E-scooters

Baroness Boycott Excerpts

Thursday 13th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

The noble Baroness focuses on very important issues, and the safety of the public is a prime concern. It is currently illegal to use e-scooters in the way in which she has described, and the police have powers to issue fixed penalty notices on a range of measures—that is an important issue. The trial that is being undertaken is to see whether the safety measures that are required are appropriate, and that will be reviewed in due course by the Department for Transport. But in the meantime, we have recognised that there needs to be action on those illegal scooters, which is why we are exercising powers to allow seizure as a matter of first recourse, not as a second or third recourse. If this House approves them, those powers will be operational as soon as the crime and policing Bill receives Royal Assent in due course.

[Baroness Boycott (CB)]

My Lords, this is a tangential issue which I hope the Government can get ahead of. On Monday I was walking back towards the Tube and came across two people with two small fridges about this big on six wheels—they were robots. I said, “What are these things?”, and one of them said, “We are working for the Co-op supermarket and we’re trialling on-pavement delivery services around the country”. They mentioned the Co-op and a number of towns. I said, “Have they got permission to be on the pavement?” “Yes”, he said. I asked, “What happens when I’m on the pavement?” He answered, “They’re very clever—they will miss you”. However, supermarkets are very greedy and are always looking for an edge. So, if there is no legislation, we do not want six-wheeled, horizontal fridges whizzing down our pavements in the near future. Please can the Government find out and do something about it? It will be a problem.

[Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for educating me in the use of mobile fridges; I saw on my local regional television service that the Co-op is trialling them in the north-west of England. I am not aware how widespread that is, and to be honest from the Dispatch Box, I am not aware of what current legislation will cover that issue. But, as ever, I will take it away, examine it and make sure that I respond to the noble Baroness, and I will certainly look with interest at the impact of those mobile vehicles on pavements. My view is—this is a long-standing view—that pavements are for people, not for cars, bikes or e-scooters. But I will examine for the noble Baroness how that aspiration goes into legislation.