Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the amount of revenue lost by shops and small businesses because of roadworks or road closures annually.

The Department has made no estimate of the amount of revenue lost by shops and small businesses as a result of road works or road closures and there are no plans to introduce legislation to compensate for such losses.

It should be recognised that works need to take place from time to time and many businesses will benefit from the resulting improvements. Authorities and utility companies should ensure that works are undertaken as quickly and efficiently as possible in order to keep disruption to a minimum.