Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of damage to pavements as a result of (a) illegal parking and (b) unloading by vehicles; and will he make a statement.

The Department for Transport has made no estimate of the cost of damage to pavements as a result of (a) illegal parking and by (b) unloading of vehicles. This also includes how many pedestrians were injured as a result of damage to the pavement caused by vehicles in each year since 2005.

The management and maintenance of footways falls under the responsibility of highway authorities. The Department for Transport endorses the Code of Practice on Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure as published by the UK Roads Liaison Group.

The Code provides advice to highway authorities on a number of issues including highway and footway maintenance. Advice suggests that illegal parking on verges and footways, especially by heavy vehicles, could cause considerable damage and where this has occurred it might be relevant for authorities to increase inspection frequency and consider new materials or other forms of prevention.