Question
To continue the theme of the Tour de France, after it leaves the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh (Chris Murray), it will finish its first leg in Carlisle. We can all agree that cycling and e-bikes play an important role in active travel. However, many Labour Members have become very concerned about illegal e-bikes that do not meet the definition of an electrically assisted pedal cycle, which are doing great damage to the reputation of cycling. Will the Minister meet me and other Labour Members to discuss a ban on the sale of illegal e-bikes, so that we can focus on the positives of cycling in this Tour de France year?
Answer
I congratulate my hon. Friend on the news that the opening stage of the Tour de France will be finishing in Carlisle next year. I hope that she will be claiming the yellow jersey at that point. She makes the important point that hon. Members from across the House are concerned about illegal e-bikes. To be clear, those bikes have no place on our roads. At the moment, it is far too easy for retailers to put in the fine print that these vehicles are for use only on private land, and for consumers to then buy them and use them on public roads, without even realising that what they are doing is illegal. I am keen to explore how we tackle this issue as a Government, including through the newly established cross-Government ministerial group. In the meantime, I will be writing to retailers and online market places to remind them about their responsibility to market these products responsibly. I am happy to meet my hon. Friend and other interested Members to discuss this subject.11% vibes
Verdict: AMBER (72/100)
The reply directly answers the Member's request for a meeting by committing to meet them and other interested Members on the subject, and it states that these bikes have no place on the roads and that retailers will be written to. It does not explicitly address whether sales will be banned, so the asker would have a clear commitment on the meeting but not a firm answer on that wider point. The reply is therefore clear on what was asked about the meeting, but incomplete on the broader policy question.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will the Minister meet the Member and other Labour Members to discuss a ban on the sale of illegal e-bikes that do not meet the definition of an electrically assisted pedal cycle? | Addressed | Direct | Statement 9 directly answers the meeting request with a concrete commitment to meet the Member and other interested Members on the subject, and statements 4 and 8 add that these bikes have no place on the roads and that retailers will be written to. The reply does not explicitly address a ban on sales, but the item's core question is whether a meeting will take place, which is answered clearly. |