Lilian Greenwood MP: speeches

Speeches

• 26 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is right to raise this question, which a number of my hon. Friends have also raised. The DVLA is working very closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and, as he will know, alongside the road safety strategy we have a consultation on motoring offences, which includes proposals for tougher penalties for those displaying illegal plates.

• 26 Mar 2026 · Road Safety · Hansard source

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  The road safety strategy envisages a safer future for everyone on the road, including targets to cut deaths and serious injuries by 65%, and 70% for children, by 2035. It promotes partnership working across Government, local authorities, police and emergency services, industry and others to save thousands of lives, ease pressure on the NHS and support the economy.

• 26 Mar 2026 · Road Safety · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Member for raising this important case, and I send my condolences to the family in her constituency. Many people, including bereaved families, have raised with me how it feels when they see someone who has been arrested on drink or drug-driving charges being able to drive until their case comes to court. That is why suspension of licences is one of the issues covered in our motoring offences consultation. I hope that she, other Members and members of the public will respond positively to that proposal.

• 12 Feb 2026 · Support for Road Users · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member raises an important question. Of course, our Department works closely with our colleagues in the Home Office to tackle crime of that sort. I am sure that the Minister with responsibility for roads, my hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield and Rothwell (Simon Lightwood), would be happy to write to him about those regulations.

• 5 Feb 2026 · Road Safety · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) for her powerful and moving speech in opening today’s debate, and thank so many Members on both sides of the House for their thoughtful and heartfelt contributions. I wish we had more time for the debate; I know I will not be able to respond to all the points raised, so I will endeavour to write to people if I do not manage to answer their questions today. It is evident from the discussion that road safety is a subject that affects everyone. Members have shared the effect of road collusions on their constituents and on themselves. My hon. Friend the Member for Shipley is one of too many people who have lost family members on our roads, and I extend my sympathies to her and to all constituents whose tragic cases have been raised by hon. and right hon. Members. I have met many bereaved families, and it is without doubt the hardest part of my job, but I will continue to do so. I am proud that this Government have published the first road safety strategy in over a decade, which sets out our vision for a safer future for all. Although Britain has some of the safest roads globally, the last 10 years of complacency mean that our road safety record has dropped. As we have already heard, four people are killed on our roads every single day. It is not acceptable, which is why we have set ambitious targets to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on British roads by 65%, and by 70% for children, by 2035. The strategy is rooted in innovation and underpinned by the “safe system”, which recognises that although driver error is inevitable, deaths and serious injuries on our roads are not. A new road safety investigation branch will analyse data to identify causes of danger, and to generate safety solutions, in order to cut deaths and serious injuries. Hon. Members, including the hon. Member for North West Norfolk (James Wild) and my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee), have spoken about the need for action to reduce speed. We will update guidance for local authorities, which have the power to set speed limits on their roads, to inform decision making at local level. It is for councils to determine what measures are appropriate, because they have local knowledge. It is right that they focus on areas of highest risk, which may be where fatal collisions have occurred, but there is nothing to stop them implementing road safety measures elsewhere. I can assure the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney) that we have already committed to updating the guidance on speed camera deployment. The enforcement of road traffic law is the responsibility of individual chief constables and police and crime commissioners, taking into account the specific local problems that they face. We are investing in additional police officers, with 3,000 to be recruited by the end of March and 13,000 by the end of this Parliament. Like my hon. Friend for Shipley, I pay tribute to Alison Lowe, the deputy mayor for policing and crime in West Yorkshire, for her personal commitment. Last month I visited West Yorkshire to see at first hand the work being delivered, and last week I joined the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners to talk about our strategy and how we can work together. Tragically, as we have heard, young drivers are over-represented in the number of people killed and seriously injured, and crashes involving young drivers also result in deaths and serious injuries among other road users. This issue was raised by numerous Members, including my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Peter Prinsley), the hon. Member for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire (Mr MacDonald), and the right hon. Member—I will probably murder the name of her constituency—for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts). Graduated driving licences vary around the world, as does how they are implemented; there is not one standard type. For England, Scotland and Wales, we are consulting on introducing a minimum learning period to ensure that learner drivers get the necessary time and training to prepare themselves for a lifetime of safe driving. We have to strike a balance between protecting young people and impacting their opportunities to get to work, education and social activities. We already have a two-year probationary period for all novice drivers once they have passed their test, and we are now seeking views on a lower blood alcohol limit for novice drivers in England and Wales. I am very aware of the recent announcement in Northern Ireland, which my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley mentioned. My officials regularly meet their counterparts in Northern Ireland, and I have asked them to keep me updated on the progress and on the impact of the measures once they have been implemented. At the other end of the spectrum, drivers aged over 70 account for around 24% of all car drivers killed in 2024. That is why we are consulting on mandatory eye tests for drivers in this age group, and we are also exploring cognitive testing. As well as improving safety, these measures could support families to broach difficult conversations with older relatives who are still driving. Drink-driving continues to cause too many deaths and injuries. The drink-drive limit has not been lowered since it was first legislated for in 1967, and our understanding of impairment has developed. To support a shift in social acceptability, we will work with our THINK! campaign and alcohol brands to encourage people to choose drinks with 0% alcohol content. Drug-driving has also increased, without sufficient measures in place to curtail it, so we are consulting on alternative methods of testing for drug driving and on licence suspension for those suspected of the most serious offences. There is so much more I would like to say, Madam Deputy Speaker, but may I just say that we are seeking opinions on tougher penalties for motoring offences? usbI thank my hon. Friends who raised those issues, in addition to raising the issues of pavement parking and vehicle safety. Although the Government are leading the charge, this will be a collective effort in partnership with local authorities, the industry, the emergency services, communities and the devolved Administrations. I assure everyone in this House that action is beginning now to make our roads safer, as we put the commitments in the strategy into place. I will chair a new road safety board that will be set up in the coming months to support and monitor the commitments, and we will announce further details of its membership and other arrangements in due course. Finally, as hon. Members are aware, many of the measures on which we are consulting will require primary legislation, and we intend to bring this forward when parliamentary time allows. However, where we can deliver change faster through secondary legislation, we will do so. I encourage hon. Members to respond to our consultations. We will listen to this feedback, alongside evidence and recommendations from the Transport Committee’s inquiry. I again thank all right hon. and hon. Members for their contributions, and I look forward to updating the House when we have considered the findings. Question put and agreed to. Resolved , That this House has considered road safety.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Women’s Safety: Walking, Wheeling, Cycling and Running · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship this afternoon, Ms Jardine. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Lowestoft (Jess Asato) for raising this important issue and congratulate her on her appointment as violence against women and girls adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care. I look forward to working with her to help to drive forward the Government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls within a decade. I imagine that every woman here today will have recognised the issues under discussion. My hon. Friend the Member for Bolton North East (Kirith Entwistle), the hon. Member for Frome and East Somerset (Anna Sabine), my hon. Friends the Members for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin) and for North West Leicestershire (Amanda Hack), the hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse), my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) and the hon. Member for Chelmsford (Marie Goldman) all described vividly what those issues mean for women in our daily lives. The fear of male violence is so normalised that it is easy to forget that it is anything but normal. I am pleased that many men, including my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur), the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), my hon. Friends the Members for Rugby (John Slinger) and for Calder Valley (Josh Fenton-Glynn), and indeed the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire (Greg Smith), are also committed to ensuring that the situation changes. As we have heard, women remain under-represented in cycling due to persistent safety concerns: 58% of women feel that their cycle journeys are limited by such concerns, and more than a third say that roads do not feel safe. Harassment, intimidation and poorly lit routes all contribute to a sense that cycling, particularly in the evening, is simply not a safe or viable option. Research conducted by Dr Caroline Miles and Professor Rose Broad at the University of Manchester found that, over a two-year period from 2021 to 2022, 68% of women survey respondents said they had experienced abuse while out running, but only 5% of those women had reported the abuse to the police.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Horse and Rider Road Safety · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Dowd; I know you have a deep personal commitment to road safety. I congratulate the hon. Member for Newbury (Mr Dillon) on securing this debate and thank him for raising the vital issue of road safety and vulnerable users, specifically horse riders. It is clear that this concern is widely shared across the House. I do not know how I am going to do justice to it in the next eight minutes. This debate is aptly timed, as we published our new road safety strategy last week. I stress the importance of road safety around animals. I know how vital horses are to rural areas, such as West Berkshire, and I have been very sorry to hear about collisions involving horses and riders. I pass on my condolences to all those who have been affected by these tragic incidents, including the death of the racehorse Knockalla in Lambourn. We also heard about Laura, who lost her horse Angel, Katie, who lost her horse George and Maddy, who lost her horse Blaze. We were all horrified to hear the description by my hon. Friend the Member for South West Norfolk (Terry Jermy) of what happened to his constituent, Susi. I recognise how horrible it must be to lose an animal in that way, and stress the importance of keeping our roads safe for all road users. As has been noted, the highway code was updated in 2022 to improve safety, particularly for the most vulnerable road users. The Department for Transport introduced the hierarchy of road users, which sets out that those who can cause the greatest harm in the event of a collision bear the greatest responsibility to reduce the potential threat that they pose to others. The highway code changes included strengthening the guidance on safe passing distances and speeds when overtaking horse riders. I encourage everyone in the country, especially drivers, to look at the “Rules about animals” section of the highway code.

• 8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source

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  We are no longer the safest. We have been dropping down the rankings, and progress has stalled compared with other countries across Europe. Sir Peter North’s review in 2010 estimated that reducing the drink-drive limit from 80 mg to 50 mg would save an estimated 43 to 168 lives each year and avoid a very large number of serious injuries—a conservative estimate put it at 280. We are acting on the evidence. When it comes to drug-driving, we are looking at how we can make better use of testing. I know that too many people who have suffered as a result of someone drug-driving wait a long time for their case to come to court. It takes too long to process, which is why we are looking at things like roadside testing. Through our award-winning THINK! campaign, we continue to target publicity at those who cause the most danger: young men aged 17 to 24. At the end of last year, we did an anti-drug-driving campaign—the first in 10 years—using the sorts of media channels that get to those we are trying to target, including TikTok and Instagram. Finally, the shadow Secretary of State is right to speak about enforcement. That is why this Government are investing in additional police officers—an extra 3,000 police officers by March and 13,000 by the end of this Parliament. We are responding to the requirements of the police. We are giving them the legislation and the powers they need to crack down on those who cause danger on our roads. I am pleased to see that our strategy has been welcomed by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for roads policing, Jo Shiner. I welcome the right hon. Member’s other comments, and we look forward to reading the official Opposition’s comments in response to our consultations.

• 8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source

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  I am very happy to commend those from my hon. Friend’s constituency who do such fantastic work to campaign, as well as the police and trading standards on the work that they do. We are determined to act on the things that they have led on.

• 8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source

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  With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to make a statement on our new national road safety strategy. It is a sad truth that, by the time I finish speaking and we hear the Opposition’s response, it is likely someone will have died or been seriously injured on our roads. It is an even sadder truth that that would likely have been entirely preventable. Even though we have some of the safest roads in the world, more than 1,600 people died on our roads last year, and nearly 28,000 were seriously injured. Over the course of my lifetime, road safety has improved immeasurably—in no small part thanks to a titan of my party, Barbara Castle—but it is safe to say the last 10 years represent a lost decade. Death and serious injury numbers have plateaued despite improvements in vehicle safety. The UK has slipped from third to fourth in Europe’s road safety rankings, and the human cost of too little action and too much complacency is clear: lives taken too soon, lives altered beyond recognition, and lives grieved by the families left behind. If that was not enough, a decade without a comprehensive road safety strategy has meant that the country lost out on nearly £7 billion in economic output last year. That should not just give us pause; it should spur us to action. We would not tolerate that on our railways or in our airspace, and I am determined to ensure that we no longer tolerate it on our roads. That is why I am standing here today: to say quite simply that enough is enough. The targets that we are setting match the full measure of our ambition. We want to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on British roads by 65% by 2035, and by 70% for children under 16. Our vision is clear: any road user—however they choose to travel—should be able to move safely on our roads. There are four main ways in which we will deliver that vision through the strategy. First, we will put all road users at the heart of the strategy. When it comes to protecting vulnerable road users, we will be guided by the evidence. We know, for example, that young drivers between 17 and 24 are at a higher risk of death or serious injury on our roads. They account for 6% of driving licences yet are involved in 24% of fatal and serious collisions. That is why we will consult not just on a minimum learning period for learner drivers, but on a lower blood alcohol limit for novice drivers. I would also recognise the important debate on young driver safety that my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury (Julia Buckley) secured last January. Another key area is the safety of older drivers. In 2024, about 24% of all car drivers killed were aged 70 or older. While driving is rightly seen as a vital form of independence in older age, it cannot come at the expense of safety, so we will consult on mandatory eyesight tests for drivers over 70 and explore options for cognitive testing, recognising the risks of driving with conditions such as dementia. We also will not ignore the fact that motorcyclists are 40 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured on our roads compared with car drivers, so we will reform the motorcycle training, testing and licensing regime. That starts today with a consultation, including on removing the ability to ride on L-plates indefinitely. Let me move to advances in technology and data. We will consult on mandating 18 new vehicle safety technologies under the GB type approval scheme—a change that could prevent more than 14,000 deaths and serious injuries over 15 years. That includes autonomous emergency braking, a proven safety technology that Meera Naran has tirelessly campaigned for as Dev’s law, after the tragic loss of her son. I am delighted to see her in the Public Gallery; she has been an incredible campaigner on this issue. To learn from collisions and prevent future harm, we will establish a data-led road safety investigation branch covering the whole of Great Britain. It will draw on data to carry out thematic investigations and make recommendations. To give those involved in collisions the best chance of survival, we will ensure that police-recorded collision data and healthcare data are shared more effectively. The third theme is about infrastructure. Safer roads and effective speed management are essential pillars of the “safe system” approach that guides the strategy. That starts with investment. The Government are providing £24 billion between 2026 and 2030 to improve motorways and local roads, building on record funding for pothole repairs. We will also publish updated guidance on setting local speed limits and the use of speed and red light cameras, supporting local authorities to make evidence-based decisions. Because rural roads remain among the most dangerous, with motorcyclists often navigating sharp bends, we will build on the success of Project PRIME—perceptual rider information for maximisation of enjoyment and expertise—in Scotland, which saw real safety improvements thanks to new road markings. Finally, let me talk about enforcement. We know that most drivers are safe, and we do not want to get in their way. However, they need to feel confident that the Government have their back, so my message to the minority of drivers who are unsafe and reckless is simple: if you drive dangerously, if you drive illegally or if you make our roads less safe, you will face the consequences. Take drink and drug-driving. We know that it was a contributory factor in 18% of road fatalities in 2023, so we will consult on lowering the drink-drive limit, which has not been changed in England and Wales since 1967. We will review penalties for drink and drug-driving offences and explore the use of alcohol interlock devices. New powers will be considered to suspend licences for those suspected of the most serious offences. We also propose tougher penalties for those who drive without insurance—I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Swindon North (Will Stone) for his persistent advocacy on this issue. We will also look at penalty points for failing to wear a seatbelt and failing to ensure that child passengers are wearing theirs, too. Thanks to the tireless campaigning of my hon. Friends the Members for West Bromwich (Sarah Coombes) and for Rochdale (Paul Waugh), we are tackling illegal number plates. We will increase penalties for using illegal plates and ensure that the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is empowered to carry out more robust checks on number plate suppliers. These rightly bold ambitions cannot be met by Government working alone. We call on the support of Members from all parts of the House and extend our hand in partnership to the devolved Governments, mayors, local authorities, the police and other stakeholders. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbury) for her support on behalf of the Transport Committee and my hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae) as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for transport safety for his advocacy on this important issue. I have sat with families torn apart by deaths and serious injuries on our roads—it is one of the hardest parts of my job. Even through intolerable pain, they campaign, fight and demand change so that others can be spared their sense of loss. This strategy is for those brave families. I truly believe that this is a turning point for road safety in this country, when we finally put victims at the heart of policymaking, see road safety as a shared responsibility and understand that, while driver or rider error is inevitable, fatalities and serious injury are not. A multilayered system, from safer speeds and vehicles to safer roads and robust enforcement, is how we protect every road user. That is how we ensure that people walk away from collisions rather than being carried and how we deliver safer roads for everyone who relies on them. I have laid copies of the documents in the Libraries of both Houses, and I commend this statement to the House.

• 8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for the work that she has done at a local level. We are consulting on new powers to give the police precisely the tools that they need to crack down on the criminals who feel that they can get away with illegal activity by using ghost plates.

• 8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source

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  I know that the hon. Lady has been a real campaigner on road safety during her time in the House. The ambitious targets that we have set can be delivered only by working in partnership with the police. I have had a number of meetings with the Minister for Policing and Crime. We both agree that this is an important issue and we will be working with police forces to ensure that it is enforced.

• 8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source

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  The Government have done a great deal of work in collaboration with the Home Office on road policing. We know that this strategy will be effective only if there is enforcement. I cannot instruct chief constables on how they deploy their resources, but we are determined to work in partnership to ensure that this road safety strategy is effective, including the measures around enforcement.

• 8 Jan 2026 · Road Safety Strategy · Hansard source

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  Arm’s length bodies of the Department for Transport and the police work together closely on Operation Tutelage, to take people who are driving uninsured off the road. We are proposing tougher measures to deal with uninsured drivers. Frankly, if there were fewer road traffic collisions, that would reduce insurance costs for everyone.

• 8 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight the problems caused by the antisocial use of e-bikes, and indeed of illegal e-bikes. Police already have the powers they need to seize any non-compliant e-bikes and we encourage them to use those powers, as I know they are in parts of the country.

• 2 Sept 2025 · Pony and Trap Racing: Regulation · Hansard source

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  It is always a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Stringer. I begin by congratulating the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Sarah Green) on securing this debate. I thank her for raising pony and trap racing, which is clearly an important issue for her constituents, although I confess that, until I started to prepare for this debate, it was not something that I had experienced, nor have I seen it in my constituency. I imagine that it is not something found in all constituencies, but it is clearly an issue in some. As the Minister responsible for road safety, I am pleased to be able to respond on behalf of this Government. I want to be clear that ensuring the safety of all road users and improving road safety is one of the Department’s highest priorities. We are currently considering a variety of road safety measures for inclusion in a strategy, and I reassure the hon. Lady and others that the Department takes road safety seriously. As we develop the strategy, I am committed to continuing to engage with hon. Members, stakeholders and road safety organisations. Today’s debate forms part of that work, so I thank hon. Lady for taking this opportunity to bring the issue of pony and trap racing to my attention. I look forward to publishing the road safety strategy in due course. I note that concerns have been raised in this debate about pony and trap racing being a seasonal problem on certain roads, the potential for it to create risks on our roads and the disruption it can cause to local residents. The hon. Lady made a powerful case, setting out how the issue impacts people in her local area and why she is bringing it to the attention of the House. She also drew attention to the absence of a licensing framework similar to the licensing scheme for cycle races held on public roads. I also note the animal welfare concerns highlighted by the hon. Member for Winchester (Dr Chambers). In considering and potentially dealing with the issue of pony and trap racing, there is a challenge of ensuring that the use of a pony and trap as a legitimate transport means is not made illegal. The question is how to differentiate between activity that is legal and that which is not. There are already existing powers in the legislative framework to deal with occurrences of pony and trap racing that breach the current road traffic legislation. That is a local policing matter, and we believe that the existing powers are sufficient. The police can use those powers to tackle any unlawful pony and trap racing; for example, I understand that they have utilised existing powers such as dispersal notices as a means of preventing potentially unlawful pony and trap racing, and the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham referred to the use of such measures. I want to make clear that the police are operationally independent, and that it is for them to treat each case according to its individual merits and make appropriate risk assessments about what action to take. It is clearly impossible to consider every conceivable set of circumstances that the police face in dealing with potential breaches of the law. As I have said, it is their role to make that judgment. There are existing powers under the law to deal with instances of dangerous or careless driving by motor vehicles or with people seeking to obstruct traffic, as the hon. Lady described—to deal with driving that falls below the required standards or with those who unlawfully obstruct the highway. Let me turn to the possibility that the hon. Lady suggested: regulating pony and trap racing in the same way as cycling events. I need to say at the outset that, to be frank, the Government do not currently have any plans to do so. The legislation on cycling events dates from 1960 and, although there have been reviews in the past, no legal changes have been deemed of sufficient priority for inclusion in any legislative timetable. It might be helpful to clarify how the requirements operate for cycling events. It is the event organiser’s responsibility to ensure compliance with the law and good practice, for example by providing sufficient numbers of marshals, with the appropriate training, at each event. The Government do not currently have any plans to legislate to require all cycling events to be licensable by local authorities. The current voluntary system works well, and local cycling events are a good way of encouraging more people to take up cycling, in line with the Government’s plans to boost cycling and walking. The Government often have to make difficult choices regarding legislative priority. The hon. Lady and other Members will be aware that Parliament has a packed legislative timetable and that the issues facing the nation and the Government are of a huge scale. Such measures as called for in this debate would therefore not be foremost in any Bill consideration. We do, however, always keep the law under review to ensure that it is fit for purpose, and I would be happy to meet with the hon. Lady to better understand the evidence she has on the nature of this problem and how widespread it is. Then we, as a Government, can revisit our priorities and look at the matter in further detail. As I have already said, I look forward to laying out our road safety plans in due course. Once again, I thank the hon. Lady for securing this important debate and for drawing to my attention the concerns of her constituents and the specific issues that she has raised. Question put and agreed to.