Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps help to prevent road closures during periods in which roadworks are not taking place.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Works by utility companies are necessary to repair or maintain their apparatus, but they should be completed as soon as possible to minimise disruption to traffic. Highway authorities have a duty under section 59 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 to co-ordinate works taking place on their roads to manage their networks effectively and safely. The Government published updated guidance to them on this in April 2023.
Part of this coordination requires that undertakers, mostly utility companies, must give notice to the relevant highway authority in advance of non-emergency works and proposed traffic management. Any utility overstaying their agreed period in the highway is subject to overrun charges up to £10,000 per day subject to certain criteria.
We announced in the Plan for Drivers ( https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/plan-for-drivers/the-plan-for-drivers) proposals to introduce weekend overrun charges, to close the loophole that means no charges can be imposed for works that overrun at the weekend, and an increase in the fines for utility companies pay for not complying with the law.
We are also supporting further roll out of lane rental, a charging regime highway authorities can use to help reduce congestion on the busiest roads at the busiest times. We look forward to seeing more schemes being developed this year.
Asked by: Hamilton, Rachael (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made regarding any impact of renewables developments and resultant road closures on local businesses.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Minister for Energy and the Environment
Road closures on the local road network are the responsibility of the local authority in that area. They have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads in their area and duties under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to secure expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic.
The Scottish Government can, where appropriate, require a traffic management plan as a condition of consent. Assessment of any impacts from road closures would be made by the local authority when approving the finalised plan.
Mentions:
1: None part of the SRN, including maintenance and closures. - Speech Link
2: None Traffic regulation orders are often needed to close roads. - Speech Link
3: None If roads are being closed for street or roadworks, LAs have a duty under the New Roads and Street Works - Speech Link
Asked by: Hamilton, Rachael (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to local businesses, in light of any customer behavioural changes resulting from road closures caused by renewables developments.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Minister for Energy and the Environment
Road closures on the local road network are the responsibility of the local authority in that area. They have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads in their area and duties under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to secure expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic.
Local businesses can provide views as part of the planning application process, including comments on transport and traffic considerations and their impacts. If an application is approved, where appropriate, a condition of consent can require a finalised traffic management plan to be approved with the local planning authority and, where required, in consultation with other relevant bodies (such as Transport Scotland).
Other conditions may be imposed requiring developers to set up a community liaison group to assist with the provision of mitigation measures etc. It can be the case that the development is not permitted to commence construction until this group is established and the terms of engagement are signed off by the planning authority.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure National Highways keeps (a) roads and (b) verges clear of litter.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National Highways survey and grade the Strategic Road Network in accordance with The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Code of Practice for Litter and Refuse. National Highways teams patrol the Strategic Road Network and collect litter daily where it is safe to do so. National Highways carries out weekly inspections on its network, ensuring that it prioritises the clearance of the worst affected areas. National Highways also takes advantage of planned closures for other works to undertake additional litter picks.
National Highways’ grading activities are reported and monitored via its corporate Performance Indicator of the percentage of the Strategic Road Network where litter is graded at A or B as defined in the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse.
National Highways strategy is to simultaneously reduce the need for litter picking and collection by encouraging behavioural change whilst also providing an effective litter clearing service. National Highways takes a data-led approach to litter clearing activities to ensure that litter hotspots are quickly identified and that resources are targeted effectively. In 2023-24, National Highways collected over 50,000 bags of litter from roads under its supervision.
The Office for Road and Rail, as Highways Monitor, also plays an important role in monitoring National Highways in areas such as litter on behalf of the Secretary of State, ensuring National Highways deliver its commitments as set out in the Roads Investment Strategy and holding National Highways to account for its licence commitments.
Mentions:
1: None notice with poor signage on the M1 at J15, J15A, A508, A5, A43, B4525, A422 and many other B and C roads - Speech Link
2: None coordination between stakeholders, including developers, National Highways and local councils, when closing roads - Speech Link
Dec. 08 2023
Source Page: SEI reports for new significant environmental effects on the HS2 Phase One routeFound: The closures, dates and durations of each stage can be seen in Table 2.
Mentions:
1: Boyack, Sarah (Lab - Lothian) It is clear that the effects of the climate emergency are now having a real impact on our roads and railways - Speech Link
2: Bibby, Neil (Lab - West Scotland) In the past year alone, 1,000 jobs have been lost from the Inverclyde area because of site closures—most - Speech Link
3: Martin, Gillian (SNP - Aberdeenshire East) Neil Bibby was absolutely right to outline successive closures and job losses in Greenock. - Speech Link
Jan. 15 2024
Source Page: Government to crack down on disruptive street works to cut congestion and improve roadsFound: Government to crack down on disruptive street works to cut congestion and improve roads
Asked by: Chloe Smith (Conservative - Norwich North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2023 to Question 3454 on Driving, what steps his Department plans to take to implement the smoother journeys measures in the Plan for Drivers; and what his Department's planned timetable is for implementing those measures.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Work is already underway for each of the 30 measures in “The Plan for Drivers”, with many expected to be completed by summer 2024.
Among the actions on smoother journeys that we expect to take in the next couple of months are to publish refreshed guidance on making better use of bus lanes and smarter road closures, and to launch public consultations on fixing roads faster and encouraging efficient street works. In addition, the Live Labs 2 programme is in place and will continue through to May 2031.