Agenda item

The Chairman introduced the item highlighting that the first witness session for the Select Committee’s review into road safety initiatives and activities around the Borough’s schools would focus on evidence gathering from internal officers  and the relevant Cabinet Member. With the following session focussing on external stakeholders such as school representatives and pupils.

The Chairman welcomed the witnesses to the meeting and thanked them for attending. Witnesses for this session included:

·         Councillor Jonathan Bianco - Deputy Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Property, Highways and Transport

·         David Knowles – Head of Transportation and Town Centre Projects

·         Sophie Wilmot – Senior Transport Planner

·         Lisa Mayo – Road Safety and School Travel Manager

·         Steve Austin – Traffic, Parking, Road Safety and School Travel Team Manager

In giving an overview of road safety around the Borough’s schools, officers stressed the importance of having a working partnership between the Council and Hillingdon’s schools. Of the dozens of schools across the Borough, each school was different in terms of its students, road environment, accessibility, outlook and attitudes. The Council aims to collaborate with the Borough’s schools although it requires responsiveness from the schools themselves, which varied from school to school. Where the Council does work with schools, officers can offer a range of tools and projects to help improve road safety in the local vicinity of schools, these were outlined further in the report.

The Committee heard from Lisa Mayo, Road Safety and School Travel Manager, who’s remit included the School Travel and Road Safety Team (STaRS). The team ensure the safety and well-being of students on their journeys to and from school; working closely with schools, parents, and local communities to promote safer and more sustainable travel options for students and develop Transport for London (TfL) Accredited School Travel Plans. The STaRS Team including a manager, two officers, a Borough Cycling Support Officer, a team of Practical Pedestrian Trainers, a team of cycle instructors, and the School Crossing Patrol Officers (SCPOs). The team was available to work with any school in the Borough, not just those maintained by Hillingdon as the local education authority.

The Committee were informed that recent changes had taken place regarding the naming of TfL’s road safety education programmes; since September 2023, all road safety education programmes now came under the umbrella of TfL Travel for Life.

The Committee sought clarification regarding the Council’s School Crossing Patrol Officers (SCPOs) as to the reasons why their numbers had dwindled in recent years, why it was difficult to recruit new SCPOs, and what was being done to combat the difficulty in recruiting. Officers highlighted that SCPOs tended to be very dedicated personnel, likely to be of an older generation and often had a link to the school at which they operated as an SCPO for example as a parent or ex-parent of a pupil at the school. It was a notoriously difficult role to recruit into given the unusual daily working hours through all seasons and there was a huge challenge in finding the right people for the role. Some neighbouring London Boroughs had suspended their SCPO programmes indefinitely where Hillingdon still had 12 SCPOs. By way of clarification, officers informed the Committee that, in terms of what was being done to ensure road safety was maintained, officers were looking at alternative methods. Engineering means were able to compensate for a lack of SCPOs in many cases and more investment in road safety engineering was deemed to be a more appropriate use of efforts due to the difficulty in recruiting SCPOs; more vivid and suitably located pedestrian crossings were highlighted as useful engineering means of helping to ensure road safety at the start and end of the school day. The Committee noted that engineering solutions were among the best solutions that can be achieved and discussions between officers and any schools identified as in need of possible assistance were paramount to identifying what kind of help could be delivered. Officers highlighted a recent example of productive cooperation between Council officers and St Helens College who were in need of improvements to an adjacent pedestrian crossing, it was noted that the school were a useful partner which resulted in the necessary crossing improvements being implemented.

The Committee discussed with officers the possibility of promoting the SCPO roles as a volunteer position among parents at schools. Officers confirmed that schools had been approached to this effect in the past and it was regarded as an additional responsibility that staff and parents were not willing to take on; this was respected by officers as the primary function of schools and staff was education matters. Members sought clarification whether an engineering approach was more cost-effective than SCPOs; it was noted that there had been instances of schools having a member of staff, and in some instances a SCPO, present at traffic lights merely to press the zebra crossing button which was clearly an inefficient use of time.

With regard to the free Adult Cycle Training that was due to resume in 2024 following the Covid-19 pandemic, it was highlighted that a trial session had taken place in mid-October 2023 to scope the delivery of these sessions going forward; the trial was a success and Members were encouraged by the commencement of these sessions from April to October 2024. Members also sought clarification regarding the attendance data around Cycle Training/Bikeability schemes. Officers noted that they report the attendance of these schemes to the Bikability Trust quarterly and that this information could be provided for the Committee.

The Committee queried the impact that the rise in popularity of electric bikes was having on the delivery of cycle safety programmes. Officers confirmed that there were concerns regarding the power and speed of e-bikes, it was noted that it was an emerging area and advice may need to be forthcoming. The Council had issued advice previously on e-scooters and there was a possibility that similar such advice would be needed.

The Committee noted that a lot of the secondary schools in the Borough were academies and wanted to know what challenges officers faced when communicating with these schools. Officer confirmed that, following the Covid-19 pandemic, there had been a steady return to engagement from academies in the Borough, however it was noted that there were challenges with regard to engagement. All of the schemes offered by the Council were free of charge but it was dependent on the appetite from the schools as to whether they take up the Council’s offer. Officers regularly approached all varieties of schools to offer sessions but the response received was dependent on the schools’ willingness to engage. If concerns had been raised from residents or parents regarding specific schools and their road safety conditions then the team would be inclined to use local Ward Councillors as a means of facilitating engagement from schools.

The Committee particularly praised officers efforts with regard to Practical Pedestrian Training where the report had stated:

“In 2013/14, Hillingdon trained 5310 children in both KS1&2. In 2022/2023, the borough has trained 13,484 pupils ranging from 3 to 11 years old. This identifies a 154% increase in 9 years.”

It was confirmed that this increase could be attributed to the improved levels of engagement and communication between officers and schools over that time period. In comparison to other London Boroughs, it was noted that Hillingdon was highly regarded in the delivery of these types of sessions. The Chairman confirmed this as a member of the London Road Safety Council. Hillingdon was in the minority of Boroughs that provide these schemes in-house, it was noted that a number of London Borough’s outsourced the delivery of these schemes.

The Committee noted that the ‘Safe Drive Stay Alive’ programme was no longer being funded by TfL. Since the removal of funding for this programme, TfL had developed a similar programme called ‘Travel Smart’ which touched upon cycling and pedestrian safety in addition to driving, the resource had a quiz element to it; it was noted that the new resource was engaging but it lacked the emotional impact of the ‘Safe Drive Stay Alive’ sessions. Officers highlighted that Hillingdon was the only London Borough to have delivered this programme in schools, however the future of ‘Travel Smart’ was uncertain as TfL had put the programme on hold.

The Cabinet Member for Property, Highways and Transport addressed the Committee noting that in the last year there had only been one petition heard with regard to road safety specifically around the vicinity of a school in the Borough. It was noted that, on occasion there were requests to reduce the speed limit around some schools to 20mph; whilst the Cabinet Member was reluctant to consider 20mph zones generally, the exception to that was around the Borough’s schools where further consideration of these requests and the circumstances would be made. The Cabinet Member emphasised the road safety schemes offered to schools for free by the Council and sought to highlight the need for the Borough’s schools to engage with these programmes where there would be any road safety concerns as education of these matters was important in improving the road safety risk. On a separate level, it was noted that the Borough utilised other means of road safety around schools including zigzag lines by the entrance.

The Committee congratulated officers on the excellent work they did educating the Borough’s children in road safety matters at such a formative and important age. However, it was noted that a common issue communicated to Ward Councillors regarding road safety around schools was the behaviour of parents; instances of blocking driveways, double parking and inconsiderate parking were endemic at the start and end of the school day.

The Committee thanked officers for providing a list of schools whereby engineering measures were proposed in the coming years and were minded to explore what further detail there was for school related engineering measures and proposals in the 2023/24 year as these would currently be in various stages of development.

The Chairman thanked officers for attending and congratulated them on the positive work they do for the Borough.

RESOLVED: That the Select Committee used the first witness session of the review to broaden understanding of the Council’s practical and strategic approach to road safety around the Borough’s schools.