Every parliamentary written question tabled by Paula Barker this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 21–25 of 25 · Department for Transport
What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the safety of smart motorways.
Safety on our roads is of the upmost importance and that is why the Government is committed to delivering a new Road Safety Strategy. The last set of safety data published by National Highways shows that, overall, all three types of smart motorway are saf...
If she will make an estimate of the proportion of the road network that was restricted due to (a) roadworks and (b) closures on 22 July 2024.
My Department does not collect information on road closures and we are not able to make an assessment of the proportion of the road network that was restricted. Roads are managed by either National Highways or local highway authorities, depending on the road in question. The Department does hold data on the number of utility street and authority road works carried out in England via its Street Manager service for planning and managing works. The latest data available is for June 2024 which showed that 172,753 number of works took place that month.
What the annual cost is of (a) overrunning and (b) delayed road maintenance works.
Under the 1980 Highway Act, it is the responsibility of the local highway authority to maintain and manage the highway network it is responsible for. The Department for Transport does not collect nor require local highway authorities to provide data about the costs of overrunning and/or delayed road maintenance works. However, it recognises that overrunning works can cause significant disruption to people’s journeys and congestion. For example, overrunning works by utility companies have previously been estimated to cost the economy over £4 billion per year. The Traffic Management Act 2004 (TMA) contains powers to enable authorities to operate permit schemes, which have been essential in improving the management and coordination of works, thereby reducing disruption and impacts on road users.
What steps she is taking to ensure that (a) roadworks and (b) road maintenance are carried out in the most (i) efficient and (ii) cost-effective way.
Road works are essential to ensure that utility companies can install and maintain the infrastructure on which we all rely and highway authorities can maintain their roads to an appropriate standard. We continue to work closely with utility companies and local authorities to ensure that works are planned, managed and co-ordinated in the most efficient way, and in a way that reduces the impact they have on congestion and road users. Those carrying out works must apply for a permit in advance from the relevant authority via the Department for Transport’s digital service known as Street Manager, which allows for co-ordination and planning, monitors performance and works’ durations, and streams open data on live and planned works. We also continue to look for improvements that can be made to the legislative framework that governs how works should be carried out.
What steps she plans to take to improve rail connectivity between (a) Liverpool and (b) other northern cities.
Transport is an essential part of our mission to rebuild Britain, and this Government is committed to delivering infrastructure that works for the whole country. This includes improving rail connectivity across the north of England. Re-introducing the High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill is the first step in doing so, by providing powers to develop, construct and operate rail infrastructure that is key to improving inter-regional and northern rail connectivity. We need a long-term approach to infrastructure and investment which takes account of local transport priorities. We will provide this, and thoroughly review the position we have inherited before setting out more detailed plans in due course.