E-scooters and E-bikes: Regulation

Debate between Noah Law and Anneliese Dodds

Wednesday 21st October 2026 Westminster Hall

[Anneliese Dodds (Oxford East) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate, Mr Stringer. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) for securing the debate, and in particular for underlining the potential impact of catastrophic injuries from such illegal vehicles.

I will add a couple of other problems resulting from the lack of regulation in this area. There has been a reduction in sales of legal e-bikes—surely not something that we want—because of the proliferation of illegal ones. Unfortunately, we are also seeing links with exploitation in the gig economy and with criminality. There has been a catastrophic drop in the sales of L1 category motorbikes too.

This problem is symbolic of people’s sense of a lack of control over their local area. It is exactly the kind of thing that the Prime Minister is getting a grip on right now, and it is important that we show leadership. My questions are all about solutions. First, when will the Department for Transport release its research into illegal e-bikes and food delivery? I believe it is due in the spring. Will the Department push for parliamentary time to talk about that?

Secondly, what progress has there been on the national work-related road safety charter? Can we see some details of that? Thirdly, we need more control over the supply chain and sales of illegal e-bikes, e-scooters and conversion kits. We need oversight and enforcement. One mechanism for that would be through the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025—a number of Members have been pushing for that. It has been three months since the consultation on that; when are we going to see some outcomes?

[Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)]

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

[Anneliese Dodds]

I am sorry, but I will not, because I want to be fair to everybody else.

Finally, can we please have a commitment from the Department for Transport to convene other Departments on this issue? I know that the Minister cares passionately about local people having control over their area, as he has shown in every role he has undertaken. With his Department, will he take the initiative to bring together all the Departments concerned about this problem, and will he do so before Christmas and make a big splash about it, so that people hear about it in the media and do not buy their kids these dangerous products and kits for Christmas, leading to the kinds of injuries that we have heard about?

UK Leadership on Sudan

Debate between Noah Law and Anneliese Dodds

Thursday 28th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Many members of the Select Committee, myself included, have heard of the role that online disinformation and hatred have played in some of the atrocities in Sudan. What leadership can the UK demonstrate in helping to quell some of this digital fuel on the fire in the war against Sudanese civilians?

[Anneliese Dodds]

My hon. Friend raises a really important point. We are indeed seeing a huge amount of misinformation circulating, and a lot of it is digital. That is why we have been determined to support the Centre for Information Resilience, a research body that is gathering open-source evidence about the ongoing fighting. Where the facts about what is going on are being manipulated, that is linked to fuelling violence, so it is important that we see continued support for reliable information and evidence in this context and also that we combat that disinformation, which has been so damaging.