Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what limitations government guidance places on the duration and timing of roadworks in urban areas; and if he will introduce lane rental or other means of shortening the length of time required for such work.

Local highway authorities are able to choose one of two regimes for managing street works on all roads. The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (as amended) sets out arrangements for noticing. This only applies to works carried out by utility companies, who simply need to submit a notice to the authority of the works they plan to carry out. The Traffic Management Act 2004 brought in more proactive permitting schemes. Permitting applies to works carried out by both utilities and local authorities. Utilities have to pay a small administration fee with their application. Around 60% of local authorities have now adopted permit schemes and these are seeing reductions in the duration of works as a result.

The Government is working closely with the sector to take forward a programme to improve the management and coordination of works. We would like to see those 40% of local authorities still using noticing adopt permit schemes, especially as these apply to all works on all roads. We have just commissioned an independent evaluation of existing permit schemes to quantify the impact they have had on the duration of works, and to identify the costs and benefits of setting these up. We have begun work on the Street Manager project that is going to look at how we might improve the way that data is collected and shared, and how we can use this data to co-ordinate activities on the highway more effectively. We will also continue to look at ways to simplify a complex legal framework, so that we can reduce overall works duration and minimise the impact on road users and local communities.

We plan to consult in summer 2017 on the future of lane rental schemes which are aimed at helping local authorities manage works on the busiest roads at the busiest times. The consultation will consider the full range of options.