Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff at Highways England have been dedicated to recovering broken down vehicles on smart motorways in each of the last five years.

Highways England’s traffic officers patrol the entire SRN to respond to incidents, including collisions and breakdowns. There are 1091 Traffic Officers and 340 control room staff across Highways England’s regional operations that have responsibility for manging the SRN, including the All Lane Running (ALR) sections.

Highways England has worked closely with the recovery industry to ensure that its working practices are aligned when working on the SRN. In relation to the ALR sections of the SRN, it has implemented its plans to improve relationships with the recovery industry, and in line with Action 16 of the Smart Motorway Safety Evidence Stocktake and Action Plan, has established the Recovery Industry Executive Committee, which has strengthened regional working groups and refreshed guidance on the joint working protocols for breakdown recovery in ALR environments.