Havering Council urged to enforce illegal e-scooter usage

Havering councillors debated the council’s role in enforcing the illegal use of e-scooters in the borough.

A motion presented by Conservative councillors at a full council meeting on Wednesday (July 12) opposed allowing e-scooters on the borough’s roads, parks and pavements, and called upon the administration for enforcement of their illegal usage.

Councillor Robert Benham, of Rush Green and Crowlands ward, told the meeting that these “unlicenced, uninsured, near silent vehicles have no place on our roads” as they can “seriously injure or even kill” someone.

Havering Residents Association had, in response to the motion, proposed an amendment saying the council “supports the police who are the only authority able to enforce the law”.

Cllr Benham accused the council of “passing the buck” over to police and said the council could take a “number of steps” to enforce laws banning e-scooters.

Controlling their use in public parks and open spaces, was for example, a step he said the council can take.

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He also suggested that Havering’s trading standards team could visit some of the retailers who are “misleading customers by advertising these e-scooters as cheap, affordable and environmentally friendly modes of transport without making it clear to customers they are illegal for use on the roads and pavements”.

Cllr Benham also felt the council could educate residents about the laws on e-scooters.

Councillor Ray Morgon, leader of Havering Council, agreed with Cllr Benham that more needs to be done to regulate the use of e-scooters.

But, he said, these vehicles being used on the highway is “a police matter” and they are not the “enforcing agent”.

Therefore, he added, the council cannot do anything about them on the highway.

He claimed: “The feedback I have had from officers is that the problem outside of the highway is very limited.

“We are more than happy to work with the police and educate people and do everything we need to do to encourage people not to use an e-scooter on the public highway.”

He also said that the council is in the process of updating its park byelaws to strengthen them and make them “as effective as possible”.

The amended HRA motion was agreed by 26 votes to 17 with 0 abstentions.