§ Sir Barney HayhoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what conditions are imposed on his traffic control systems units maintenance contractor as to the urgency and intensity of the efforts to restore normal working of failed traffic lights at the Hogarth roundabout on the A4 at Chiswick and at similar major junctions.
§ Mr. AtkinsThe priority to be given to repairing traffic signals in London is detailed in the TCSU's contract with its maintenance contractor and varies according to the seriousness of the incident and when it occurs. Complete failure such as happened at the Hogarth roundabout is accorded top priority and the contractor is required, if it is possible, to effect a full repair within two and a half or five hours of the fault, for weekdays or weekend respectively. If, as was the case recently at Hogarth roundabout, major civil engineering works beyond the scope of the maintenance contract are necessary to effect the repair, the maintenance contractor is required to make the installation safe and to place warning signs on approach roads until the civil works can be put in hand.
I can assure my right hon. Friend that all concerned are alert to the need to effect repairs as quickly as possible.