Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 11 February (HL1194), whether they will now answer the question put, namely, which minister or official made the decision to build smart motorways in the UK; and when that decision was made.

As stated in my previous response on 11 February, we want our roads to be as safe as possible. That is why the Secretary of State asked the Department to carry out an evidence stocktake to gather the facts about the safety of smart motorways and make recommendations. The Department will present the findings of the stocktake shortly.

While I would not want to pre-judge the results of that work, what I can say is that we will continue to prioritise improving safety – making conditions safer for everyone on our roads. I will write to you as soon as the stocktake is completed to answer your specific questions.