Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of smart motorways in terms of road safety; and whether further remedial works are planned on converted smart motorways.

This Government takes road safety seriously, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads.

The latest published safety data (covering 2017 to 2021) shows that overall, in terms of serious or fatal casualties, smart motorways remain the safest roads on the Strategic Road Network. National Highways continues to take action to improve safety, including the roll out of more than 150 additional Emergency Areas on the network, which is due to complete by end of March.

We continue to work with the Office for Rail and Road (ORR) to assess the effectiveness of safety systems in place on smart motorways, with further reporting due in Spring.