Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of current policy in reducing harm from drink driving and repeat offending on UK roads.

Existing measures, including mandatory disqualification, penalties, the High Risk Offender scheme and the Drink Drive Rehabilitation scheme, play an important role in reducing drink driving and repeat offending.

The Drink Drive Rehabilitation scheme has been found to be effective in preventing offenders committing repeat drink-driving offences. High-risk offenders must prove their medical fitness before a licence can be re-issued, and the High Risk Offender scheme has served an important role in helping to keep unsafe drivers off the roads.

The Government’s Road Safety Strategy includes action on drink driving, including consulting on lowering the drink-drive limit in England and Wales, exploring preventative technology such as alcohol interlocks, and considering new powers to suspend licences for those suspected of drink or drug driving offences. The Department keeps the effectiveness of drink-driving policy under review.