Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to introduce
a comprehensive policy to deal with the dangers and benefits of
e-scooters.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Transport () (Con)
My Lords, the Department for Transport is considering options for
how best to regulate e-scooters and crack down on their illegal
use. New measures being considered will be designed to create a
much clearer, fit-for-purpose and fully enforceable regime for
e-scooters and other micro-mobility devices. This will include
robust technical standards and new rules for private and rental
e-scooters.
(Con)
My Lords, e-scooters have become a menace and the Government are
being too slow either to ban or, as we have heard, regulate them.
They are dangerous in design, using up valuable rare metals in
battery manufacture, and cause growing numbers of accidents among
riders, pedestrians and the disabled, and arising from
scooter-induced fires. The defence of the present situation is
focused on the relatively small number of regulated trial
rentals, not the hundreds of thousands in private ownership with
very limited legal use. Can my noble friend the Minister advise
the House what early action she proposes to remedy this
situation? We need to try harder.
(Con)
The policy is still under development and I am grateful to my
noble friend for highlighting her concerns for our consideration
as we develop it going forward. It is very important that we
develop a safe, proportionate and flexible regulatory regime. To
do that, we need the data from the various trials which are going
ahead, the future of transport regulatory call for evidence,
ongoing conversations with stakeholders and more research. I
reassure my noble friend that we are making progress. I recognise
that there is more to be done.
(Lab)
The Minister describes a very complicated and confusing
situation. Is she able to explain to the House where e-scooters
can be legally used in England and where they cannot? Will she
pass on that information to the police?
(Con)
Yes, I can explain that. It is illegal to use a private e-scooter
on all public land. It is certainly illegal to use one on the
pavement or the road. Trials have been set up around the country
to develop evidence for future regulatory reform, and, within
those trial areas, it is allowable to ride an e-scooter on a road
or cycle path. We are working very closely with the police on
enforcement; for example, the National Police Chiefs’ Council is
developing a national strategy for tackling the illegal use of
e-scooters. My officials are working very closely with it on
that.
(UUP)
My Lords, there is a growing problem with e-scooters being ridden
in Northern Ireland illegally and erratically. They are permitted
to be driven only on private land. A freedom of information
request from the Belfast Telegraph revealed that the PSNI does
not hold statistics on the number of fines or cautions issued.
However, there is a perception that few, if any, offenders have
been prosecuted. Does the Minister agree that addressing this
potentially lethal threat to personal safety should be more of a
priority for police forces across the United Kingdom, including
in Northern Ireland?
(Con)
The noble Lord is most likely right that the PSNI does not hold
data. Indeed, it is the case that police forces in England do not
currently hold data relating specifically to offences by riders
of e-scooters because they fall under the category of motor
vehicles, and that data is therefore within that. At the moment
the Home Office has no plans to introduce a requirement for
forces to collect information, but, as the noble Lord set out, it
is absolutely key that local police forces develop good action
plans for enforcement, following the guidance that will be coming
out from the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
(LD)
My Lords, last year, there were 931 casualties of e-scooter
accidents— 200 of those were non-riders—and there were three
fatalities, yet there is absolutely no reference to e-scooters in
the new Highway Code. Does this make the Government derelict in
their duty to protect both riders and those who inadvertently
cross their path? Does the Minister realise that, by tarrying so
long on this, the Government are not leading but lagging behind
the rest of the world?
(Con)
I am not sure I agree that the Government are “tarrying so long”.
It is really important that we get the correct balance between
the enormous benefits that e-scooters can bring and safety on our
roads. The noble Baroness is right to highlight some very serious
safety concerns that have arisen. We are gathering the data, and
we appreciate data that is coming into the department from all
sorts of places and that we can subsequently analyse. But, as I
said, e-scooters are not currently allowed on the roads, except
in trial areas. It could become impossible to get a good
legislative framework together, so, for the time being, within
the trials, the e-scooter riders must comply with the rules,
obviously, and take part in the training offered.
(Con)
My Lords, this matter is now urgent. What deadline has the
Minister set her department for producing a report? We cannot go
on with uninsured riders, very often moving around drugs and so
on, or otherwise just knocking down pedestrians. Can we have a
deadline, please?
(Con)
My department is currently considering how best to capture and
publish the information that we are gathering from the trials. We
hope to make progress on potential new primary powers. I cannot
give my noble friend a deadline, but suffice it to say, at this
stage, that we have a large team working on all the different
elements to enable us to bring forward a legislative
framework.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords, having witnessed the increased use of e-scooters in
London recently, I am irrevocably drawn to the conclusion that
this is a catastrophe waiting to happen. I have witnessed almost
every rule of the road being breached, including reckless and
careless driving, excessive speed, lights being jumped, riding on
footpaths and use without lights. Can the Minister advise the
House of the number of e-scooter accidents and prosecutions that
have taken place in London since e-scooters have been legalised
and why was the opportunity missed to offer advice and guidance
in the redraft of the Highway Code?
(Con)
I might swerve the Highway Code question because I think I have
gone as far as I can in the answer to the noble Baroness, Lady
Randerson, but I will slightly push back on what the noble Lord
is saying because it is a bit concerning. A number of people have
bought these scooters and obviously we want them in due course to
be able to ride them safely. We will not be able to do that for
all e-scooters or, indeed, for all riders but it is clear to me
that people see them as an attractive alternative mode of
transport. The key here is to legislate accordingly and that is
what we are very much focused on. The noble Lord asked about
safety stats. I can say that for the year to June 2021, the
Metropolitan Police recorded 496 incidents of injury with
e-scooters versus 25,666 where it was any vehicle.
(LD)
The Minister mentioned earlier that she could not give any data
for police enforcement of offences. But, as my noble friend Lady
Randerson said, Department for Transport statistics for the year
to June 2021, collected from police forces, show that there were
nearly 900 accidents, with three people killed and 253 seriously
injured. If her department can get accident statistics from the
police, why can it not get statistics on enforcement and
offences? Is it because her department is not encouraging the
police to do any enforcement?
(Con)
No. Enforcement is going on: offenders are being fined and
penalties are being given out. The reality is that the Home
Office does not collect the data by the specific vehicle type
that is an e-scooter.
(Con)
My Lords, first, well over a million private scooters are
estimated to have been purchased. Will my noble friend comment on
the fiction that they are being ridden only on private land?
Secondly, does she think that at point of sale, when purchases
are being made, there is clarity and unambiguity that e-scooters
are illegal except in trial areas or on private land rather than
the reality of the chaos and catastrophe they are causing up and
down the country?
(Con)
The department is acutely aware of the issue of the number of
private e-scooters that are potentially being ridden on public
land at this moment. That is why working as quickly as possible
to develop a legislative framework, which will be set out in
primary legislation, in order for them to be ridden legally.
However, we are also reassured that the Consumer Protection from
Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 stipulate that traders must give
sufficient information to consumers; they must not mislead.
Ministers from my department have written to retailers many times
and the last written reminder of their obligations was in
December 2021.
