Autonomous Last-mile Delivery

Debate between Ben Everitt and Alan Mak

Tuesday 23rd May 2023 Westminster Hall

[Ben Everitt (Milton Keynes North) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the societal impacts of autonomous last-mile delivery.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. Many of my colleagues from across the House have heard me speak at length on the thriving tech sector in Milton Keynes, and I am grateful for the opportunity to do so once again. This time, I will be highlighting the wonderful role that Starship robots play in our city and the fantastic technology of automated last-mile delivery. I will cover some of the benefits that those cute little robots bring for the environment, accessibility, convenience and productivity, but I will start with the social side, particularly acceptance.

If we roll forward 20, 30 or 40 years, autonomous delivery robots will be all over. They will be in our homes, in our streets, online and so on—robots everywhere, in all aspects of our lives. Looking at how integration works, and at the Milton Keynes use case for robots, will give us real lessons for the future. I have talked extensively to my friends at Starship—the humans, not the robots—and it is clear that the process of social acceptance is at the heart of their success. What is social acceptance, and why is it important when it comes to integrating delivery robots in a complex urban environment?

Milton Keynes has an historical association with welcoming technological innovation, and with the technology sector. In fact, that was built into our city’s DNA in the 1960s. People have started families and built their lives here in MK because they have wanted to become part of a new way of urban and suburban living.

[Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)]

Like Milton Keynes, Havant constituency is already home to several last-mile delivery facilities that sustain hundreds of local jobs. I hope that we will become a centre for autonomous delivery as the UK develops its leadership role in the fourth industrial revolution. Does my hon. Friend agree that, to maximise social impact and utility, the companies involved should work with local councils and communities to ensure that the technologies work for everybody?

[Ben Everitt]

I am grateful for the intervention. I absolutely agree. Culture works at every level. There is the culture of acceptance from people, and institutional culture. Integrated working by companies, councils and the wider community is fundamental to the success of any technological integration. We need to build a culture in which people, businesses and institutions look at innovation with excitement, pride and genuine curiosity. That kind of culture is not necessarily unique to Milton Keynes—I am sure it exists in other places—but cultivating it, so that we can build a process of innovation, is fundamental.

[Ben Everitt]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for his intervention, and for the tip-off about the crux of it. For me, innovation breeds productivity, but it does not necessarily come at the expense of jobs. In fact, increased productivity leads to further jobs, such as servicing the robots, and additional work for the companies that produce the groceries that are delivered. On his second point about internet connection, I absolutely agree. The whole thing relies on secure access to data and connectivity, which relates to both cyber-security and getting a good signal. That is not necessarily a problem in Milton Keynes, though we all have our notspots, but as we roll the technology out further around the country, it must be a real consideration.

I see Milton Keynes as the blueprint for how we roll out such advances. It should be a case study in how to implement new technologies in cities. As we do this kind of thing at a Government level, in a top-down way, we need to look at the places where innovation is already happening and successful. That will help us to navigate our way through the introduction of legislation. We can design perfect laws in this place, but if they do not work on the ground, we will find ourselves coming unstuck.

Recently I was pleased to be able to organise, with my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes South (Iain Stewart), a competition with Starship on Christmas designs for the delivery robots. We had hundreds of entries. It really brought home how enthusiastic and happy people are to be involved with the robots in Milton Keynes. I am fortunate enough to live in Milton Keynes and understand and be part of the culture. I know other Members have also seen the joy of these little robots roaming around the streets, and they will soon be hitting constituencies across the country. It adds to the character of communities and always makes me smile.

Robots can navigate themselves around objects and people using their cameras, and they carry food or parcels securely and safely. Travelling at around 4 mph, which is basically walking speed, they are inherently safe. It is necessary to highlight that point, because as we scale up the technology and roll it out around the country, it is vital that we bring local communities along with us, and give them the confidence they deserve. Without local support, we would not be able to move forward.

Further, there are economic, social and environmental impacts from autonomous delivery. That is clear to see. From a road efficiency perspective, more of these robots help to reduce traffic and congestion, particularly with Milton Keynes being a fast-growing city. These robots help to reduce costs for businesses and therefore for their customers. That will help businesses invest in jobs, growth and productivity. Simple solutions can make cities work better, and this is certainly one such solution.

Robots can also help us to achieve environmental goals. I am passionate about reducing carbon emissions, and Milton Keynes has always been rightly unapologetic in driving towards being a green city. We have taken huge steps towards achieving that, particularly in making Milton Keynes electric car friendly. I thank the Minister, while he is in his place, for the additional £1.6 million awarded to Milton Keynes City Council for better electric car charging infrastructure.

The robots and their autonomous last-mile delivery systems can help us to reduce road traffic. Less fuel is used, so there are fewer carbon emissions, and the robots are 32 times more energy efficient than normal 3-tonne delivery trucks. The technology can help us to make significant strides towards the goal set out in the Government’s net zero strategy if we can deploy the robots across the country.

However, despite the range of benefits I have outlined, I fear the UK may be in danger of lagging behind on effective legislative frameworks to foster the growth of this kind of transport technology. There is no legislation to support companies such as Starship Technologies in the change they are trying to bring about. Legislation from 1835—nearly 200 years ago—is acting as a barrier to new tech innovation and investment. I hope that the Minister shares my desire to see this legislation updated, so that it is fit for the 21st century.

[Alan Mak]

Like my hon. Friend, I want Britain to embrace advanced technologies, including last-mile robotic delivery services. Are there any countries from whose legislative framework he feels we could learn?

[Ben Everitt]

The country that springs to mind is Finland. The Finnish Government have introduced a proper legislative framework for autonomous delivery systems. Starship Technologies has signed a national partnership with the largest retailer in Finland, S Group, which is part of their growth strategy. Ultimately, that has been made possible because Finland introduced vehicle certification and regulations to govern robots. Its most recent piece of legislation covered robots. It has acted and got in front, and we must ensure that we keep step. Companies want to innovate and be part of the UK’s innovation culture. I want to keep them here.