The Department has not had any discussion or correspondence with Oxfordshire County Council regarding the removal of flags from lampposts.

The government has set out its approach to planning for the conservation and enhancement of the historic environment in England in the National Planning Policy Framework. We have not made an assessment of how local planning authorities are taking this into account in reaching decisions on modifying or removing gas street lamps.

Planning in other parts of the UK is a matter for the devolved administrations.

There are detailed requirements that must be satisfied before vehicles can be sold or registered in the UK. The lighting system fitted to motorcycles is included in the pre-registration assessment which requires that headlamps are approved to internationally recognised standards to ensure that they are bright enough to light the road ahead but not so bright as to dazzle other road users. Headlamp operation and aim is also routinely checked as part of the annual MoT inspection.

No recent UK assessment has been made of the effectiveness of dipped motorcycle headlamps but in response to public concerns raised about glare from vehicle headlamps an international glare prevention taskforce has been established at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. UK officials and vehicle manufacturers’ representatives are actively involved in the work of the group which is reviewing existing requirements and looking at potential measures to reduce the occurrence of headlamp glare.

Published data and statistics on road collisions involving injury are based on data reported to the Department by police forces via the STATS19 system, which includes details of factors contributing to collisions as recorded by the attending officer based on their judgement at the time of the collision.

Up to 2023, these contributory factors included ‘vision affected by dazzling headlights’, but following a review of STATS19, in the new specification in place from the start of 2024, a wider category ‘distraction to driver or rider from inside or outside the vehicle’ has been introduced. This is part of a wider change to rationalise the contributory factors into fewer ‘road safety factors’ which aims to make the data easier for officers to report consistently.

Statistics based on both the previous system of contributory factors and the new road safety factors are published on the gov.uk website as soon as they are available. The latest published figures relate to 2024, with 2025 data scheduled for publication in September 2026.

The Department has commissioned ground-breaking research into headlamp glare, and the Department’s road safety strategy includes a commitment to undertake further research aimed at identifying what vehicle design factors may be responsible for increased headlamp glare.

National Highways has a thorough, consistent and documented approach to the management of construction schemes. National Highways assessed the removal of lighting on the M4 between junctions 8 and 12 using TA49/07, which was the assessment tool before TA 501 was published in March 2020. National Highways has published the M4 J3-J8/9 and J10-J12 Road Safety Lighting Review, which included a summary of the personal injury collision data for the 5 years prior to the removal of lighting. Road casualty statistics and the underlying data are published annually by the Department for Transport.

The management of street lighting in England is the responsibility of local highway authorities, who have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the public highways in their charge, including street lighting. Authorities do not have a duty to light their networks but, where lighting has been provided, the authority has a duty to maintain it.

The Government encourages local authorities to consider best practice when making decisions about lighting on their networks and to work closely with emergency services and other key partners when considering the street lighting needs of local communities. Advice is available in the UK Roads Leadership Group’s Code of Practice for Well Managed Highway Infrastructure, which references British Standards for road lighting.

The Government has confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment for local highways maintenance over the next four years, bringing annual funding to over £2 billion annually by 2029/30. This funding is provided to local authorities to maintain all parts of the highway network, including lighting columns, bridges, cycleways and footways. In addition to increasing the available funding, the Department has confirmed funding allocations for the next four years, providing greater funding certainty to local authorities. This will help them to plan ahead and move away from expensive, short-term repairs and to instead invest in proactive and preventative maintenance.

The Department allocates funding to local highway authorities based on a formula, which takes account of road lengths in each authority area, as well as the number of bridges and lighting columns.

The management of street lighting in England is the responsibility of local highway authorities, who have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the public highways in their charge, including street lighting. Authorities do not have a duty to light their networks but, where lighting has been provided, the authority has a duty to maintain it.

The Government encourages local authorities to consider best practice when making decisions about lighting on their networks and to work closely with emergency services and other key partners when considering the street lighting needs of local communities. Advice is available in the UK Roads Leadership Group’s Code of Practice for Well Managed Highway Infrastructure, which references British Standards for road lighting.

The Government has confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment for local highways maintenance over the next four years, bringing annual funding to over £2 billion annually by 2029/30. This funding is provided to local authorities to maintain all parts of the highway network, including lighting columns, bridges, cycleways and footways. In addition to increasing the available funding, the Department has confirmed funding allocations for the next four years, providing greater funding certainty to local authorities. This will help them to plan ahead and move away from expensive, short-term repairs and to instead invest in proactive and preventative maintenance.

The Department allocates funding to local highway authorities based on a formula, which takes account of road lengths in each authority area, as well as the number of bridges and lighting columns.

The management of street lighting in England is the responsibility of local highway authorities, who have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the public highways in their charge, including street lighting. Authorities do not have a duty to light their networks but, where lighting has been provided, the authority has a duty to maintain it.

The Government encourages local authorities to consider best practice when making decisions about lighting on their networks and to work closely with emergency services and other key partners when considering the street lighting needs of local communities. Advice is available in the UK Roads Leadership Group’s Code of Practice for Well Managed Highway Infrastructure, which references British Standards for road lighting.

The Government has confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment for local highways maintenance over the next four years, bringing annual funding to over £2 billion annually by 2029/30. This funding is provided to local authorities to maintain all parts of the highway network, including lighting columns, bridges, cycleways and footways. In addition to increasing the available funding, the Department has confirmed funding allocations for the next four years, providing greater funding certainty to local authorities. This will help them to plan ahead and move away from expensive, short-term repairs and to instead invest in proactive and preventative maintenance.

The Department allocates funding to local highway authorities based on a formula, which takes account of road lengths in each authority area, as well as the number of bridges and lighting columns.

The management of street lighting in England is the responsibility of local highway authorities, who have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the public highways in their charge, including street lighting. Authorities do not have a duty to light their networks but, where lighting has been provided, the authority has a duty to maintain it.

The Department does not hold data relating to the number of collisions caused by LED highlights specifically.

The Department’s published road casualty statistics include figures for the number of collisions where ‘vision affected by dazzling headlights’ was recorded as a contributory factor by a police officer attending the scene. In 2023, the latest year for which this data is available, there were 216 reported injury collisions with this factor assigned.

All types of road vehicle headlamps, are designed, tested and approved to internationally recognised standards to help prevent undue glare on a broad range of roads and environments.

Police recorded collision statistics in Great Britain do not show any discernible trend over time that would suggest an underlying road safety issue linked to advances in lighting technology.

However, Government recognises increased public concern around headlamp glare and has commissioned independent research. This is measuring light levels experienced by drivers during real driving on UK roads and considers factors like vehicle characteristics, weather conditions and ambient lighting. It also includes a programme of stakeholder engagement to build a comprehensive understanding of the issues. Careful consideration will be given to that work when it reports later this year to determine what future actions may be appropriate to ensure the safety of all road users.

The management of street lighting in England is the responsibility of local highway authorities, such as Dorset Council. They have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the public highways in their charge, including street lighting. Local authorities do not have a duty to light their networks but, where lighting has been provided, the authority has a duty to maintain it.

The Department is funding “Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads in the UK”, a three-year, UK-wide £30 million programme that aims to help decarbonise the local highway network. Learning and best practice from this programme will be shared with all highway authorities. One of the projects is trialling innovative ways to reduce the carbon emissions from streetlighting while also making roads safer.

The Department has also started the process of reviewing the UK Roads Leadership Group’s (UKRLG) ‘Well Managed-Highway Infrastructure: A Code of Practice’, which provides guidance for highway authorities and their contractors on all aspects of highway infrastructure, including street lighting. This will take account of lessons learned from the Live Labs 2 trials.

The management of street lighting in England is the responsibility of local highway authorities, such as Dorset Council. They have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the public highways in their charge, including street lighting. Local authorities do not have a duty to light their networks but, where lighting has been provided, the authority has a duty to maintain it.

The Department is funding “Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads in the UK”, a three-year, UK-wide £30 million programme that aims to help decarbonise the local highway network. Learning and best practice from this programme will be shared with all highway authorities. One of the projects is trialling innovative ways to reduce the carbon emissions from streetlighting while also making roads safer.

The Department has also started the process of reviewing the UK Roads Leadership Group’s (UKRLG) ‘Well Managed-Highway Infrastructure: A Code of Practice’, which provides guidance for highway authorities and their contractors on all aspects of highway infrastructure, including street lighting. This will take account of lessons learned from the Live Labs 2 trials.

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. It is absolutely key that people feel safe walking at night, particularly shift workers and residents, and good street lighting is a key part of that.

T2

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Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab):

Residents of Exeter, particularly female residents, have raised with me their alarm at Tory-led Devon county council’s decision to dim or completely turn off 80% of Exeter’s street lights during the night, including on streets and paths to railway stations and bus stops. Many shift workers come home late at night or start early in the morning, and having well-lit routes offers them a sense of security. Does the Minister agree that Devon county council should think again, and should consult with resident groups and other groups on a way forward that puts the safety of residents at the centre of its decision making?

The Department does not readily hold this information in the formats requested and it cannot be produced to the deadlines associated with a Parliamentary Question.