A BID to use the cash raised from speeding fines spent on road safety schemes in the West Midlands instead of sending the money to Westminster has been handed over.
The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Simon Foster, has handed in findings of a consultation which saw the public give its overwhelming backing to his call to help improve the region’s roads.
The PCC handed in his findings to the Department for Transport office in Birmingham, which showed a grand total of 93 per cent of people, who took part in a four-week consultation, agreed that money raised from fixed penalty fines should stay here in the region, rather than be sent to Westminster.
He said the funds should be ringfenced for use by both West Midlands Police and the seven local authorities, in the delivery of the West Midlands Regional Road Safety Strategy 2023-2030. They are currently sent to a central pot controlled by The Treasury.
PCC Simon Foster said: “As PCC and as chair of the West Midlands Road Safety Strategic Group, reducing the number of people tragically and avoidably killed and seriously injured on our roads are top priorities.
“That is because the consequences of road traffic collisions are catastrophic and devastating. This consultation gave a clear endorsement for my view, that money raised by fixed penalty fines here in the West Midlands should be retained here and invested in making our roads safer.
“I was pleased to hand in the findings and trust they will be taken on board.”
More than 1,300 people took part in the consultation, with 94 per cent saying they had personally witnessed cars driving at inappropriate or excessive speeds, while the same number said more needs to be done to tackle speeding on our roads.
Asking how safe people feel on our roads, 77 per cent said they felt either unsafe or very unsafe.
An average of 16,654 fixed penalty tickets are processed by the West Midlands Police ticketing office per year, generating £1,654,000 in income for the Treasury every year.
Currently, all money recovered from these fines are retained by the Treasury, via the fixed penalty office. This money is not available for investment back into roads policing or to support local authorities’ road safety activities in the West Midlands.
