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.
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: 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.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has received any information on the cleanliness standard of the M25 embankments, carriageways, hard shoulders, slip roads around Junction 25.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
National Highways confirms that the most recent assessment of Junction 25 of the M25 was carried out on 7 April 2023 and the area was scored as a Grade B (Predominately free of litter and refuse apart from some small items). This area is next due to be graded on 21 April 2023.
NH has carried out litter collections on the slip roads over the course of the last two weeks. They have the following planned closures booked to address litter collections and other maintenance activities in the area; M25 Junctions 25 to 27 on the 15th to 19th May; and M25 Junctions 27 to 25 on the 22nd to 26th May.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with relevant local stakeholders to tackle fly tipping near motorways in (a) the UK and (b) Leicestershire.
Answered by Steve Double
We commissioned WRAP to deliver a pilot fly-tipping intervention grant to help local authorities trial new approaches to tackle fly-tipping at hotspots. This includes a project trialling the use of AI enabled CCTV in conjunction with automatic number plate recognition to tackle fly-tipping at motorway laybys. If successful, this intervention could be replicated by others.
We understand that enforcement plays a key role in tackling fly-tipping. In a new trial, National Highways will be collecting evidence of littering and fly-tipping across the Strategic Road Network and will be working with relevant local authorities to support prosecution.
National Highways also supports local authorities in Leicestershire, as with other counties, to reduce the cost of removing waste on the trunk roads they are responsible for by providing opportunities for them to share their upcoming traffic management and road closures.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing variable speed limits along long stretches of roadworks on motorways so that motorists travelling at times when no work is taking place, such as evenings and weekends, are not required to travel at low speed.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
On the Strategic Road Network (SRN), which comprises our motorways and principal A roads, keeping disruption from road works and traffic management to a minimum is an important priority for National Highways (NH). NH keeps the maximum number of lanes open at busy times and carries out the vast majority of work requiring extra restrictions either overnight or at the weekend, when traffic flows are lowest. Where works are undertaken overnight, NH is often able to keep the speed limit at 70mph.
Reduced traffic volumes are not the only factor when determining the appropriate speed for road works. Visibility and carriageway widths, amongst other things, need to be considered to ensure the safety of road workers and road users.
NH has increased the speed limit through most road works from 50mph to 60mph and uses more contraflows on its schemes, which can reduce the need for closures. This has led to improved journey times and saved 3,800,000 vehicle hours and £63 million.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing the use of variable speed limits when long stretches of roadworks are taking place on motorways in order that motorists are not obliged to travel at an unnecessarily low speed at times when no work is taking place.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
On the Strategic Road Network (SRN), which comprises our motorways and principal A roads, keeping disruption from road works and traffic management to a minimum is an important priority for National Highways (NH). NH keeps the maximum number of lanes open at busy times and carries out the vast majority of work requiring extra restrictions either overnight or at the weekend, when traffic flows are lowest. Where works are undertaken overnight, NH is often able to keep the speed limit at 70mph.
Reduced traffic volumes are not the only factor when determining the appropriate speed for road works. Visibility and carriageway widths, amongst other things, need to be considered to ensure the safety of road workers and road users.
NH has increased the speed limit through most road works from 50mph to 60mph and uses more contraflows on its schemes, which can reduce the need for closures. This has led to improved journey times and saved 3,800,000 vehicle hours and £63 million.
Asked by: Baroness Fox of Buckley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how the average journey time for cars and other vehicles has been affected as a result of road closures in London during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Active Travel Fund was announced on 9 May and provided £225 million of funding for local authorities to enable them to reallocate road space and make changes to road layouts in response to COVID-19.
Alongside the funding, the Department published statutory guidance to local authorities under the Traffic Management Act 2004. This provides advice on the changes that Government expects them to make to their road layouts to give more space to cyclists and pedestrians. It is for local authorities to decide what specific measures are appropriate on their roads to achieve this.
The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 gives local authorities powers to close roads using Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs). No new road closure powers have been granted. The emergency legislation which came into force on 22 May made some changes to the procedure for making TROs, but did not alter the pre-existing notice periods. Local authorities are still required to give 7 days’ notice of proposed temporary or experimental changes, to allow time for local residents or businesses to send in any comments or objections.
The monitoring and evaluation of schemes, including impact on traffic flows, is a matter for local authorities.
Asked by: Baroness Fox of Buckley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government under what conditions councils in London have been given statutory authority to close roads during the COVID-19 pandemic; and how long any such temporary closures will be in place.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Active Travel Fund was announced on 9 May and provided £225 million of funding for local authorities to enable them to reallocate road space and make changes to road layouts in response to COVID-19.
Alongside the funding, the Department published statutory guidance to local authorities under the Traffic Management Act 2004. This provides advice on the changes that Government expects them to make to their road layouts to give more space to cyclists and pedestrians. It is for local authorities to decide what specific measures are appropriate on their roads to achieve this.
The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 gives local authorities powers to close roads using Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs). No new road closure powers have been granted. The emergency legislation which came into force on 22 May made some changes to the procedure for making TROs, but did not alter the pre-existing notice periods. Local authorities are still required to give 7 days’ notice of proposed temporary or experimental changes, to allow time for local residents or businesses to send in any comments or objections.
The monitoring and evaluation of schemes, including impact on traffic flows, is a matter for local authorities.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 23 October (HL9102), whether the Local Air Quality Management framework requires that local authorities monitor air quality in streets into which traffic has been displaced by road closures.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Local Air Quality Management Framework is set out in Part IV of the Environment Act 1995. It requires local authorities to review and assess air quality within their boundaries, and to produce an annual report detailing any monitoring results and any air pollution issues they have identified. This includes assessing impacts of traffic measures which may include monitoring. Where an objective for a specific pollutant is exceeded the local authority must declare an Air Quality Management Area and produce an Air Quality Action Plan to address the exceedance.
Annual reports must be made available to the public and will usually be accessible on the local authority’s website. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs provides support for local authorities to carry out their statutory duties under the framework via statutory guidance and a dedicated helpline.