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Road Safety Bill [HL]

My Lords, I thank noble Lords who supported the amendment. I put on record that I am very disappointed by the lack of support both from the Conservative Benches and from the Government. We all agree that what we are aiming to achieve here is a 30 mph speed limit in most of our villages. Everyone accepts that there are villages where that is not suitable. We already have a default speed limit of 60 mph. There is a huge amount of statutory bureaucracy, and local authorities have to jump through a lot of hoops to give villages what they want and deserve—a 30 mph speed limit. Local authorities are getting more and more cash strapped. We have had a lot of debate in this House about the shortfall in funding that local government is reporting, yet we are asking local authorities to find extra money from their budgets to implement 30 mph speed limits which, as the Minister himself has said, is government policy. What I am asking now, and have asked repeatedly, is: if this is government policy, what are the Government actually doing about it? The Minister has come up with not one suggestion on how this measure can be made easier for local authorities and how the cost burden can be reduced. If the Government are serious about reducing speed limits in villages and introducing 30 mph limits, they could at least try to reduce the bureaucratic burden, even if they do not feel that they can support this amendment. I reiterate that this measure is not about reducing any element of local choice or discretion—that would remain the same—it would simply move the default speed limit from the current 60 mph to 30 mph. Clearly, I am not happy with what I have heard from the Minister and I wish to test the opinion of the House. On Question, Whether the said amendment (No. 3) shall be agreed to? Their Lordships divided: Contents, 76; Not-Contents, 158 Clause 20 [Causing death by careless, or inconsiderate, driving]: