Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference his Written Statement of 12 March on Strategic roads update: smart motorways evidence stocktake, what progress has been made on implementing a national targeted communications campaign to further increase awareness and understanding of smart motorways, how they work and how to use them confidently.

Highways England is developing a nationally-targeted campaign to increase road user confidence on All Lane Running (ALR) motorways, including what to do in the event of a breakdown in a live lane. The campaign concept has been tested on a number of audiences. Stakeholders in the recovery and insurance industries have been engaged throughout the process and have helped to shape the campaign.

Highways England is now in the production phase of the campaign, which will launch in January 2021. The campaign will be seen widely across the country including on TV, social media and national radio to ensure maximum reach amongst the target audience.