Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will issue guidance to local authorities on the civil enforcement powers set out in Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004.

We plan to introduce the regulations to commence Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 in December. Once the powers are commenced, local authorities wanting to undertake civil enforcement of moving traffic contraventions, will need to apply to the Secretary of State for an Order to be made, designating the council as the enforcement authority in their area.

Work is underway on drafting statutory guidance, which we plan to publish in tandem with the regulations coming into force. In addition, we will issue advice to local authorities shortly, to enable them to prepare their applications in the meantime, ready for when the powers come into force.

The Traffic Management Act 2004 specifies those traffic signs to which moving traffic enforcement will apply. This includes the sign indicating prohibition of goods vehicles for environmental reasons; such as narrow roads unsuitable for large vehicles, or to protect residents from the nuisance caused by lorries in residential streets. The sign still applies to such vehicles when driven unladen, or when only the cab section of an articulated vehicle is being driven, whether or not its weight is then below that shown on the sign. There are no plans to expand the list of applicable traffic signs to include structural weight limits, or vehicle height, width, length limits, which will remain enforceable by the police.