Roadworks (Hansard, 8 May 2001)

§ Mr. Gibb
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions for what reason(a) local authorities and (b) the Highways Agency are exempt from section 74 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. [160390]

§ Mr. Hill
The powers under section 74 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, introduced by the previous Government, provided for regulations to be 35W made allowing charges to be levied on utility companies whose works exceed an agreed deadline. However, the Act did not extend this power to works carried out by highway authorities.
This Government are determined to reduce the disruption which all works, whether carried out by utility or highway authority, cause to road users. The powers under section 74 have been activated with effect from 1 April this year. At the same time a revised code of practice for the co-ordination of works and best practice guidelines were published, which apply not only to works on behalf of utilities but also to works for local highway authorities and the Highways Agency. We are also considering whether further measures may be required.

§ Mr. Gibb
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what his estimate is of the proportion of roadworks carried out by(a) utilities, (b) local authorities and (c) the Highways Agency. [160389]

§ Mr. Hill
Works carried out to the highway include "road" works—carried out by or on behalf of highway authorities—and "street" works—involving statutory utilities. Detailed figures are not available on the proportion of overall works carried out by utilities, local authorities and the Highways Agency. However, the Government have recently commissioned Halcrow UK to undertake a study of the extent of utility street works across England. As part of that work, they will also be looking at works carried out by highway authorities. We expect to make the conclusions of Halcrow's research available to the House.

§ Mr. Gibb
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what his assessment is of the impact on prices paid by consumers for utility services arising from the lane rental provisions of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. [160391]

§ Mr. Hill
The Government took powers in the Transport Act 2000 to make regulations permitting highway authorities to levy daily charges on utilities from the outset of works (so-called "lane rental"). These powers are being kept in reserve at this stage as regards national implementation. However, we have agreed that the London borough of Camden and Middlesbrough borough council may operate pilot schemes for lane rental in their area, starting later this year.
The impact of any national lane rental scheme on utility companies and their customers and the extent to which road users will benefit from reduced disruption will obviously depend upon detailed arrangements, for instance the level at which rental charges were set and the type of works which would attract charges. Should we decide to launch the powers nationally, we will want to look very closely at the effects of the pilot schemes in devising the details of the scheme and in carrying out a regulatory impact assessment.