Local traffic authorities are best placed to set local speed limits based on local needs and priorities. The Government has no plans to consider making 20mph the default speed limit on urban and restricted roads in England. Setting national speed limits in Scotland and in Wales are matters for the Scottish and Welsh governments respectively.

In November 2018, the Department published its comprehensive three-year study of the effect of 20 mph limits. The report is available online at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/20-mph-speed-limits-on-roads.

Some of the key findings from the research include that 20mph limits are supported by most residents and drivers, and that introducing a 20mph limit may reduce traffic speed by around 1 mph. Encouragingly, vehicles travelling at higher speeds before the introduction of the 20mph limit have reduced their speed more than those already travelling at lower speeds. However, there is not enough evidence to conclude that that there has been a significant change in collisions and casualties following the introduction of 20mph limits in residential areas.

The Government is committed to exploring innovative ideas and processes for constructing, repairing and maintaining road surfaces. The Department for Transport is aware of a number of initiatives, both here in England and overseas, in which recycled plastic and other waste product materials are added as a binding mix to asphalt. Technological innovation in road maintenance processes can also improve efficiency and reduce waste by recycling existing road material.

As part of a Live Labs research programme, the Department for Transport, in conjunction with the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT) and private partners, announced in January 2019 that we were providing Cumbria County Council with £16 million to extend a trial for the selection and testing of recycled plastic in surfacing and structural treatments on the Local Road Network for which they are responsible. This trial will assess the suitability and durability of the plastics additives from minor patching work and pothole repairs through to major resurfacing.

Elsewhere, on the Strategic Road Network, Highways England is committed to investing in innovation to help meet the economic, environmental and efficiency challenges we face in our changing world. Its Innovation Designated Fund provides £150 million in the first Road Investment Strategy for innovation capital projects to discover and implement emerging technologies, new materials and ways of working. Highways England currently has no plans to deploy blended recycled plastic with bitumen in road surfaces, but it continues to investigate its potential for future use.

A trial of asphalt containing Ground Tyre Rubber was successfully completed along the M1 motorway in May 2019. By including a small amount of Ground Tyre Rubber into the asphalt surface it can present a good opportunity to re-cycle tyre rubber at its end-of-life, while not undermining asphalt properties and performance.

The Road Collision Investigation Project is ongoing. Progress to date includes:

• A report on Models and methods for collision analysis giving the rationale for taking a systems approach to collision investigation.

• RCIP Feasibility Study carried out by the Transport Research Laboratory to assess the validity of the AcciMap framework

  This work is being led by the RAC Foundation, in collaboration with and supported by the Department for Transport (DfT), Highways England (HE), the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and other national and local organisations.

  Three police force analysts are all using the Collision Reporting and Sharing System managed and funded by the Department for Transport - no Welsh forces use this system at present, though it would be open for them to do so. The learning from the project will be published in due course and will be available to all of central and local government (including devolved administrations), and all GB police forces.

This scheme proposal has been submitted for consideration under the Major Road Network and Large Local Majors programme.

My officials are working with the Local Authority to support them as they develop the scheme. A decision regarding the scheme’s further development will be made in due course.

The Department holds information on personal injury accidents only and the latest available statistics on road safety are for the calendar year 2018. 2019 statistics will be available in September 2020.

The second Road Investment Strategy will confirm the Government’s plans for the strategic road network. We expect this to be published in due course.

Through the first Road Investment Strategy, the Government has invested £17.6 billion in England’s Strategic Road Network since 2015. We intend to make £28.8 billion from the National Roads Fund available for our most strategically important roads over the next five years from 1 April 2020.

In addition, we are providing funding to local highway authorities to support maintenance of their roads, and have pledged £2 billion for the country’s largest ever pothole fixing programme.

What recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of proposals for an Oxford-Cambridge Expressway.

Data on personal injury road accidents reported to the police held by the Department for Transport includes information on horses either as a vehicle (when they are ridden) or as a carriageway hazard for the accident (when they are not ridden and in the carriageway). When they are involved in an accident as a carriageway hazard, horses cannot be separated out from other animals.

The number of accidents involving ridden horses and where ‘animal (excluding ridden horses) in carriageway’ was recorded as a carriageway hazard on public highways in Great Britain is shown in the tables below.

1. By year, 2009-2018

1. By month, 2018

The Department has not made an assessment.

The Department has adopted the Safe System approach to road safety that features elements of a Vision Zero approach. This is reflected in our 2019 Road Safety Statement, which focuses through its actions on three of the five pillars of the Safe System approach: safer people, safer vehicles and safer roads.

The effect of this approach should be to raise standards and improve coordination, so that avoidable road deaths and injuries are reduced to an absolute minimum.

The road safety statement can be viewed at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-safety-statement-2019-a-lifetime-of-road-safety

The A68 is part of the Local Road Network and therefore it is for the relevant local highways authorities to plan and bring forward improvements for the route. The Government recognises the importance of local roads for businesses and communities. We are providing over £5.8 billion to local highways authorities outside London from 2015 to 2020, to help improve the condition of roads and reduce congestion.

We are considering this closely and recognise that people want to take advantage of the opportunities personal vehicles, such as electric scooters can offer. The Department for Transport is committed to encouraging innovation in transport as well as improving road safety, but new modes of transport must be safe and secure by design.

The Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy, published on 19 March 2019 includes a Regulatory Review to address the challenges of ensuring our transport infrastructure and regulation are fit for the future.

The Strategy can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/future-of-mobility-urban-strategy

The Department will use the Regulatory Review to examine current legislation and determine from the evidence what is needed to make the necessary changes for a safe and healthy future. One strand of this will look at options for enabling micromobility devices, and a consultation will be issued in due course.

The responsibility for local highways maintenance in London is a devolved matter and therefore falls to Transport for London (TfL) and the London boroughs.

The Government is providing local highways authorities in England (outside of London) over £6.6 billion between 2015 and 2020 for local highways maintenance. Every local highway authority in England (outside London) receives maintenance funding based on a formula that considers local factors such as road length, bridges, and street lighting. Highways authorities are able to prioritise their spending as they wish in order to meet local needs.

It is for each highway authority responsible for street lighting in their area to decide the level of service they wish their street lighting network to deliver. No assessment has been made by the Department for Transport on the effects of street lighting with regard to the trend in road traffic accidents. Statistics on personal injury road accidents reported to the police, published by the Department for Transport, show that of the reported accidents in darkness in Great Britain in 2018, 72% occurred with lights lit, compared with 18% where there was no lighting provision, 3% with lights unlit and 7% with lighting unknow. It is important that highway authorities consider safety, cost and environmental savings before determining their lighting provision.

The Government is committed to improving local infrastructure and expects to announce details of the available funding shortly. Individual allocations of this funding will be subject to Ministerial decisions.

The second Road Investment Strategy (RIS2), which we expect to publish shortly, will specify the objectives to be achieved by Highways England in the second road period 2 (2020-21 to 2024-25). It will have legal force under the Infrastructure Act 2015 Chapter 7, Part 1 Section 3. Compliance with the performance specification, including the meeting of Key Performance Indicator targets and the reporting of wider performance measures, is overseen by the Department as client, and monitored and where necessary enforced by the Office of Rail and Road as Highways Monitor.

The development of the Performance Specification for RIS2 entailed comprehensive, structured engagement with external stakeholders including representatives from cycling, walking and equestrian groups, and the performance measures reflect this input. These groups will continue to be involved once RIS2 is in place through the work of Transport Focus as watchdog and Highways England stakeholder activities.