Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to amend section 81 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 so that local authorities can levy fines against utility companies that fail to maintain street apparatus to their reasonable satisfaction.

The Government does not currently have any plans to amend the legislation in this way. Utility companies already have a duty to maintain their apparatus in the street. Where a local authority becomes aware of defective apparatus they should notify the owner of the apparatus. If the apparatus presents a hazard that could result in danger to the public, then the authority should take any appropriate action, which might include an officer remaining on site until the owner of the apparatus attends, or ensuring that suitable actions to make the site safe are carried out. The authority can recover reasonable costs for doing so from the asset owner.