Thank you to everyone who has raised road safety with me.
Road safety is of the utmost importance and I support the government’s efforts to make sure everyone is as safe on the roads as possible. I am proud to be backing a local road safety campaign in Polesworth and to have met with Speedwatch Austrey.
I welcome the government’s first Road Safety Strategy in over a decade. I am delighted that ministers have set ambitious targets to reduce those killed or seriously injured on British roads by 65%, and by 70% for children by 2035. In developing the Strategy, the government engaged with stakeholders and road safety organisations to support it’s intention to establish a data-led road safety investigation branch, to learn vital lessons from road incidents.
By taking a strategic and thematic approach, Ministers can focus on patterns of collisions, injury trends, and systemic safety issues. This evidence will inform targeted safety interventions, data-driven policies, and proactive prevention and enforcement to make our roads safer for all.
I am pleased that the government will provide £24 billion of capital funding between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads across the country. This future funding builds upon the record investment of £1.6 billion in local road maintenance for 2025 to 2026, representing a £500 million increase compared to the previous year.
More broadly, I want to see safe, accessible and high-quality active travel infrastructure. Not only does this give people choice but it can also improve the safety of our roads, reduce the number of collisions and, very importantly, cut the number of people who are killed and seriously injured. I am pleased that the government is supporting local authorities to develop the infrastructure that works for their local area, whether that is introducing lower speed limits, segregated infrastructure or improved or new crossings. This is alongside the government’s announcement that £616 million has been allocated for active travel infrastructure from 2026 to 2030. The government have also given Warwickshire County Council £7 million extra to improve roads and tackle potholes this year, as part of a 50% increase in the national potholes budget.
In North Warwickshire and Bedworth, I have recently written to Warwickshire County Council regarding traffic management around two schools in Bedworth to improve road safety and I have worked with speed watch groups across the constituency.
So please rest assured that I will always champion action to tackle dangerous driving and unsafe road conditions.