UK government to bring in e-scooter law

The government has said new rules to expand legal use of e-scooters are a priority for the upcoming year.

It also said it would legislate to create a new body to oversee UK railways and ban ferries that do not pay workers the equivalent of minimum wage from docking at UK ports.

The government outlined the plans in the Queen's Speech on Tuesday.

E-scooters are widely sold and seen, but are currently only legal on private land or from government hire schemes.

"While riding a privately owned e-scooter on public land is currently illegal, we are considering how best to design future regulations and our Transport Bill will help us to take the steps we need to make e-scooters safer and support innovation," a government spokeswoman said.

Official rental trial schemes have been set up in more than 30 areas across England. E-scooters in these trials are limited to 15.5mph and have automatic lights as safety features.

"Safety will always be our top priority and our trials are helping us to better understand the benefits of properly regulated, safety-tested e-scooters and their impact on public space," a spokeswoman said.

"Safety will always be our top priority and our trials are helping us to better understand the benefits of properly regulated, safety-tested e-scooters and their impact on public space," a spokeswoman said.

Private e-scooters are widely sold, prompting concerns about illegal and unsafe use.

On 27 April, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told MPs he would "crack down" on illegal e-scooter sales in England.

But he also hinted that models that did meet government standards could soon be legalised for use on public roads in England.