Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many highway authorities have applied to the Department for Transport for civil enforcement of moving traffic offences, as set out in Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004; and how many highway authorities have been granted these powers.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Designation Orders granting powers to civilly enforce contraventions of moving traffic restrictions outside London are being introduced in tranches reflecting applicant local authorities’ different states of readiness. The first Order came into force on 15 July 2022 in respect of 12 local authorities. A second Order is currently before Parliament and is due to come into force on 22 July 2023 in respect of a further 40 local authorities. All applications had to meet a list of prerequisites set by Ministers in statutory guidance.
Subject to approval of the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee, a third Order is planned for early 2024, for which the application deadline is 25 October. No formal applications have yet been received.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of low traffic neighbourhoods on levels of congestion.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Responsibility for traffic management on local roads, including the implementation of low-traffic neighbourhoods, rests with local traffic authorities. They have a statutory duty, under the Traffic Management Act 2004, to manage their networks with the aim of ‘securing the expeditious movement of traffic’, including the reduction of congestion and other disruption.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has provided guidance to local authorities on whether companies are required to provide notice to local authorities when digging up pathways.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Highway authorities have a duty to manage their networks effectively by co-ordinating works taking place on their roads under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 and the Traffic Management Act 2004.
Before planning to carry out works on the highway, which includes the footway, utility companies must seek permission (a permit) from the highway authority and agree how long the works will take. If they take longer than expected, the highway authority can levy penalty charges against the utility. The Government does provide statutory guidance on the operation of permit schemes: www.gov.uk/government/publications/street-works-the-2007-permit-scheme-regulations-as-amended-in-2015
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to support the local authority to reduce traffic congestion in Kingston upon Hull.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The causes of congestion can be systemic, for example increasing population and urbanisation, or more localised, for example network pinch points, inadequate public transport or road works. Measures to combat congestion can be aimed at increasing capacity and / or decreasing demand.
Local traffic authorities have a statutory duty under the Traffic Management Act 2004 to manage their networks with the aim of ‘securing the expeditious movement of traffic’. The Department for Transport helps local authorities in achieving this by supporting sustainable alternative modes and providing design and other guidance as well as investment in infrastructure and innovative, data-led solutions.
The Government has already made record amounts of funding available to local authorities for investment in active travel schemes since the start of the pandemic. The second statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, published in July 2022, reiterated the Government’s commitment to this important agenda and set out the funding that is projected to be spent on it from 2020/21 to 2024/25.
The National Bus Strategy asked that all English Local Transport Authorities outside London publish Bus Service Improvement Plans, setting out local visions for the step-change in bus services that is needed, driven by what passengers and would-be passengers want. We have awarded over £1 billion to deliver service improvements, bus priority and ambitious fares initiatives.
The Government continues to invest in new technologies and the use of data to better manage road networks and provide accurate data about events such as congestion, to road users. For example, the department has invested several million pounds in creating ‘Street Manager’, a data platform which helps highway authorities and utility companies to plan and co-ordinate their road works.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to support local authorities in reducing traffic congestion in town centres.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The causes of congestion can be systemic, for example increasing population and urbanisation, or more localised, for example network pinch points, inadequate public transport or road works. Measures to combat congestion can be aimed at increasing capacity and / or decreasing demand.
Local traffic authorities have a statutory duty under the Traffic Management Act 2004 to manage their networks with the aim of ‘securing the expeditious movement of traffic’. The Department for Transport helps local authorities in achieving this by supporting sustainable alternative modes and providing design and other guidance as well as investment in infrastructure and innovative, data-led solutions.
The Government has already made record amounts of funding available to local authorities for investment in active travel schemes since the start of the pandemic. The second statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, published in July of this year, reiterated the Government’s commitment to this important agenda and set out the funding that is projected to be spent on it from 2020/21 to 2024/25.
The National Bus Strategy asked that all English Local Transport Authorities outside London publish Bus Service Improvement Plans, setting out local visions for the step-change in bus services that is needed, driven by what passengers and would-be passengers want. We have awarded over £1 billion to deliver service improvements, bus priority and ambitious fares initiatives.
The Government continues to invest in new technologies and the use of data to better manage road networks and provide accurate data about events such as congestion, to road users. For example, the department has invested several million pounds in creating ‘Street Manager’, a data platform which helps highway authorities and utility companies to plan and co-ordinate their road works.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to bring into effect Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 to allow local authorities outside London to enable school street schemes to be enforced by cameras.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We plan to introduce the regulations early this year, to come into force in the summer. Once the powers are commenced, local authorities wanting to undertake civil enforcement of moving traffic contraventions, including prescribed traffic signs for use at school street schemes, will need to apply to the Secretary of State for an Order to be made designating the council as the enforcement authority in their area.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2021 to Question 23300 on Road Traffic Offences, when he plans to bring into effect (a) the provisions of Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act allowing local authorities in England to introduce School Streets and other measures and (b) accompanying statutory guidance; whether he has issued guidance to local authorities on the exercise of those powers; and what estimate he has made of when local authorities will be able to exercise those new powers.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The regulations giving effect to the moving traffic enforcement powers under Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 are scheduled to be laid on 27 January, and planned to come into force on 1 June. Local authorities wanting to undertake civil enforcement of moving traffic contraventions, including prescribed traffic signs for use at school street schemes, will need to apply to the Secretary of State for an Order to be made designating the council as the enforcement authority in their area.
To assist local authorities in preparing their applications in the meantime, the Department wrote to local authorities in August 2021 with an Advice Note and sent out supplementary advice in September 2021, including a list of traffic signs subject to moving traffic enforcement. Subject to Parliamentary approval of the regulations, we plan to publish statutory guidance in late March 2022.
Depending on initial uptake, it may be necessary to deliver Designation Orders in tranches. We plan to lay the first Designation Order as soon as practicable after the regulations mentioned above come into force to enable enforcement to commence in practice.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the short-term impact on congestion levels in areas where Active Travel Fund projects have been implemented.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
None. It is for local authorities to manage their road networks appropriately, including by ensuring that changes to their road layouts are not having unintended impacts. As a condition of funding active travel schemes, the Department requires all local authorities to monitor and evaluate their impacts. The Government recently updated its Network Management Duty Guidance for local authorities, which includes advice to authorities on monitoring the traffic impacts of active travel schemes. The guidance is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reallocating-road-space-in-response-to-covid-19-statutory-guidance-for-local-authorities/traffic-management-act-2004-network-management-in-response-to-covid-19
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are satisfied with the law which authorises statutory authorities to obstruct the highway for the purposes of repair and maintenance.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Utility street works and highway authority road works, are carried out within the framework of legislation set by New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 and the Traffic Management Act 2004. The overall framework balances the need to ensure the essential repair and maintenance of roads, whilst reducing the disruption that such works can cause.
We have, in recent years, continued to improve the framework of secondary legislation and we have approved lane rental schemes, which allow local authorities to charge for works on the busiest roads at the busiest times to reduce congestion. We have also introduced the Street Manager digital service, which is now used by all local highway authorities and utility companies in England to plan and manage works, providing real time, open data on live and planned works.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle neighbourhood (a) speeding and (b) traffic issues.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government believes that any form of dangerous or inconsiderate driving behaviour is a serious road safety issue. All available research shows a link between excessive speed and the risk of collisions.
We expect all drivers to observe the speed limit, and enforcement is a matter for the police. Policing of our roads, and how available resources are deployed, is the responsibility of individual chief officers, taking into account the specific local issues.
Last July, the Department for Transport launched a Call for Evidence as part of a wider Roads Policing Review: a thorough examination of roads policing in England and Wales and its relevance to road safety. Responses to the Call for Evidence have been analysed and the Government response is currently being prepared for publication this summer. The response will address the key points raised by respondents, including feedback on speed enforcement.
Tackling neighbourhood traffic issues is the responsibility of local councils, and the Department for Transport publishes guidance to help them. Local Transport Notes summarise the latest and most important ideas about traffic management issues and can be viewed at www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-transport-notes.
Councils, as traffic authorities, have a statutory duty under the Traffic Management Act 2004 to manage their networks with the aim of ‘securing the expeditious movement of traffic’. They are free to make their own decisions about the streets under their care and are responsible for ensuring that their actions are within the law. Councils are accountable to their electorate for their decisions and their performance and councillors are responsible for ensuring that local decisions about street infrastructure take account of the needs and opinions of local people.