Baroness Pidgeon

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 11th December is attached.

The Baroness Pidgeon MBE

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

17 December 2024

Dear Lady Pidgeon,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question, asking what assessment has been made of the number of jobs in (1) the bicycle manufacturing industry, (2) the e-bike manufacturing industry, and (3) the supply chains of the bicycle and e-bike manufacturing industries (HL3406).

The estimated number of employees in Great Britain working in the manufacture of bicycles and invalid carriages in 2023 was 2,700, according to the latest available data from the Business Register and Employment Survey1.

The latest UK Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities 20072 does not have a unique classification for the manufacture of e-bikes, therefore we are unable to provide an estimate of jobs for this industry.

The supply chain of the bicycle and e-bike manufacturing industries could include a large number of different industrial classifications. We do not hold information on which industries are part of these supply chains and therefore are unable to provide an estimate for the number of jobs in the UK for supply chain industries.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

The Trade Remedies Authority is the UK’s independent investigatory body that exists to defend the UK against unfair international trade practices, including assessing harm from subsidies. Where UK economic interests are being damaged by such unfair practices, action will be taken. The UK has in place an anti-subsidy and an anti-dumping measure on e-bikes from China, and one anti-dumping measure on bikes/bike parts from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Tunisia. The Trade Remedies Authority is currently reviewing all three measures.

Our product safety laws require that all consumer products placed on the UK market, including e-bike batteries and conversion kits, must comply with legal safety requirements, regardless of their origin.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards works to detect and prevent unsafe or non-compliant goods entering the UK at ports and borders, alongside Local Authority Trading Standards and other Government partners. Information on products that present risks are published on gov.uk, including country of origin where known.

OPSS has commissioned technical research into lithium-ion battery safety to strengthen Government’s evidence base on the safety of these products.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards is leading a programme of action to tackle the causes of fires in e-bikes and e-scooters. This includes targeted regulatory action, working with Local Authority Trading Standards at ports and borders, to identify non-compliant businesses and prevent unsafe products entering the market.

OPSS has published 21 product recalls and 28 product safety reports covering regulators’ interventions on e-bikes and e-scooters, lithium-ion batteries and chargers, since 2022.

OPSS’ enforcement actions are published on gov.uk quarterly. Information on products that present risks are published on the Product Recalls and Alerts site on gov.uk.

Every child in care should have a safe and loving home which is also value for money for the taxpayer.

In their 2022 report, the Competition and Markets Authority estimated that the operating profit margins for large children’s social care providers between 2016 and 2020 were 22.6% for children’s homes, 19.4% for Independent Fostering Agencies and 35.5% for supported accommodation.

The department is clear that profiteering from vulnerable children in care is absolutely unacceptable and the department is committed to stamping out profiteering where it occurs in the children’s social care placement market.

On 18 November 2024, the department published its policy paper ‘Keeping children safe, helping families thrive’, setting out ambitious reforms across children’s social care. As part of these, the department is taking forward a package of measures, including through legislation, to rebalance the children’s social care placement market, covering children’s homes, independent fostering agencies and supported accommodation. These measures will improve competition, regulation and commissioning of placements and bring greater visibility to the prices local authorities are paying and the profits providers are making. If the department does not see a reduction in profiteering, the department will not hesitate to take action to cap providers’ profits.

The department will bring forward legislation when parliamentary time allows.

Every child in care should have a safe and loving home which is also value for money for the taxpayer.

In their 2022 report, the Competition and Markets Authority estimated that the operating profit margins for large children’s social care providers between 2016 and 2020 were 22.6% for children’s homes, 19.4% for Independent Fostering Agencies and 35.5% for supported accommodation.

The department is clear that profiteering from vulnerable children in care is absolutely unacceptable and the department is committed to stamping out profiteering where it occurs in the children’s social care placement market.

On 18 November 2024, the department published its policy paper ‘Keeping children safe, helping families thrive’, setting out ambitious reforms across children’s social care. As part of these, the department is taking forward a package of measures, including through legislation, to rebalance the children’s social care placement market, covering children’s homes, independent fostering agencies and supported accommodation. These measures will improve competition, regulation and commissioning of placements and bring greater visibility to the prices local authorities are paying and the profits providers are making. If the department does not see a reduction in profiteering, the department will not hesitate to take action to cap providers’ profits.

The department will bring forward legislation when parliamentary time allows.

Every child in care should have a safe and loving home which is also value for money for the taxpayer.

In their 2022 report, the Competition and Markets Authority estimated that the operating profit margins for large children’s social care providers between 2016 and 2020 were 22.6% for children’s homes, 19.4% for Independent Fostering Agencies and 35.5% for supported accommodation.

The department is clear that profiteering from vulnerable children in care is absolutely unacceptable and the department is committed to stamping out profiteering where it occurs in the children’s social care placement market.

On 18 November 2024, the department published its policy paper ‘Keeping children safe, helping families thrive’, setting out ambitious reforms across children’s social care. As part of these, the department is taking forward a package of measures, including through legislation, to rebalance the children’s social care placement market, covering children’s homes, independent fostering agencies and supported accommodation. These measures will improve competition, regulation and commissioning of placements and bring greater visibility to the prices local authorities are paying and the profits providers are making. If the department does not see a reduction in profiteering, the department will not hesitate to take action to cap providers’ profits.

The department will bring forward legislation when parliamentary time allows.

The Secretary of State recently wrote to the Chair of the ORR to set out her expectations for the future of Open Access. She was clear on the benefits that Open Access can bring, but equally that balance must be struck between passenger benefits and impacts upon taxpayers and network performance. This does not represent a ‘restriction’ on Open Access, but rather that it is important to ensure that this balance is applied when ORR undertakes its statutory duties in relation to each application. We remain committed to a role for Open Access where it provides benefits for both passengers and taxpayers.

National Highways has managed smart motorways as a programme since 2013. The total spend to date on reconfiguring sections of the motorway network to predominantly All Lane Running (ALR) smart motorways in England since 2013 is £5.075 billion. The table below breaks this down by each motorway scheme:

In addition, National Highways is investing £900 million over the second road investment strategy (RIS2) to add further safety features to smart motorways. This includes £390 million to construct over 150 additional emergency areas on existing ALR smart motorways, which is due to complete in March.

This government takes road safety very seriously, we have been clear, we will not roll out new smart motorways.

This Government takes road safety seriously, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads.

The latest published safety data (covering 2017 to 2021) shows that overall, in terms of serious or fatal casualties, smart motorways remain the safest roads on the Strategic Road Network. National Highways continues to take action to improve safety, including the roll out of more than 150 additional Emergency Areas on the network, which is due to complete by end of March.

We continue to work with the Office for Rail and Road (ORR) to assess the effectiveness of safety systems in place on smart motorways, with further reporting due in Spring.

The previous Government committed £390 million for National Highways to construct over 150 Emergency Areas across the All Lane Running (ALR) smart motorway network through the National Emergency Area Retrofit programme. The work is being managed as a single programme and final costs for the installation of Emergency Areas on each section of motorway will be confirmed when accounts are settled, expected no earlier than Q3 2025/26.

The Department requires its operators to plan services and rail timetables that are designed to meet expected passenger demand. These should be resilient and provide value for money for the taxpayer.

Typically, demand for services on Boxing Day is low and much of the network is closed to provide opportunity for essential maintenance. We expect operators and in future, Great British Railways, to continue to consider the case for Boxing Day services where there is demand and they do not further increase the burden on taxpayers.

Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM) is currently provided via the National Barrier Asset (NBA) on five bridges within central London. The NBA measures provide a high level of protection to these bridges, and discussions are ongoing between CT Policing and relevant local stakeholders regarding the installation of permanent structures. Permanent measures have been installed on Westminster Bridge since 2022.

Discussions take place periodically between CT Policing and relevant London bodies, such as Transport for London, to progress this matter.