Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the right of authorised contractors to obstruct the highway.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Authorised contractors, have a legal right to access the highway for essential works, which can require temporary obstruction. To minimise disruption and protect road users, they must comply with the Safety at Street Works and Road Works Code of Practice.
To help tackle congestion, the Government has recently approved new lane rental schemes and continues to support their rollout by highway authorities. These schemes which apply charges for works on the busiest roads and incentivise quicker, better-planned delivery have shown success in reducing delays and improving network efficiency. This is why we are devolving powers to mayors, enabling local leaders to introduce lane rental schemes tailored to their areas
Alongside this, the Department for Transport will publish an updated version of the Safety at Street Works and Road Works Code of Practice next year, bringing guidance in line with modern standards and ensuring best practice across the sector. Together, these measures aim to keep traffic moving and improve the experience for all road users.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of the arrangements for controlling air traffic with the UK's airspace, further to the recent disruption to the London Flight Information Region.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Government regrets the recent air traffic control issues and the impact these have had on airlines and their customers. NATS has an outstanding aviation safety record and is regulated against service targets which are set by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). It is important that we await the findings of the independent review which the CAA has announced into the technical failure which impacted NATS systems on 28 August 2023 and that any recommendations from this are responded to accordingly.
My officials have and will continue to engage with the relevant stakeholders to ensure robust plans are in place to mitigate any disruption to air traffic control services, recognising that the safety of the operation must always be the paramount consideration for air navigation service providers.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the meetings of the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce, what progress they have made with repairing Hammersmith Bridge; and when they expect the bridge will fully re-open.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Hammersmith Bridge is owned by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) and therefore responsibility for making decisions on its repair lies with the borough.
My Department and Transport for London (TfL) are working constructively with LBHF as it makes progress with its business cases for the project. The submission of these cases is a condition for the release of any Government or TfL contribution to the cost of repairing the bridge.
The works are split into two phases: stabilisation and strengthening. The completion of both phases will allow the permanent reopening of the bridge to all users.
LBHF is due to start the stabilisation phase of works in February. The timeline of the project to reopen the bridge fully is dependent on the engineering solutions chosen by LBHF.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are satisfied with the law which authorises statutory authorities to obstruct the highway for the purposes of repair and maintenance.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Utility street works and highway authority road works, are carried out within the framework of legislation set by New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 and the Traffic Management Act 2004. The overall framework balances the need to ensure the essential repair and maintenance of roads, whilst reducing the disruption that such works can cause.
We have, in recent years, continued to improve the framework of secondary legislation and we have approved lane rental schemes, which allow local authorities to charge for works on the busiest roads at the busiest times to reduce congestion. We have also introduced the Street Manager digital service, which is now used by all local highway authorities and utility companies in England to plan and manage works, providing real time, open data on live and planned works.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect Hammersmith Bridge to be re-opened to vehicular traffic.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Hammersmith Bridge is owned by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) and therefore responsibility for maintaining the bridge, and making decisions on its repair, lies with the borough.
The Government has set out a clear commitment to support LBHF in finding a long-term solution for the bridge. As agreed in the Transport for London Extraordinary Funding and Finance agreement of 1 June 2021, the Government will contribute up to 1/3 of the total costs, but no more.
The next step to permanent reopening to motor vehicles lies with LBHF, which must submit a satisfactory business case to the Department for Transport. The submission of such a case is a condition for the release of any Government contribution to the cost of repairing the bridge. As the asset owner, it is up to LBHF to take the decision on its preferred engineering solution. The timeline of the project is dependent on the solutions chosen by LBHF.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of a single standard class rail ticket from London to Birmingham when HS2 opens.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
A decision has not been taken on how fares will be set for High Speed 2 (HS2) at this stage. The business case for HS2 is based on the assumption that fares will be the same as the average for comparable services on the existing network.