Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) insurers, (b) technology developers, (c) investigators and (d) other key stakeholders can access essential AV data for (a) real-world performance monitoring and (b) post-collision analysis.

The Department for Transport is working to implement the Automated Vehicles (AV) Act 2024, which includes provisions to enable appropriate access to AV data.

As part of the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles’ AV Act Implementation Programme, work is ongoing to ensure that key stakeholders can access the data they need to support the safe deployment of self-driving technologies. This includes a recent call for evidence on the Statement of Safety Principles and consultation on protecting marketing terms, with the aim of delivering the regulatory framework in the second half of 2027.

At the international level, the UK continues to contribute to the work underway at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe on harmonised rules for automated driving systems. This includes provisions for a regulation on a data storage system for AVs, which will ensure that AVs record and store the key data points required for performance monitoring and post-collision analysis.

The AV Act allows for conditions to be set in secondary legislation to require the sharing of data and information (including with public bodies and insurers) where it is necessary to support the safe operation of AVs. It requires arrangements to be made for monitoring and assessing the general performance of AVs, with an annual report produced. The Act also makes provisions for the investigation of incidents, ensuring that incident inspectors have the powers to access all data needed.