Draft Strategic Highways Company (Name Change and Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2023
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Richard Holden)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Strategic Highways Company (Name Change and Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2023.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Robertson. The name change was implemented in 2021, and National Highways completed a range of administrative, legal and digital changes to make it so. The draft regulations will make the consequential changes required to update the most relevant legislation to reflect the name change.
The legislation to be amended was identified by a legal analysis of all the almost 100 references in legislation to the previous name, “Highways England”. As a result, five pieces of legislation were identified for amendment via this statutory instrument as those in respect of which there was the most risk of ambiguity or confusion arising over time should the old name remain: the Appointment of a Strategic Highways Company Order 2015; the Infrastructure Act 2015 (Strategic Highways Companies) (Consequential, Transitional and Savings Provisions) Regulations 2015; the Equality Act 2010; the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017; and the Local Transport Act 2008.
Furthermore, where possible the amendments to be made will future-proof the legislation against any future name changes. We are doing this for three of the five pieces of legislation we are amending by inserting a reference to a
“strategic highways company appointed under section 1 of the Infrastructure Act 2015”
instead of inserting a potentially time-limited reference to National Highways.
To conclude, the draft regulations will make consequential changes to a small number of references to Highways England that were identified by a legal analysis as those the most at risk of leading to ambiguity or confusion over time. Where possible, the amended wording has been future-proofed. I hope Members will join me in supporting the draft regulations, and I commend them to the Committee.