The government will recruit a specialised team of inspectors to join the country’s first ever Road Safety Investigation Branch (RSIB), looking at how and why incidents happen and to provide real insight into how new technologies – such as self-driving and electric vehicles – can be rolled out on our roads. 

The branch will investigate themes in the causes of collisions, as well as specific incidents of concern, to learn valuable road safety lessons. It will make independent safety recommendations to organisations, such as government and police forces, to better shape the future of road safety policy and provide better, greener and safer journeys for people right across the country. 

The specialised unit will also provide vital insight into safety trends related to new and evolving technologies, which could include self-driving vehicles, e-scooters and electric vehicles (EVs), to ensure the country maintains some of the highest road safety standards in the world and exciting new technology is deployed safely. 

A decision to establish a new branch follows a public consultation, which showed overwhelming support for the creation of such a branch, as well as for its powers and responsibilities. 

Roads Minister Baroness Vere said:

The UK may have some of the safest roads in the world, but tragedies still happen and any injury or death on our road network is one too many.

That’s why we’re establishing the road safety investigation branch, so we can boost safety for road users even further and also bring safety measures in line with other modes of transport and the future of travel.

Road collisions lead to significantly more deaths in Great Britain than those caused by other modes of transport, yet there is currently no independent body to investigate road incidents and their causes. The move taken by government today (29 June 2022) will bring road safety into line with similar independent bodies that already exist for air, maritime and rail accidents. 

Currently, data and evidence is collated using in-depth study programmes, the Collision Reporting and Sharing System (CRASH), Forensic Collision Investigation reports and Prevention of Future Death reports.

Government expects the RSIB to use this data alongside that from insurance companies, vehicle manufacturers, the emergency services and the NHS to deepen the body of evidence on incident causes and improve road safety interventions even further nationwide. 

RAC Foundation Director, Steve Gooding, said:

Over the past 4 years, the Foundation has run the Road Collision Investigation Project with funding from government and National Highways. Working with 3 police forces and many other experts, we have demonstrated the strong case for a fresh way of investigating death and injury on the road network, which is why we are delighted with this announcement.

We look forward to working further with the government to get the branch set up and make our roads safer still.

The branch will not identify blame or liability and so does not replace police investigation. It will instead draw on all the available evidence to make recommendations to improve road safety and mitigate or prevent similar incidents in the future.  

The Department for Transport expects to include measures to enable the creation of the branch in the forthcoming Transport Bill.

The PM will urge NATO allies to invest more to modernise defence and restore deterrence in Europe, warning that the decade ahead is likely to be more dangerous and competitive than the last, at the Summit of NATO leaders beginning in Madrid today (Wednesday).

The UK has played a key role in shaping the new NATO Strategic Concept which will be agreed at the Summit. The strategy highlights the evolving and growing threats which the Alliance faces and sets out how NATO can meet them and keep our people safe.

This builds on the work of the UK’s Integrated Review, published last year, which underscored the need to modernise our Armed Forces and develop UK and NATO defence and security capabilities across land, sea, air and cyberspace and invest in new technologies.

On the back of that review the Prime Minister announced the biggest increase to UK defence spending since the Cold War – an investment which has kickstarted a wholesale transformation programme for our military to meet new threats.

Speaking at the Madrid Summit, the PM will argue that NATO allies will need to commit the resources need to deliver on the new Strategic Concept as the security environment is more dangerous since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Since 2006 the UK, along with other NATO members, has committed to spend 2% of GDP on defence in order to protect our people and work to ensure peace and prosperity.

The UK has met the 2% NATO target every year since its inception and remains the leading defence spender in Europe. At the Wales NATO summit of 2014, allies agreed to work toward the 2% target by 2024. The PM has welcomed the fact that many allies are now stepping up with increased commitments, including support for Ukraine. But the PM has warned that there is more to be done in the decade ahead as NATO begins work on setting new targets for the future.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe, and permanently reconfigured the geopolitical contours of our continent. Both the UK and NATO must adapt to meet new and increased threats to our shared security. That means ensuring that there is long-term investment but also being ready to surge defence spending to adapt to crises and urgent needs.

In addition to long-term investment, since the start of the war the UK has so far provided £1.3bn in extraordinary military support to Ukraine for its self-defence, and deployed more troops to NATO’s eastern flank and increased our contributions to NATO’s air policing and standing naval groups.

Today at NATO the Prime Minister will announce a number of new UK commitments to strengthen the Alliance, including expanding our national headquarters in Estonia to ensure we could provide rapid reinforcements with our high readiness forces if needed, and further increasing the lethality of our forces already based in Estonia through the deployment of capabilities such as artillery, air defence and helicopters.

The PM will also commit to reinforce NATO’s New Force Model through the UK’s world-leading capabilities in land, air and sea – including almost all our maritime forces, extra Fighter and Bomber Air Squadrons and increasing the number of Land Brigade-sized units. This will help NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe plan for any eventuality, knowing that he has the weight of UK defence capability behind him.

These investments, plus the unprecedented surge of support to Ukraine, are projected to increase the percentage of GDP the UK spends on defence this year to around 2.3% – making the UK again the leading European defence spender this year.

As well as keeping us safe, the UK’s defence budget creates and sustains 390,000 UK jobs, including through nearly £20 billion of investment into UK industries every year. 1 in every 130 UK jobs are created by our defence budget. Most of these are high-paying, skilled jobs with an average salary of £45,000.

This includes:

• 29,800 jobs across the UK, including 13,500 in the Northwest of England, created by the Dreadnought submarine programme
• 24,000 jobs supported by our shipbuilding industry
• 300 jobs in Rosyth and elsewhere created by a £30m contract to maintain our two aircraft carriers
• More than 100 jobs created in Stevenage, Cowes, Bristol and Bolton by a £300m project to make the UK the first European nation to operate a Maritime Ballistic Missile Defence detect and destroy capability

Our proud record on defence has also built a thriving UK defence export industry, which exports an average of £3.75bn worth of equipment around the world – helping to keep our allies safe.

Addressing NATO today, the Prime Minister is expected to say:

The NATO Alliance keeps our people safe every day. But over the next ten years the threats around us are only going to grow. We need allies – all allies – to dig deep to restore deterrence and ensure defence in the decade ahead. The 2% was always meant to be a floor, not a ceiling and allies must continue to step up in this time of crisis.

I remain incredibly proud of the immense contribution Defence makes to the UK and the world. Defence of the realm is the first order of any Government. But more than that, defence lies at the beating heart of the United Kingdom.

Almost every family knows someone who has served our country or worked in our thriving defence industry. Moments of national joy are observed from the skies by our incredible Red Arrows, moments of national mourning are flanked by our men and women in uniform.

And as we think about crafting a future in which the people of the UK are safe and prosperous, we must again turn to defence. To neglect the needs of our Armed Forces is to neglect our country.

To fully address the threats of the future the UK is investing in long-term strategic projects like AUKUS and Future Combat Air System. These involve cutting-edge technologies which the UK defence industry will be tasked with developing for years to come – bolstering alliances and creating and sustaining jobs across the UK.

In 2014, at NATO’s Wales Summit, allies committed to the Wales Defence Investment Pledge to invest 2% of GDP in defence by 2024. Between 2014 and 2022 European allies and Canada are expected to spend a total of $350 billion extra in real terms on defence. The UK has led the way, from securing the Wales Pledge to investing $34,741 million more in defence since 2014.

But, as the Government recognised in the Integrated Review, the costs of staying safe and secure are rising. At the NATO Summit today, the Prime Minister will urge allies to start discussions on a new target for defence investment from 2024.

In recent weeks a number of NATO members have agreed to increase their defence spending in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They include Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Romania and Poland.  Poland will spend 3% of its GDP on defence from next year.

More than £1 billion of government funding will be used to replace outdated Victorian infrastructure with cutting edge digital signalling technology.

One-third of the nation’s population live within 20 minutes of a station on the East Coast Main Line and, together, produce more than 40% of the UK’s GDP, making it one of the UK’s busiest rail routes while also playing a vital role in the prosperity of the nation’s economy.

The technology, which will be rolled out across the entire southern section of the line – from London’s King’s Cross to Stoke Tunnels, just south of Grantham – will mean faster, safer and more regular trains for millions of people.

A week after union leaders brought much of the nation’s railway to a standstill with strikes, this investment is a key example of how the government wants to bring the industry into the 21st century.

Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps said:

While union bosses waste time touring television studios and standing on picket lines, I am busy getting on with the job at hand and modernising our railway.

This £1 billion investment will allow us to replace unreliable Victorian infrastructure with cutting-edge technology which will mean fewer delays and more regular services for millions of passengers.

The world is changing and, despite the best efforts of unions, I am determined to help our railway change with it.

£1 billion technology investment to bring railway into 21st century

The funding will remove outdated lineside signalling and replace it with the European train control system (ETCS), which brings signalling into train drivers’ cabs and provides them with real-time, continuous information throughout their journey.

The new in-cab technology will create a more responsive, more resilient railway and, crucially for passengers, one that can recover quicker when journeys don’t go to plan. Most importantly, as the system will constantly monitor the train’s speed, it will also create a safer railway.

Toufic Machnouk, Director, Industry Partnership for Digital Railway, Network Rail, said:

We are delighted to have been given the go ahead for this ground-breaking programme that will transform the capability and resilience of the East Coast Main Line and be a key enabler for the wider network.

The East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP) is uniquely bringing together all elements of track and train through a pioneering industry partnership that is working beyond boundaries in a deep collaboration.

We will upskill our people and use new technology to improve the way we work for the benefit of passengers and freight customers.

As well as the many passenger benefits, the ECDP will deliver a much-needed financial boost to the industry and, over its lifetime, is 42% cheaper than the current system.

It will also help the government towards its net zero goal by decreasing carbon emissions by 55,000 tonnes – the equivalent of more than 65,000 one-way flights from London to New York.

David Horne, Managing Director at London North Eastern Railway (LNER), said:

Digital signalling will allow the full potential of our Azuma fleet technology to be realised and means our customers will benefit from even more reliable and sustainable journeys in the future.

Tom Moran, Thameslink and Great Northern Managing Director, said:

We’re delighted with this announcement, which will mean better services in the future for our passengers on the East Coast Mainline.

This massive investment builds on our work to implement digital signalling on the Northern City Line into Moorgate in the City of London and it means we can continue to roll out the technology on some of our key routes.

The ECDP follows more than £350 million of prior investment to fit other services on the route with the new technology, with over 80% of passenger rolling stock on the East Coast Mainline South already using the ETCS.

Network Rail will prioritise the request for a further investment of £427 million as part of the next control period settlement, bringing the overall investment to just under £2 billion.

Maggie Simpson OBE, Director General, Rail Freight Group, said:

Freight customers throughout supply chains are dependent on reliable rail services to deliver goods to people. 

We welcome this investment in digital signalling that will provide a more flexible and resilient railway, unlocking future growth potential in rail freight traffic supporting both decarbonisation and economic growth.

Thank you, President. I join others in thanking USG DiCarlo for her briefing. And, while we welcome President Zelenskyy’s participation again, we deeply regret the circumstances that brought him here today.

President, just over four months since the start of its illegal invasion, Russia’s war against Ukraine continues.

Russia continues to pummel Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region in an effort to seize full control.

And over the weekend, Russia launched an intense barrage of cruise missile attacks at targets across Ukraine, including hitting a shopping centre in Kremenchuk with over 1000 people inside.

We heard, from President Zelenskyy, the roll call of the recent dead, and extend our condolences to their families and their friends.

When the world calls for peace, for dialogue and adherence to international law, Russia answers with escalation, with missiles, and targeting civilians.

More attacks.

More destruction.

More death.

And, as I am sure will hear again today, more war propaganda, more lies, more disinformation.

Nor can we ignore the prominent role of Belarus in acting as a direct staging post for the attacks over the weekend and yesterday.

We praise the extraordinary bravery and resolve of the Ukrainian people in the face of this brutal assault on its sovereignty and territorial integrity — and its very existence as a country.

Ukraine is entitled to defend itself, as any of us would if our cities, towns and villages were subject to repeated relentless missile strikes by a foreign army focussed on wiping out our existence.

So, we will continue to support Ukraine to exercise this right of self-defence, and to re-secure its privileges and rights under the UN Charter.

We, yet again, reiterate the calls of the international community for Russia to end its illegal invasion, withdraw outside Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders and enter into dialogue and negotiation.

At a time when we are facing the existential threats of climate change and food insecurity following a global pandemic, Russia must end its illegal war, and its blockade of Ukraine’s ports.

Thank you, President.

Thank you, President.

I don’t want to take too much more time, but I wanted to say that the Russian representative can try to claim that nothing is true and make outrageous claims of Ukrainian provocations.

Cover ups are as old as crime itself, but the undeniable fact is that Russian forces are in Ukraine, and there are no Ukrainian forces in Russia.

There is one aggressor here. The evidence will catch up with them and there will be accountability for these crimes.

Thank you.