Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of integrating the National Underground Asset Register with existing safe digging services such as LinesearchbeforeUDig on levels of safety.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We have conducted a discovery project and testing phase to investigate the potential to broaden access to information held in NUAR, and through other channels, including via third-party access. The outputs of this will be communicated to the sector in due course, and we remain committed to ensuring that this information remains secure and available free at the point of use for authorised street works users.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the National Underground Asset Register will enter full operational service on 1 January 2026 for safe digging and what formal safety and risk assessments the Department has received in relation to NUAR, including from the Health and Safety Executive and trade unions.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) is operational now, and in January 2026 all of its core functionality for use in street works will be in place. Development and continuous improvement will continue beyond this point, informed by user feedback. NUAR has been developed to give undertakers standardised, efficient access to asset information for carrying out street works. Feedback from users demonstrate that NUAR already delivers major improvements over existing processes for gathering information about buried utilities. No centralised risk assessment has been delivered as each organisation remains responsible for determining how NUAR fits into its safe working practices and for conducting any necessary risk assessments and ensuring that relevant guidance is adhered to. We will be carrying out a robust programme of monitoring and evaluation which will review multiple indicators to understand the impact of NUAR on safe working practices.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what data her Department holds on (a) underground asset strikes and (b) asset strikes in areas where the National Underground Asset Register has been operating in the past five years; and whether her Department has made an assessment of NUAR’s anticipated future underground strike rate compared with existing industry systems.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not currently hold data on asset strikes, including in areas where NUAR has been operational. It is important to note that, over the past five years, NUAR has progressed through several delivery phases across different regions, starting as a pilot in Northeast England and Greater London and moving to public beta in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in June 2025, and up to this date, user access was restricted to manage demand as the service evolved.
An impact assessment was published on 24 October 2024 as part of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. This included estimates of NUAR’s effect on strike rates and was rated as fit for purpose by the Regulatory Policy Committee.