Trunk Roads: Coning (Hansard, 12 July 1993)

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, it is already our policy to ensure that there is no unnecessary coning on trunk roads. We are continuing to pursue measures to minimise the inconvenience to motorists caused by lane closures.

§ Lord Peyton of Yeovil
My Lords, I am extremely grateful for that Answer and to know that it is policy to confine such restrictions to a minimum. However, does my noble friend realise that there are moments when motorists feel that his department suffers from an undue enthusiasm to protect a workforce which is not in sight or anywhere near the roadway concerned? Would he agree that it is important, as he has just said, to eliminate the inconvenience as far as possible?

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, I hope that my noble friend will realise the sadness and distress that his Question will cause in the department where so much effort is being made to minimise the inconvenience to motorists and to reduce the amount of coning. If my noble friend finds himself in such a situation where work does not appear to be taking place, I hope that he will call the Cones Hotline on 276 3000.

§ Lord Grimond
My Lords, cannot the contractors who unnecessarily close great stretches of road be prosecuted for obstructing the highway?

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, if a highway needs repair it is probably wise, for the protection of those repairing it, to have it coned off.

§ Lord Boyd-Carpenter
My Lords, is my noble friend aware that, particularly during the rush hours on Friday and Sunday evenings, long stretches of the M.3 and M.4 are coned off with no work whatever being done on them? Will he look into the matter and ensure that the highway authorities follow the excellent sentiments which were expressed in his Answer and that they actually apply them?

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, I can assure my noble friend that every effort is made to apply them. There are, of course, often very good reasons why work might not be taking place when my noble friend is passing. I agree, however, that there is nothing more irritating in the rush hour on a Friday or Sunday evening than to find an area that is coned off where no work appears to be taking place. As I said, there are often very good reasons for that, as was found from the Hotline calls that have been received.

§ Lord Clinton-Davis
My Lords, does the noble Earl agree that there should be a great deal more work in progress or in contemplation on our trunk roads? Does he agree with the recent survey by the British 9 Road Federation which showed that 8,000 kilometres of roads are in urgent need of structural repair, and that a further 6,000 kilometres will wear out within the next four years? Is he aware that much of that is due to the fact that roads are not being maintained properly and/or were constructed too cheaply in the first place?

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, as the noble Lord will be aware, I can answer only on trunk roads. The majority of roads are the responsibility of local authorities and I cannot answer for them in this Question. If the noble Lord would like to give me a specific instance I shall, of course, look into it, but he will be aware of the vast amount of taxpayers' money that is being spent not only on capital projects but also on maintenance.

§ Lord Clinton-Davis
My Lords, with respect, my question is about trunk roads. It is not good enough (is it?) merely to say that local authorities have the responsibility for a large part of the work when they are starved of the resources to undertake it.

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, they are not starved of the financial resources. A great deal of money is allocated to them for road maintenance, as is right. It is a considerable improvement upon the previous situation.

§ Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes
My Lords, does my noble friend accept that, despite the good intentions, this is not an area of triumph for the social charter? In the countries of our European partners, essential roadworks are carried on at night only, when motorists are not incommoded; and in the United States large numbers of cones can be moved quickly from one site to another by a kind of side-winding vehicle. Does not that mean that we need to do more research and development into how we can reduce inconvenience and maintain the roads successfully?

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, I can assure my noble friend that we shall look at every opportunity to try to minimise, first, the amount of coning; secondly, the time that the cones are in place, and to try to improve traffic measures for motorists who are approaching coned-off areas. I can give my noble friend one example. For work such as the white markings on roads we now use mobile lane closures which we did not use previously. That has speeded up traffic flow enormously.

§ Lord Clinton-Davis
My Lords, may I point out to the Minister—

Noble Lords
No!

§ Lord Clinton-Davis
My Lords, is the Minister aware that I referred inadvertently to local authorities being responsible for trunk roads, and that he did too? The question I asked earlier was: do the Government dismiss the observations of the British Road Federation about the state of the trunk roads—a matter to which the Question is addressed?

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, I believe that I said that local authority roads were their responsibility and trunk roads were the responsibility of the department. There are, of course, areas where work needs to be done, but there is considerable expenditure at the moment to rectify those roads.

§ Lord Hailsham of Saint Marylebone
My Lords, is it not clear that the Question—

§ The Earl of Onslow
My Lords—

Noble Lords
Order!

§ Lord Hailsham of Saint Marylebone
My Lords, is it not clear that the Question is about the coning of roads when repairs are not being carried out and not about the inadequacy of repairs which are not coned?

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, my noble and learned friend is right.

§ Lord Elton
My Lords, is my noble friend aware that in the babble of enthusiasm that followed his second supplementary reply, his reference to a fascinating body about which I had not heard before, called the Cones Hotline, was largely lost. Will he repeat the telephone number and, at the same time, tell us what it is for?

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, I hope that your Lordships will take careful note. The Cones Hotline is 071 276 3000. It was set up under the Citizen's Charter so that someone like my noble friend who is aggrieved that an area of road is coned off while no work is taking place can get straight on to the department which would investigate the matter. There have been some 70 calls. Of those, 68 replies were that there was good reason for the cones to be where they were. There were two other cases. In one, the sub-contractor had not removed the cones as it should have done. Another answer was that a greater length was coned off than was necessary.

§ Lord McIntosh of Haringey
My Lords, will the Minister assure the House that all the remaining graffiti that say "Marples must go" and "Peyton must go" have been removed from our motorways?

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, I have not seen any recently on cones.

§ Lord Brabazon of Tara
My Lords, does my noble friend agree that since the system of lane rental was introduced a few years ago there has been a considerable improvement in the speed at which essential repairs and maintenance are carried out? It is certainly better than some 20 years ago. Will he further assure the House that should the 48-hour working week be imposed upon us, we shall not have to stop the current procedure of work going on 24 hours a day for seven days a week, which one sees at the moment?

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for asking about lane closures. It was an initiative of my late noble friend Lord Ridley who introduced the measure. It has led to the speeding up of roadworks by some 30 per cent. So my noble friend 11 Lord Peyton will realise that there has been a considerable improvement since the day when he was Minister of Transport because there are now fewer cones in place for a shorter time.

§ Lord Peyton of Yeovil
My Lords, so I should hope! That was a long time ago. Is my noble friend aware that the last thing I should ever wish to do would be to cause even a ripple of distress within the ranks of a government department? The maximum I wish to achieve by the Question is to point out how those who are responsible can earn for themselves a measure of popularity.

The Earl of Caithness
My Lords, I am sure that there will be many people in the department who are consoled by my noble friend's latest question. Let me. assure him that considerable work is continuing to be put into this matter to try to achieve a resolution, but I am sure that he is a happier man than he was 30 years ago.