one pedal cycle and occurred in an urban area.

In 2019, 3,786 people were injured and 29 people were killed in reported road accidents in Great Britain which involved at least one pedal cycle and occurred in darkness. Darkness means half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise.

Road safety statistics are reported on a calendar year basis. The latest annual published statistics are for 2019. Data on reported personal injury road accidents in Great Britain for 2020 will be published in September 2021.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
11th May 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they have issued to police forces in England about the prosecution of cyclists not using lights on their bicycles after dark.

The Government has not issued any such advice. The enforcement of cycling offences is entirely an operational matter for individual chief officers of police.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
11th May 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what research they have commissioned in the last three years on the causes of road traffic accidents between motor vehicles and cyclists in cities.

In 2019 the Department commissioned NatCen social research to conduct a rapid evidence review to understand the factors behind collisions in cyclists resulting from ‘failing to look properly’ and ‘look but failed to see’, and to assess possible interventions to minimise these types of collisions. This work was commissioned in response to Action 41 in the Government response to the 2018 Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS) Safety Review call for evidence. This committed the Department to “commission a package of research to look into technical, physiological and behavioural issues relating to the visibility and audibility of cyclists. The research is complete and we expect to publish the report later this summer.

In 2018 the Government announced a £480,000 partnership between the police, the RAC Foundation and Highways England to trial a new approach to investigating all road collisions (The Road Collision Investigation Project – RCIP). This involves more in-depth, qualitative analysis to understand the underlying causes of crashes and road safety incidents. The latest update on this project can be found on the RAC Foundation website, under “collaborations”.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
20th Apr 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost of the duplication of road signs on roads in rural England.

The Department has made no assessment of the cost of duplication of road signs on roads in rural England.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
20th Apr 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have commissioned any research to compare the levels of littering on roads in England and the rest of Europe; and if so, what the findings were.

No specific assessment has been undertaken into changes in the amount of litter at the side of main roads in England, or research commissioned to compare levels of littering with the rest of Europe. On the Strategic Road Network (SRN), the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) monitors Highways England’s performance and delivery of its investment plan. The ORR’s most recent Annual Assessment of Highways England across Road Period 1 (2015-2020) acknowledged its efforts to address litter on the SRN but highlighted that there is more to do to achieve the vision set out in its own Litter Strategy.

As part of the second Road Investment Strategy (RIS2), which launched in April 2020, Highways England will report a litter performance indicator. This will measure what percentage of the SRN is predominantly free of litter, in line with the Code of Practice on litter and refuse. It will be published annually within Highways England's Delivery Plan Update due in the Summer. This will ensure there is increased transparency on litter levels for the Department, ORR and road users and that Highways England’s performance can be held to account.

The Government’s Litter Strategy outlines a variety of measures to reduce littering within a generation and sits alongside Highways England’s Litter Strategy for combatting litter on the SRN.

Street cleaning and litter picking on the local road network is covered by revenue funding provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG).

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)