Road Safety Strategy Debate

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Department: HM Treasury
Thursday 8th January 2026

(2 days, 6 hours ago)

Commons Chamber
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Sarah Edwards Portrait Sarah Edwards (Tamworth) (Lab)
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Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and happy new year.

Although I welcome the road safety strategy, it sadly ignores school minibus safety, despite my raising this issue with the Department last year. I have been campaigning with my constituents Liz and Steve Fitzgerald since 2023, following the tragic loss of their daughter Claire in a minibus accident. Private schools follow strict O licence rules, yet state schools can use weak section 19 permits. Will the Minister remedy this failing in the law through mandatory national safety standards for all school minibuses?

Lilian Greenwood Portrait Lilian Greenwood
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I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. The Minister for Roads and Buses, my hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield and Rothwell (Simon Lightwood), was listening carefully and will be happy to write to my hon. Friend or meet her to discuss it further.