§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Government have any plans to introduce legislation to oblige local authorities to recover their costs plus a margin for profit from suppliers of services seeking road closures and to charge a full rent at a rising daily rate in all cases of roadworks for the installation, repair and renewal of such services based on the amount of traffic diverted or inconvenienced and the duration of the work.
§ Mr. AtkinsProposals for legislation to reform the Public Utilities Street Works Act 1950 were circulated in May to interested parties for comment. A copy of these proposals is in the Library. The proposals included a provision to enable highway authorities to recover from utilities certain of their costs such as those incurred by making temporary traffic orders. A provision to oblige highway authorities to charge rent for roadworks was not included. We have received several responses putting forward suggestions aimed at reducing the impact of utilities' works on road users, including charging for the road space occupied by those works. We are considering the responses to consultation.