Lilian Greenwood MP: speeches

Speeches

• 30 Jun 2025 · Road Safety Powers: Parish and Town Councils · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for, once again, raising the issue of pavement parking. As I hope he knows, I am very keen for us to address that issue. It has been far too long since the 2020 consultation on the options, and I look forward to the opportunity to publish that consultation and set out the next steps in due course. I hope that no local authority would claim that road measures can be considered only at locations where there have been fatalities, because that is simply not the case. I understand the importance of using resources effectively, where they are most needed, but the use of such measures should never be arbitrary. This Government are committed to the devolution of powers to local level, as we have shown through the publication of the English devolution White Paper, but it is important that the right powers be held at the right level. Responsibility for highways and traffic sits at county council or unitary level; that enables local authorities to deliver services in an efficient and consistent way across their areas. We have no plans to devolve those powers further to parish councils, but it is nevertheless crucial that local highway authorities engage with local partners, including parish and town councils, when deciding on the measures to take, as they can play an absolutely critical role in identifying road safety issues in their area. They are often the first to hear about near misses or dangerous incidents, and act as a vital link with local residents’ day-to-day experiences. As we have heard time and again this evening, local parish and town councils—as well as residents’ associations, as my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central said, and indeed schoolchildren, parents and a wide range of community groups—have incredibly valuable local knowledge, and they need to be listened to and engaged with. Numerous hon. Members have talked about the need for action to reduce speed, including by lowering speed limits, and the need to enforce speed limits through police action and the introduction of speed cameras. Hon. Members will know that the enforcement of road traffic law, and decisions on how available police resources are deployed, are the responsibility of chief constables and police and crime commissioners, taking into account the local problems and demands that they face. Local highway authorities have the power to set speed limits on their roads, and it is important that this is done in partnership with town and parish councils, and in consultation with the residents affected. I was really sorry to hear that in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland, Durham county council has not responded to local calls for lower speed limits on the stretches of road that he mentioned. I urge him, the town and parish councils, and Durham county council to discuss this matter as a priority, and to try to find a way forward. As my hon. Friend described so vividly, dangerous roads have very real impacts on the lives of his constituents, especially children, older people and disabled people. This debate will send a clear message to Durham county council, and perhaps to other highway authorities, about the strength of feeling not only among his constituents, but in his local communities, about road safety issues, and about the need for highway authorities to be accountable to local residents for decisions that they take in fulfilling their duties. Local authorities have a range of traffic management measures available to them to help improve safety in residential areas and outside schools, including pedestrian crossings, traffic-calming measures, school crossing patrols, and the introduction of a school street, where appropriate. Good street design can help improve road safety, and the “Manual for Streets” is our key piece of street design guidance. It advocates for streets to be designed to support appropriate vehicle speeds from the outset. Let us build the right roads to encourage appropriate speeds, rather than having to deal with problems when they arise later. That will reduce the risk of collisions, and reduce the severity of collisions that do happen. We expect local authorities to adopt the “Manual for Streets” when setting their own design standards, but that is ultimately a choice for them. We are working to update the manual to ensure that it is still relevant and enables those designing streets to do so in a way that contributes to sustainable, healthy and active communities. It is for local authorities to determine what measures are appropriate in individual cases, because they have local knowledge of their roads, but any authorities that wish to install schemes to improve safety have my Department’s full backing. Obviously, they will want to make those decisions in consultation with local communities and the local police. I welcome the support expressed by so many hon. Members this evening, and agree that sharing local knowledge and working in partnership can be very helpful. My Department gave councils updated guidance on setting 20 mph speed limits in March 2024, and reminded them to reserve the lower limits for appropriate locations, such as outside schools, with safety and local support at the heart of such decisions. I want to emphasise that we support 20 mph speed limits in the right places. As well as improving safety, they can enhance quality of life, the environment and the local economy, but 20 mph zones and limits are best considered on a road-by-road basis, based on the safety case, to ensure local consent, rather than as blanket measures. As I say, local councils will want to make decisions about local implementation in consultation with local communities and the local police. They know their roads best, and I simply cannot and should not dictate to them from Westminster. While local authorities are free to make their own decisions about the speed limits on the roads in their care, provided they take account of the relevant legislation and guidance, they are rightly accountable to local people for those decisions. My hon. Friend and his constituents will rightly expect the county council not only to listen to their concerns, but to be accountable for the decisions it makes, whether it decides to install traffic measures or declines to do so, and I think that applies to all hon. Members who have made the powerful case for lower speed limits. The “safe system” approach to road safety acknowledges that even careful drivers can make mistakes, but no one should be killed or seriously injured as a result of a mistake, and we know that collisions at high speeds are much more likely to have tragic outcomes, which is why the argument holds for reducing speed limits in particular circumstances. The Department will look at what we can do to support local authorities, and we stand ready to work with all those looking to improve road safety locally. My Department recognises the excellent work that parish and town councils do to improve the safety of local roads, including through their involvement with community speedwatch schemes. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Amber Valley for highlighting that valuable volunteering. Police-run community speedwatch schemes enable local volunteers to work with the police and other agencies to address identified road policing issues in their localities. Drivers who are detected speeding are sent letters, and the police may take further action if a driver is detected multiple times. Decisions on when to adopt community speedwatch schemes are operational matters for police and crime commissioners and chief constables, working in conjunction with their local policing plans. The responsibility for keeping for our roads safe cannot fall solely to central or local government; all road users have a part to play, and they must all comply with road traffic law in the interests of their own safety and that of other road users. As set out in the highway code, the hierarchy of road users places those road users most at risk in the event of a collision right at the top of the hierarchy. The objective of the hierarchy of road users is not to give priority to pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders in every situation, but rather to ensure a more mutually respectful and considerate culture of safe and effective road use that benefits all users. This does not detract from the requirements for everyone to behave responsibly. There is both a legal and a moral duty for all road users to obey the law, both for safety and to create a culture of respect and consideration for all road users. There are laws in place to ensure that unsafe and dangerous behaviour has no place on our roads and is dealt with appropriately, using the most effective sanctions, including educational interventions. Enforcement of the law is a matter for the police, who will decide on the evidence of each case whether an offence has been committed and the appropriate action to take. I conclude by again thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland for securing this timely and important debate. As I said at the start, the Government treat road safety with the utmost seriousness, and we are committed to reducing the number of those killed and injured on our roads. My Department is developing our road safety strategy, which is vital. For too long, we have tolerated a lack of progress, and this Government are determined to act. I look forward to setting out more details in due course, as indeed we will on my hon. Friend’s ambitions for the A66. Question put and agreed to.

• 24 Jun 2025 · Speed Cameras: Installation Criteria · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising that issue. I am sure that everyone in the House feels concern about the kind of antisocial driving occurring in his constituency. It is absolutely right that local partners—the local authority and the police—should look at how best to tackle that kind of behaviour, which is undoubtedly a blight on his local community and is obviously very concerning to hear about. All available research shows a link between excessive speed and the risk of collisions, so I am really grateful to the hon. Member for Hazel Grove for raising this issue, and indeed to other hon. Members who have contributed to the debate. Fatalities and injuries from road collisions are simply unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent those tragedies for all road users. The hon. Member talked about action to reduce speed, including lower speed limits, and action to enforce speed limits, such as speed cameras. My Department’s guidance on the use of speed cameras and red light cameras for traffic enforcement is not mandatory—it is guidance—and authorities are invited to set their own deployment criteria if they wish. The guidance encourages authorities to develop their own deployment criteria, so that they can demonstrate a local systematic approach to site selection. I recognise that at a time when local authorities face a great many calls on their resources, it is important that they focus those resources where they will have the most impact. Unfortunately, I imagine that will sometimes mean local authorities deciding that they need to focus on those places where there have been KSIs—where people have been killed or seriously injured. However, I encourage local authorities to consider both how they can deal with places where there have been KSIs and how they can take a more proactive approach.

• 24 Jun 2025 · Speed Cameras: Installation Criteria · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart) on securing this debate—her first Adjournment debate—and thank her for raising the vital issue of speed cameras and the criteria for their installation. It is really good to have the opportunity to discuss an issue that she has raised with me a number of times in questions and correspondence over the past year. I begin by making it clear that improving road safety is one of my Department’s highest priorities, and measures to address speeding will be considered for inclusion in the forthcoming road safety strategy. As the hon. Member has said, there were 1,624 fatalities in reported road collisions in Great Britain in 2023. Of those, 888 occurred in collisions in which, in the opinion of the attending police officer, speed was a factor for at least one vehicle. That represents 58% of all fatalities in collisions for which the police recorded at least one collision factor. The police often refer to the “fatal four”, and I am afraid that excessive speed remains the major contributor to road traffic collisions.

• 24 Jun 2025 · Speed Cameras: Installation Criteria · Hansard source

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  I know that my hon. Friend has been a great champion for improvements in road safety. The Department will consider what more we can do to support local authorities and hon. Members in this regard, and we stand ready to work with everyone who is trying to improve road safety locally. As my hon. Friend knows, and as the House knows, we are developing our road safety strategy, and I look forward to saying more about that in the months ahead. As the Secretary of State has said, we are hoping and aiming to publish it by the end of the year. The police-run Community Speedwatch schemes enable local volunteers to work with the police and other agencies to address identified road policing issues in their localities. I know how important they can be to local communities, and I thank all those who are volunteering in this way. Drivers who are detected speeding are sent letters, and the police may take further action if a driver is detected multiple times. Decisions on when to adopt Community Speedwatch schemes are operational matters for police and crime commissioners and chief constables, in conjunction with local policing plans, but as I have said, the schemes can play a very important role. As I said at the beginning of my speech, the Government treat road safety with the utmost seriousness, and we are committed to reducing the number of people killed and injured on our roads. The Department is developing our road safety strategy, and I look forward to the opportunity to set out more details in due course. I welcome today’s debate and all the contributions from Members on road safety, both today and on other occasions. I am pleased that there is so much determination in the House to tackle the unacceptable loss of life and unacceptable injuries that result from road traffic collisions, and I look forward to working with Members further on the issue. Question put and agreed to.

• 24 Jun 2025 · Speed Cameras: Installation Criteria · Hansard source

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  I agree with the hon. Member about the importance of community speed watch groups. I will come on to that topic a little later. The guidance on the use of speed cameras and red light cameras should be used alongside setting local speed limits. These are tools to support our primary objective, which is reducing the number of collisions and casualties and, indeed, reducing their severity. I agree with the hon. Member for Hazel Grove that speed cameras work. In the right place, speed cameras can help manage safety risks by encouraging drivers to conform to the speed limit. However, they are not the only or always the best way to improve road safety. Speed limits should be evidence-led, and general compliance needs to be achievable without an excessive reliance on enforcement. Frankly, we cannot have a speed camera everywhere, and we cannot have a police officer everywhere. As the hon. Member knows, the enforcement of road traffic law and the deployment of available police resources, including on mobile cameras, is the responsibility of individual chief constables and police and crime commissioners, taking into account specific local problems and the demands that they face. Local government is the main delivery body for road safety. Under section 39 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, local authorities have a statutory duty to take steps to reduce and prevent collisions, and they have the power to set speed limits on their roads. It is right that they focus on the areas of highest risk, which may be where tragic collisions have occurred, but there is nothing to stop them from implementing road safety measures elsewhere. Indeed, I would agree that a more proactive, preventive approach is entirely sensible. It is clearly incredibly valuable to identify places where there is a higher risk and evidence of near misses.

• 15 May 2025 · Vehicle Registration: Compliance · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend has rightly identified the importance of holding the correct information to identify the keeper of every vehicle operating on our roads. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency works closely with the police, who have the power to seize non- compliant vehicles.

• 15 May 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Traffic commissioners consider road safety up to the point where the operating centre joins the highway, but, beyond that, it is probably a matter for the local authority or the police. Although traffic commissioner independence is crucial and ministerial influence would be improper, I will be very happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss his road safety concerns and how they might be tackled.

• 27 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise concerns. Obviously, enforcement of the rules on using cycles and e-cycles is a matter for the police, but I would be very happy to meet her to discuss the issue.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Road Safety: Schools · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Jardine. I congratulate the hon. Member for Chester South and Eddisbury (Aphra Brandreth) on securing this debate, and thank her for raising the vitally important issue of road safety around schools. She spoke powerfully and movingly on behalf of her constituents. I thank the hon. Member for sharing the devastating story of the fatal collision outside the King’s school in her constituency. My sympathies go out to the family of the young person who lost his life, and to his friends, everyone at the school and the wider community. My hon. Friend the Member for Chester North and Neston (Samantha Dixon), who is here, has also met the family, who are her constituents, and is working with them and with her neighbour, the hon. Member for Chester South and Eddisbury—on a cross-party basis, which is wonderful to see—to ensure that local partners work together to improve safety on the Wrexham Road. I too have met many families with tragic stories of loved ones being killed and seriously injured in road traffic collisions. It is a position that no family should find themselves in: every death on our roads could and should be avoided. Every child has the right to be safe on their journey to and from school, and their parents should know that they will come home safely every day. That is why improving road safety, including the safety of children, is one of the highest priorities of my Department, and we intend to act to prevent road deaths and serious injuries. A number of hon. Members talked about action to reduce speed, such as lowering speed limits and enforcing speed limits, including with speed cameras. The enforcement of road traffic law and deployment of available police resources are responsibilities of individual chief constables and police and crime commissioners, who take into account the specific local problems and demands that they face. Local government is the main delivery body for road safety. Under section 39 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, local authorities have a statutory duty to take steps to both reduce and prevent collisions, and they have the power to set speed limits on their roads, including 20 mph limits and 20 mph zones. It is for them to determine what measures are appropriate in individual cases because they have local knowledge of their roads, but any authority that wishes to install such schemes has my Department’s full backing. I understand that resources for local authorities are finite, and it is right that they focus on the areas of highest risk, which may be where fatal collisions have occurred, but there is nothing to stop them implementing road safety measures elsewhere, including places about which local communities have raised concerns, or where there have been near misses. My hon. Friends the hon. Members for Harlow (Chris Vince) and for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae) rightly highlighted that point. Local authorities also have the tools to improve safety outside schools, including reduced speed limits, traffic calming measures or, where appropriate, a school street. I welcome the support expressed by hon. Members today and agree that sharing good practice can be very helpful. I will certainly look at what more my Department can do, perhaps with the Local Government Association and others. Local councils want to make decisions about local implementation, in consultation with local communities and the local police. They know their roads best, and I simply cannot and should not dictate to them from Westminster. However, the hon. Member for Chester South and Eddisbury made a powerful case for lower speed limits outside schools. Both she and the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) noted that we all make mistakes, and that collisions at higher speeds are much more likely to have tragic outcomes. I agree that partnerships are essential, and that they should be looking at local-level interventions to make our roads safer. While local authorities are free to make their own decisions about the design of the streets under their care, provided they take account of the relevant legislation and guidance, they are rightly accountable to local people for those decisions. The Department will look at what more we can do to support them, and we stand ready to work with all those working to improve road safety at the local level. On the tragic collision involving the young constituent of my hon. Friend the Member for Chester North and Neston, the Department is aware that Cheshire West and Chester council has already indicated that it has commissioned an independent review of Wrexham Road close to King’s school, and I am sure that it will listen to today’s debate and take note of the community’s petition. Let me turn to some of the wider issues around road safety and schools. This Government are setting our sights high on active travel, whether that means walking, wheeling or cycling. We are committed to promoting greener journeys, no matter how people choose to travel. It is key to improving public health; by preventing illness, rather than just treating it, we can make a real difference. The biggest gains come from helping inactive people to get moving, which is why we are focused on breaking down barriers for those who need it most and do not have options, such as older people, disabled people and children. For children, early habits matter. That is why, in November 2024, Active Travel England and the Department published school streets guidance. As hon. Members have noted, these schemes do not just make school runs safer; they build lifelong habits of active travel.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Road Safety: Young Drivers · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair this morning, Sir Desmond. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury (Julia Buckley) on securing the debate and thank her for continuing to raise the vital issue of road safety. It is clear from the number of hon. Members present— I counted 26 contributions, but I may be wrong—that this is, rightly, an issue of huge public concern. I thank all those who made moving and compelling contributions. I also congratulate my hon. Friend for championing the excellent work that her constituent Crystal Owen is doing to highlight young driver safety following the tragic death of her son, Harvey. In recent months I have been grateful to have the opportunity to meet with my hon. Friend, with Crystal and other members of Forget-me-not Families Uniting, including Sharron Huddleston and Dr Ian Greenwood, both of whom are here today, and with a number of other families whose lives have been affected by road death. Crystal, Ian, Sharron and many other families are in the Public Gallery, and my heart goes out to all of them. I thank them for taking the time to meet me, for their courage in sharing their heartbreaking stories, either with me or with their constituency MPs, and for their determination to make sure that other families do not face the same grief. It is vital that victims’ voices are heard and their experiences shared, as they have been so movingly today. I am committed to continuing to engage as we develop our policies in this area. I am sure that many of us remember reading about the deaths of Harvey Owen, Wilfred Fitchett, Jevon Hirst and Hugo Morris in November 2023, and no one could fail to be moved by hearing that terrible story again today in Crystal’s own words. It is literally every parent’s worst nightmare. The deaths of those four young men have had a devastating impact on their families and community, as have the deaths of other young people we have spoken about today. I am determined to take action to prevent such deaths in the future, and improving road safety is one of my Department’s highest priorities. Despite the two-year probation period for all new drivers that was introduced in 1995, in terms of population and number of miles driven, 17 to 24-year olds, and particularly young men, remain one of the highest fatality-risk groups, both as car drivers and as passengers. Although the latest statistics show that the number of young drivers killed on our roads has fallen by 80% since 1990, that cannot be a reason for complacency. The number of deaths in 2023 was 90, but that is 90 too many. Every one of those young lives lost leaves a devastated family, and often many families, including those of the passengers and other road users. There is a pressing need for action. Although we are not considering graduated driving licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately the victims of tragic collisions on our roads, which is why we are exploring options to tackle the root causes of the issue without unfairly penalising young drivers. The Government want to ensure young people’s access to employment, education and other opportunities while keeping them safe on the roads. As my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury and other hon. Members, particularly those representing rural and semi-rural areas, said, that means giving young people more choices by investing in public transport and active travel. The Government have already begun to do that by announcing additional funding for buses, walking and cycling in the Budget, but of course that goes alongside specific road safety measures. Those efforts are supported by Driver2020, the Department’s largest young driver research project, which evaluated a range of interventions to improve the safety of young drivers. The project tested the effectiveness of five non-legislative measures aimed at improving safety for young and novice drivers, including keeping a log book, extra hazard perception training, classroom-based education, mentoring agreements and telematics. Driver2020 began in January 2019, and more than 28,000 participants were recruited. The project was delayed by the pandemic, but the Department has now received the final report, which will inform our considerations. As a number of hon. Members said, we can also look to international experience. For example, a number of countries have a lower or zero alcohol limit for young drivers, or a minimum learning period. Our THINK! campaign does important work to encourage safer attitudes and behaviours among young drivers. Its innovative campaigns are highly targeted to reach young men aged 17 to 24. People sometimes tell me, “I don’t feel that I have seen some of those campaigns,” but that perhaps is because they are not on the channels of the people we are most keen to target. Hon. Members will be pleased to hear that we have just launched the latest phase of our speeding campaign, which highlights the risk of driving too fast for the conditions of rural roads. As hon. Members have said, those circumstances contribute to high numbers of young driver casualties. A number of hon. Members also talked about action to reduce speed, including lower speed limits, and to enforce speed limits, such as speed cameras. Improving our roads, changing speed limits and installing speed cameras are decisions for local traffic authorities. Obviously, they want to make those decisions in consultation with local communities and the local police. They know their roads best, and I cannot and should not dictate to them from Whitehall. However, I agree that such partnerships are essential and that they should be looking at local-level interventions to make our roads safer. The Department will look at what more we can do to support them, and we stand ready to work with all those working at a local level. THINK! campaigns have shown positive results, but we know that changing ingrained attitudes and behaviours takes time. This year, we are doing even more to land the vital messages, including working with content creators and influential platforms such as LADbible to tackle speeding via the voices that young audiences trust. Before Christmas, THINK! launched a major new drink-driving campaign, which highlighted the risk of losing one’s licence after drinking even a little before driving, and the subsequent impact on the freedoms that we know mean a lot to young drivers. As a number of hon. Members have said, we also need to address other dangerous behaviours, including failing to wear a seatbelt, using a mobile phone while driving and taking drugs before driving, which sadly is a growing problem. We need to use every opportunity to educate young people about road safety, and that involves working with mayors, local councils, police and crime commissioners, police, schools, colleges, charities, and the many parents and families who have generously used their tragic experience to try to help others make better choices. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency delivers a wide range of support targeted at keeping young drivers safe. The Ready to Pass? campaign helps learner drivers to assess when they are ready to take their test, and provides lots of useful information about safe driving for life. Many people have talked about the importance of driving in different road conditions, on rural roads, at night and in the dark. Pass Plus provides further education for drivers once they have passed their test. It is clear to me that we should consider what more can be done to support learner drivers and newly qualified drivers to be safe. My hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury raised the potential for measures to improve vehicle safety, such as the installation of a Harvey’s hammer device. I will take that suggestion back to my officials for further consideration and write to my hon. Friend. In my short time as Minister for the Future of Roads, I have heard too many heartbreaking accounts of loss and serious injury. We have been very moved to hear during this debate stories of hon. Members’ constituents who have lost loved ones. I again thank all those Members who came to the debate to share them. It is vital that we hear the voices of those who have been most impacted by road deaths. I assure them that I am listening. I want to assure everyone listening, but especially those who have been affected by road deaths and injuries, that this Government treat road safety with utmost seriousness. We are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and seriously injured on our roads. As my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur) said, we can never regard road deaths as inevitable. The majority of road crashes are avoidable, and that is why the Department is developing our road safety strategy. It will be the first in over a decade, and we will set out more details in due course. We will adopt a safe system approach. We need all partners working together—policymakers, road engineers and designers, vehicle manufacturers, the police and road users. I will be pleased to keep in touch with my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury and other hon. Members as we progress our work on road safety and young drivers. I congratulate her once again on securing this important debate.

• 9 Jan 2025 · Road Safety: Vulnerable Road Users · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to raise concerns about the impact of drug driving. Those affected by an impairment drug were involved in 13% of fatalities last year. Just before Christmas, I went out with Jo Shiner, one of the leading police officers responsible for roads policing, and saw the work that is happening and heard about prosecutions, which the hon. Gentleman has raised. I would be very happy to meet him to discuss the matter further.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Road Safety · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae) on securing the debate, and thank him for continuing to raise the issue of road safety in his constituency. I am pleased, and somewhat surprised, to see that so many of my hon. Friends have come to the Chamber to contribute to this vital discussion about reducing deaths and injuries on our roads. It is welcome to have had more time than we might have expected for an Adjournment debate. The Government are committed to road safety, because it contributes to every single one of our national missions. Safer roads enable economic growth and opportunities, support greener journeys through active travel, reduce pressures on our NHS, and help people to travel without fear. My hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale and Darwen clearly described the impact that road danger has on his local residents, and other Members have made equally valuable points, particularly highlighting the impact on children and their ability to travel safely and make those vital journeys to school and in their local communities. More than four people lose their lives every single day on our roads, and as a number of Members have said, we know that most of these deaths are avoidable, the result of excess speed, driving under the influence of drink or drugs and frequently both, using a mobile phone behind the wheel or not wearing seatbelts. My hon. Friend is right to raise concerns about those who do not use our roads appropriately and place themselves and others in harm’s way. In my short time as future of roads Minister, I have read too many heartbreaking accounts of loss and serious injury, and we have heard more examples this evening, including from my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Peter Prinsley), who is not in his place; I cannot comment on the specifics of that case, but I would be happy to meet him to discuss his concerns. I have spoken to grieving family members rightfully demanding change. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby (John Slinger) for speaking on behalf of his constituents this evening and for the work that he and they are doing to campaign on this issue. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Jodie Gosling) for the work she has done in her constituency and with her constituents. The Transport Secretary and I are determined to make our roads safer for everyone who uses them. The lack of progress on road safety over the past decade has been inexcusable. There has been no direction and no long-term vision, and that is reflected in the statistics, with drink-driving deaths at their highest levels in 15 years. In 2022, around 300 people were tragically killed where at least one driver was over the drink-drive limit. That represents 18% of all fatalities. In the same year, 203 people were killed in a road collision where at least one deceased driver had an impairment drug detected. That was 13% of all fatalities. We need to tackle these illegal behaviours. As the Secretary of State has stated, tackling reckless behaviour on the roads is a priority for her and for us, because these statistics—more than 1,600 deaths a year and almost 30,000 serious injuries—are not inevitable. Our THINK! campaign continues to address key priorities around drink-driving, speeding and seatbelts. Our innovative campaigns around positive choices and the power of peer influence are targeted at young men aged 17 to 24—a group that is four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured on our roads. My hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury (Julia Buckley) spoke about her constituent Crystal Owen, who lost her son Harvey in heartbreaking circumstances, and I look forward to the debate that she has secured. These life-saving behaviour change campaigns matter, and we will continue to work on them. I turn to the important points that my hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale and Darwen made on community road safety interventions. Traffic authorities have the responsibility for making decisions about the roads they manage. That includes measures to protect the safety of road users based on their knowledge of the area, taking into account local needs and considerations. That must include listening to local communities. My hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Erdington (Paulette Hamilton) made an important contribution about a dangerous road in her constituency, and I am sure that her concerns and those of her local constituents will have been heard by the relevant local authority and the Mayor of the West Midlands. Traffic authorities are best placed to make these decisions, but my Department also has a really important role: we need to set the enabling legislation and national policy objectives and provide good practice, guidance and, of course, vital funding. I agree with my hon. Friend that the risk rating of a road should be a consideration when designing road safety interventions. Since 2017, the safer roads fund has provided £185.8 million to address the dangers on 99 high-risk roads, working with the relevant local authorities to reduce fatalities and serious injuries. The programme has provided vital infrastructure interventions where they are needed the most, taking into account those who are killed or seriously injured but also traffic flow and the potential hazards on a road. It is really important work. A number of hon. Members have rightly highlighted the dangers on rural roads, including you, Madam Deputy Speaker. We need to look to the future and understand how new technologies can help prevent future collisions. My hon. Friend talked about some of the international comparisons and how we might draw on those in the future. When it comes to speed, local authorities have the power to set speed limits on their roads. It is for local authorities to determine what measures are appropriate in individual cases, because they have local knowledge. They also have a range of traffic management measures available to help them improve safety outside schools, including 20 mph speed limits, traffic calming and the introduction of school streets where appropriate. Local authorities are able to place advisory part-time 20 mph speed limit signs in the vicinity of schools without the need for Government approval. I listened with interest to my hon. Friend’s suggestion to implement “netting off”. The previous trial allowed fixed penalty revenue to be used to reinvest in more camera enforcement, and the national scheme that followed ended on 1 April 2007. The funding of cameras was integrated into the local transport plan process at the same time that the scheme ended. Paying fines and penalty receipts such as speeding fines into the consolidated fund is generally considered preferable to ringfencing or hypothecating specific funding. The risk of appearing to create incentives to collect fines and penalty receipts for the sake of generating revenues, rather than for the purpose of enforcement and road safety, needs very careful consideration if we are to retain public trust in tackling speeding. I am sure that my hon. Friend is aware that most central Government funding for local government is not ringfenced so that local authorities can make the best decisions relating to their local priorities. Money from the Consolidated Fund supports general expenditure on public services, including those that motorists will benefit from, such as healthcare, policing, local government grants and transport. Nevertheless, he makes an important point, and I will certainly look into it further. The enforcement of road traffic law is vital, and how available resources are deployed is the responsibility of individual chief officers and police and crime commissioners, taking into account the specific local problems and demands that they face. My hon. Friend made important points that I will consider further, including about people who drive for a living and the important role that we can play in ensuring that employers take their responsibilities seriously. I turn to my hon. Friend’s point about tyres. Tyre labelling regulations require a new tyre’s wet grip performance to be displayed at the point of sale, along with other attributes. The ratings are established following standardised tests, and presented in a consistent manner that helps the consumer to see the relative performance and make an informed choice. The market surveillance unit in the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency checks new car tyres supplied into the market are accurate with respect to their assigned wet grip, fuel efficiency and external noise ratings. The unit has also worked closely with trading standards relative to part-worn and re-treaded tyre sellers, supporting any sanctions that trading standards may take in respect of non-compliance. The DVSA welcomes intelligence about part-worn and re-treaded tyre compliance. The last Labour Government halved the number of people killed on our roads each year, but under the Conservatives that progress stalled, with only a 12% reduction between 2010 and 2023. That is a legacy that my Government are determined to put right. That is why we have announced that we are developing a new road safety strategy, the first in over a decade. I can assure my hon. Friends that we will continue to use the “safe system” approach to support our thinking, be evidence based and ensure responsibility for tackling the problem is shared among policy makers, those who enforce our laws, those who design our roads and those who use them. We will be setting out next steps in due course. My hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale and Darwen made a number of really important points in his contribution, and I will be working with officials to consider them further, as we continue our work in this area. I will be pleased to keep in touch with him, and other hon. Friends here today, as we progress our work on road safety. I once again congratulate him on securing this important debate, and everyone who made a contribution this evening. Question put and agreed to.

• 10 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising that vital question. Every death on our roads is a tragedy. We expect drivers to observe the speed limit, and, of course, enforcement is a matter for the police. Last week, I met Richard Parker, the Mayor of the west midlands, to discuss our shared determination to improve road safety.