Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Joe Robertson (Conservative) on Monday, 22 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 24 June 2026. It was answered by Simon Lightwood (Labour) on Thursday, 25 June 2026 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Driverless Vehicles

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the regulatory regime for autonomous vehicles is supported by testing, validation and assurance frameworks that are sufficiently flexible to accommodate rapid technological developments.

Answer

The UK is taking a leading role at the United Nations Commission for Europe (UNECE) in the development of international vehicle regulations on automated vehicles. The Department for Transport co-chairs the Informal Working Group which is developing an internationally harmonised regulation on vehicle automated driving systems (ADS). The regulation is technologically neutral and is based on safety assurance approaches which will allow for innovation and technological developments. We anticipate applying this regulation through GB vehicle type approval.

The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 established the legal framework for regulating automated vehicles in the UK. By taking an outcomes-focused approach to safety assurance, it establishes a flexible, futureproof framework that can be adapted in line with technological developments.

The Government is now developing the secondary legislation which will set the detailed, technical requirements to support testing, validation and assurance of the vehicles and responsible regulated bodies. We are actively consulting experts from industry, road safety groups and academia to ensure the regulations are future-proofed and that learnings from early automated vehicle deployments are captured.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
12035
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Regulation Driverless vehicles
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk