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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Transport (Baroness Sugg) (Con)
My Lords, Britain has some of the safest roads in the world,
but we are determined to do more to reduce casualty figures.
Since the increased penalties were introduced in March 2017,
over 15,000 drivers have been fined and issued with six
penalty points. However, it is too soon to assess what impact
the change is having on road safety. We are conducting a
roadside observational survey on usage of mobile phones and
expect the results in the new year.
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(Con)
My Lords, I welcome my noble friend the Minister to her debut
at the Dispatch Box in her new role. Will she join me in
congratulating Thames Valley Police on the work it has done
in seeking to change driver behaviour and make driving while
using handheld mobile devices socially unacceptable? A video
it recently produced has been requested by companies across
the UK to help raise awareness of the dangers. This Thames
Valley Police campaign won a national safety award in June.
Anecdotally, it says the message is starting to creep
through. What assurances can my noble friend give the House
and all police authorities throughout the UK that the
Government will do what they can to assist in the campaign to
make this dangerous behaviour socially unacceptable?
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I join my noble friend in commending the Thames Valley Police
for the work it is doing raising awareness of this issue. I
have seen the video she mentions, which features the families
of the tragic victims of the A34 crash. As well as tougher
sanctions, we have been running a dedicated national THINK!
campaign since March to highlight the dangers of using a
mobile phone. One of the highlights of this campaign was a
new film launched last month to target young drivers, which
has been a great success on social media, with more than 3
million views on Facebook alone.
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(LD)
As a former member of the Thames Valley Police Authority and
someone who specialised in road safety, I endorse what the
noble Baroness, Lady Pidding, just said, but regulations on
parking are ignored throughout the area. Some very dangerous
parking is taking place in town centres. Does this not
indicate a lack of respect for the law? What are the
Government doing about it?
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I am afraid I am not aware of the incidents that the noble
Lord raises. Obviously, we are working with police forces
across the country to ensure that enforcement takes place,
because laws are only as good as their enforcement.
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(Lab)
My Lords, what is the Minister going to do about cyclists who
use their phones, often while travelling at high speed? They
are becoming a danger on our roads.
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My Lords, I agree that everyone who uses highways has a
responsibility to behave safely. A number of offences can
cover cycling behaviour, such as fixed penalty notices, or
officers can report the road user for prosecution. The
Government announced last month their cycle safety review,
which will involve a consultation on these issues. We are
working with stakeholders for their input and we will publish
fuller terms of reference next year.
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(Con)
My Lords, statistics show that young people aged between 17
and 29 are more likely to use mobile phones and other
hand-held devices. What are the Government doing to take
action against this, especially relating to further education
for that group?
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My noble friend is right to highlight the important issue of
addressing young drivers. Around 20% of new drivers will have
a crash within the first six months of passing their test, so
any novice driver caught using a mobile phone while driving
in their first two years will have their licence revoked. We
have announced changes to the practical driving test that
will come into force in December. I mentioned the THINK!
campaign, which targets young drivers. We have also produced
a provisional licence mailing insert, which is estimated to
reach nearly 1.7 million new drivers annually.
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(GP)
My Lords, how many drivers are driving legally with 12 points
on their licence because they claim personal hardship if they
lose their licence?
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I am afraid I do not have the figures that the noble Baroness
refers to, but I will look into the issue and write to her
with that information.
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(Lab)
The Home Secretary recently told police and crime
commissioners to stop pointing out the pressing need for more
money for our underresourced police and instead concentrate
on those who are breaking the law. That outburst was clearly
an admission by the Government that they will let down the
police yet again in the forthcoming Budget by not providing
the resources that PCCs and the police need to do their job.
What representations, if any, have Transport Ministers made
to the Treasury that on increasing numbers of occasions road
traffic offences—including vehicle theft and using hand-held
mobile phones while driving—cannot even be pursued by the
police, let alone see perpetrators brought to justice, due to
the continuing squeeze on police budgets and continuing
reductions in the number of police officers? Can I take it
that the Department for Transport, despite the recent
publicly expressed concerns of HM Inspectorate of
Constabulary, has remained utterly silent on the issue of
inadequate police resources?
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My Lords, we are very sensitive to the pressures which police
face. We recognised the importance of wider police spending
in the 2015 spending review, which protected overall police
spending in real terms. It is of course up to police and
crime commissioners and chief constables of each police force
to decide how they deploy resources. As my noble friend Lady
Pidding highlighted, as well as working closely with the
police to support enforcement action, police forces across
the country are doing valuable work in the campaign to reduce
hand-held mobile use and we should commend them.
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The (CB)
My Lords, is there not a problem with traceability when it
comes to issuing cyclists with fixed penalty notices? There
is no obvious sign, as there is with a car and its
registration plate. Cyclists can give a Mickey Mouse name and
address. What is the effect of the fixed penalty notice in
this case?
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On cycling, as I mentioned earlier, there are a number of
measures which officers can use, including verbal warnings
and fixed penalty notices. However, I acknowledge that there
is a problem with traceability. That is something that the
cycle safety review, which we will publish next year, will
address.
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(Lab)
My Lords, will the Minister join me in condemning local
Conservative associations such as Kensington and Chelsea,
which has written to ask me to sign a petition condemning the
attempt of the police authority to live within its budget by
reducing a service to local people? Does she agree that such
dishonesty is giving politics a bad name?
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No, I am afraid that I do not agree with the noble Baroness.
Obviously I will look into the case to which she refers, but
I know that Kensington and Chelsea and all local authorities
work closely with the police to ensure that they are able to
deliver the services which we require.
