Road Safety: Schools

John Slinger Excerpts

Wednesday 29th January 2025 Westminster Hall

[John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I congratulate the hon. Member for Chester South and Eddisbury (Aphra Brandreth) on securing this important debate and on her excellent contribution.

One key aspect of road safety around schools is drop-off and pick-up time, as my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tristan Osborne) has mentioned. I took action on that issue previously as a councillor—I continue to take action on it as an MP—working with fellow councillors, the local authority, the school leadership, the police and residents at Oakfield primary academy, where there had been problems the likes of which have been alluded to.

In Warwickshire, Eastlands primary school in my constituency was the site of a county council school street pilot scheme. Prior to that, there was what the council described as “inconsiderate parking”, “congestion”, and sometimes “complete gridlock” and a “threat to safety”. As I am sure we can all agree, that is a perennial problem, but the school street approach can help. In the case of the pilot scheme, restrictions were introduced using a traffic order. Two park-and-stride car parks gave parents alternative places to park and a new school crossing patrol on a busy road was implemented, all of which helped.

My experience in this space has led me to some observations, which the Minister will perhaps consider. Far more people are driving their children to school now than ever before. We may be able to do things with more public transport, safer cycle paths and more active lifestyles and walking, which are relevant to Government priorities for the NHS and transport in the long term. Some schools are in tightly packed residential streets, and that cannot be overcome in the short, medium or perhaps even long term. More children are attending schools away from their home address through either parental choice or local authority allocation. That can have an effect, because more journeys are being taken, so perhaps more work can be done on capacity.

Council enforcement can be done only when traffic regulation orders are in place, and they can be created only when a proper survey has taken place. Again, resources will then be an issue. I have spoken about this to the police, to which the public often turn. It can enforce only in some cases, and, with the best will in the world, it will never be able to enforce in this matter regularly. It is therefore vital that a partnership approach is used, whereby the school leadership liaises with parents and educates students, local residents are involved in discussions so that their frustrations are heard, the council and local councillors are aware and active, and the police are kept informed. I have tried to use that approach, and I have liaised with local residents. In the case of Oakfield primary, in my constituency, I encouraged a local business, Cemex, to pay for cartoon signs—I am sure we have all seen them around schools—designed to prevent people parking on grass verges or kerbs near the school. That has helped, as well.

More broadly, schools can consider other innovative options, such as arranging for students in some areas to walk to school. However, I am acutely aware that we need not to overburden hard-pressed teachers with additional responsibilities. They are already, quite understandably, reluctant to become quasi-traffic enforcement officers when dealing with people who are, after all, the parents of their students. I therefore welcome the Government’s renewed guidance, helping councils to deliver school streets that work for schools and local communities. I also commend the Government’s Active Travel England agency for recently releasing guidance to local authorities to help them implement school streets. It is important work.

In conclusion, there is no panacea, sadly, but more can definitely be done. I am glad that Warwickshire county council, working with local borough councils, hopes to introduce more school street schemes, focusing on primary schools. Those schemes can have a profound effect on improving the health of young people, reducing the risk of disagreements between parents and local residents, and, most importantly, making our schools much safer for our young people.

[Christine Jardine (in the Chair)]

Would the hon. Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae) like to make some remarks? We will then move on to the Front Bench at eight minutes past.

Airport Expansion

John Slinger Excerpts

Tuesday 28th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mike Kane]

I thank the right hon. Member, who I know is a campaigner on this. I keep a close eye on all matters of connectivity to Northern Ireland. Investor confidence in aviation is huge: investors are queuing up and looking for opportunities. We must ensure those opportunities come with jobs and growth, but also that they are clean and decarbonise our sector. I say stick with the plan. We will decarbonise the grid and our UK economy, but we can grow it at the same time—the two things are not contradictory.

[John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)]

Does the Minister agree that it would be irresponsible to kick the can down the runway on airport expansion and other major infrastructure when this country is desperate for growth? We need a Government willing to take the tough decisions to overcome the blockers and get things built in the national interest and in the interests of citizens all around our country.

[Mike Kane]

I cannot agree more. The Government’s defined mission will be growth. The aviation sector is one where we can grow the economy, because it provides the connectivity and the high-skilled, trade unionised jobs that support families and careers right across our country.

Road Safety: Young Drivers

John Slinger Excerpts

Tuesday 28th January 2025 Westminster Hall

[John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)]

I do not want to rehearse the points that have already been made so eloquently by my colleagues from across Westminster Hall. I merely want to say that education has been mentioned briefly, but given that almost all road collisions, and therefore deaths and serious injuries, are preventable, I hope the Minister will do everything she can, as she considers the road safety strategy, to ensure that all available resources are given to local authorities, to police and crime commissioners and to police forces so that they can into schools and reach our young people.

I will also just mention that Warwickshire county council has a safe and active schools programme that looks at primary school age groups and “The Journey” for secondary schools. The police and crime commissioner has a focus on young people in his road safety strategy. Every effort must be made to make an impression upon impressionable young minds from as early as possible, so that we can reduce the risk of these tragic deaths.

Oral Answers to Questions

John Slinger Excerpts

Thursday 9th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Simon Lightwood)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. I can assure him that the report will be released in due course.

[John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)]

T6. On the subject of buses, can the Secretary of State set out the steps her Department is taking to allow local communities to take back control through their elected representatives, so that NHS trusts, local authorities and private providers increase the frequency and improve the practicality of bus services to and between local hospitals? Does she agree that this will help elderly and vulnerable people and those without cars to better access the NHS, minimising stress and financial difficulties?

[Simon Lightwood]

We know how important local bus services are to communities. Our reforms of the bus sector, combined with £1 billion of investment, will ensure that local leaders have the necessary tools to ensure that bus services truly reflect the needs of passengers.

Road Safety

John Slinger Excerpts

Tuesday 7th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)]

I will also try to be short and sweet, Madam Deputy Speaker. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae) on bringing forth such an important subject. He alluded in his excellent speech to the sheer number of fatalities, and it is perhaps worth reflecting on the fact that there are three times the number of road fatalities than homicides in an average year, which is something we could all bear in mind as we go about driving on the roads.

I want to draw Members’ attention to the importance of listening to our constituents who have sadly suffered the trauma of losing someone in a road traffic collision. In my constituency I have Giulietta and George Galli-Atkinson, who for 26 years have run the Livia awards, which recognise the professionalism and service to justice of police officers. I had the honour of speaking at the 26th award ceremony at the Metropolitan police headquarters this year. The awards are in memory of their daughter, who sadly was killed by a dangerous driver. I mention that because I believe it is incumbent on us to listen to the voices of those who have suffered the trauma and devastation of such unnecessary, preventable deaths. We need to hear their words and act on them. Community involvement is critical.

In conclusion, we must get the message across to our constituents that road collisions are, in all but the smallest number of cases, not accidents—they are preventable; they are avoidable. We must all take responsibility, including national Government. My hon. Friend the Minister takes these issues very seriously. We must tighten the law wherever we can and I know she is looking at various ways to do that. We must fund local authorities for their excellent work to help increase road safety and empower police forces to enforce our road traffic laws. We must do everything we can to empower ordinary citizens to engage with this really important issue. We must ensure that ordinary citizens are in control of our roads, not those who would endanger us all through their selfishness and criminality through dangerous and reckless driving.

Finally, we must take responsibility as individuals. Our constituents must take responsibility for driving more safely whenever they can so that we reduce the tragic number of avoidable and terrible deaths on our roads and the tens of thousands of serious injuries. We must reduce that number as much as possible.

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale and Darwen for giving us the opportunity to reflect on these important matters and to encourage the Government to do everything in their power to ensure that the number of road deaths and injuries is reduced significantly.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

To help the Minister prepare, we have three more very short Back-Bench contributions.

Bus Franchising

John Slinger Excerpts

Monday 9th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Simon Lightwood]

Buses matter to millions of people, but 14 years of the Tories’ broken bus system have led to countless communities being failed and a spiral of decline in bus services. I hope all local transport authorities consider the range of options available to them to take back control of their buses and shape services for the communities that they serve.

[John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)]

After the deregulation and decline of buses under the previous Administration, I imagine that local authorities are somewhat shocked and surprised at being given the opportunity to shape services genuinely in the public interest. What additional support is my hon. Friend considering to empower local authorities, especially smaller district authorities such as Rugby borough council, so that they can move fast and fix things locally?

[Simon Lightwood]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. We are increasing the capacity of the Department for Transport to assist smaller authorities, so that all local transport authorities can consider franchising and other means of improving bus services in their communities.