E-scooters and E-bikes: Regulation

Anna Dixon Excerpts

Wednesday 21st October 2026 Westminster Hall

[Helen Maguire]

I am really sorry to hear about the hon. Member’s constituent; I hope she is okay now. I will indeed be raising those issues.

One constituent told me that her car was hit by an illegally ridden e-bike on the wrong side of the road. She got the individual’s details and reported it to the police, but she was told that they would keep a lookout rather than seize the bike from the known address.

This issue goes far beyond Epsom and Ewell, as Members have already demonstrated. Across the country, we are seeing young people on e-scooters riding at high speed through red lights, parks and pedestrianised areas.

[Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)]

I thank the hon. Lady for the excellent seminar she held last week, which I attended. Illegal e-motorbikes are a blight on my constituency. I have spoken to the police and to the lead police officers who she convened last week, and they say that this is the preferred vehicle of choice for organised criminals. Will she press the Minister to work with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade to ensure that non-compliant conversion kits are banned from sale as soon as possible?

[Helen Maguire]

I absolutely agree: this is one of the matters that the Minister needs to take forward.

We have the issues of illegally modified e-scooters, which can now reach speeds of up to 70 mph; e-bikes, which are catching fire due to uncertified lithium-ion batteries; and the use of e-vehicles in criminal activity and antisocial behaviour, as the hon. Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) alluded to. Pedestrians have the fundamental right to feel safe. They should not need to worry about being hit or knocked over when simply walking in the park or on the streets. That is particularly important for vulnerable groups, especially those with vision loss or mobility needs.

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[Anna Dixon]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Jim Shannon]

No, I am on a two and a half minute time limit, so it would not be fair to everybody else.

This is a serious issue that demands immediate attention. I commend the Police Service of Northern Ireland for the work it has done and continues to do in raising awareness that it is currently illegal to use e-scooters on public roads and footpaths. The Ards police in my constituency have seized several e-scooters—some 20 that were being driven illegally have been seized so far, to give hon. Members an idea of the problems that we have in our territory. However, it is clear further legislation is needed to address the scale of this issue.

Can the Minister give us an idea of any legislative changes being considered and what engagement there will be with the Assembly and the PSNI? I call on the Minister to take stronger action to regulate e-scooter use and to consider more appropriate age restrictions and a mandatory helmet requirement. E-scooters may seem like a more convenient mode of transport for many, but they are a danger to the general public.

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[Olly Glover]

Those statistics highlight the problem. The delivery companies need to take ownership rather than dumping the problem on everybody else, leading to the demonisation of their workforce, and expecting the Government to clear up their mess. They need to take action as well. If they will not, they need to be regulated much more toughly.

The Government also need to get on with legislating to regulate e-scooters clearly and consistently. The current postcode lottery of arrangements is unhelpful for everybody. We also need a Government-backed e-bike safety certification scheme, building on the action taken by the cycling industry to come up with its own kitemark to show that an e-bike is safely manufactured and compliant with legal standards.

Our police need much greater support. They need greater powers, they need more training on how to identify illegal e-bikes, and they need appropriate resources. We should also consider a national swap or amnesty scheme for illegally modified or designed e-bikes and e-scooters so that people can come forward. We heard from the hon. Member for Glenrothes and Mid Fife (Richard Baker) about how seized e-bikes can be used for positive purposes. There are good examples of such amnesty schemes in New York.

The biggest reason why this needs to be tackled is the human impact, in terms of both deaths and injuries and the increase in fear and nervousness when using our streets.

[Anna Dixon]

I recently spoke to an A&E doctor in my constituency who had witnessed the rise in catastrophic injuries, particularly to children and young people. Does the hon. Member agree that we have to get to the source and ban conversion kits to stop these deadly bikes?

[Olly Glover]

I agree, and the hon. Lady is right to highlight the impact on our health service. There is also the economic impact on insurance. If this problem is not dealt with, there is a real risk that it will undermine the Government’s commendable aim to increase walking, cycling and wheeling, and all the resulting health and congestion-reduction benefits. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s comments, and I hope to see the tough, multi-departmental action we need.

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. I commend the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) for securing the debate. We have all heard from constituents about the problems caused by the illegal use of these vehicles, whether it is people riding e-bikes on the pavement, e-bikes clearly operating in violation of existing rules, private scooters being ridden on the road, or the serious impact of lithium-ion battery fires on public safety.

The concerns we hear from the public about these devices underscore why effective and proportionate regulation is necessary. People need to know that those using these vehicles are following the rules of the road. However, combining the two issues in this debate risks being somewhat redundant, given that, where we are not discussing dockless rental schemes, the regulatory regimes governing the two types of vehicles are very different.

There is a clear set of rules governing the use of e-bikes. The technical limits in the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles Regulations 1983 and the associated standards set a reasonably robust framework for their use, but as we have heard, there is a need to go further. That raises the fundamental point we need to consider when examining the regulation of these vehicles: are the current regulations being followed? That is why we must address the need for a much stronger approach to the enforcement of existing laws and regulations.

Over the past couple of years, several local and national news organisations have highlighted the increased illegal use of e-bikes and e-scooters. For example, data obtained under freedom of information requests revealed that the number of crimes committed on e-bikes in London alone exceeded 10,000 in 2025, but only 221 of them resulted in the perpetrator being caught and charged—a pretty poor rate of 2.2%. To be honest, if we walked out of Parliament now and observed a nearby crossing, it would not take long to spot an e-bike rider flouting the law.

[Anna Dixon]

I have been out with my local police, and it is clear that they do not have the powers to pursue these very fast, illegal e-bikes to detain people. Gathering evidence is often not possible because of balaclavas. Does the hon. Member recognise that the Government’s action to give the police stronger powers to seize and destroy bikes from garages and lock-ups is a proportionate response to tackling this problem at source and helping the police to do their job?

[Greg Smith]

I do not think the hon. Lady and I are a million miles apart. Colleagues from all parties have set out serious concerns in this debate. The police having greater powers and enforcement ability is always welcome, but my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton West (Matt Vickers) tried to get much stronger regulation and enforcement powers put into legislation during this Parliament, and the Government resisted. It would be foolish to pretend that all the powers needed are out there. We would not be debating this in Westminster Hall if all was fine and rosy.