Roadworks: Preventing Road Closures

5. What steps she is taking to help prevent road closures when roadworks are not taking place.

I am delighted to confirm that, as part of the £1.6 billion investment in highways maintenance that the Government announced before Christmas, we will clamp down on disruptive works by doubling fixed penalty notices for utility companies that fail to comply with rules and extending charges for works that overrun into weekends.

I draw Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

Drivers in my constituency are sick to death of the endless road closures and temporary traffic lights when no works are taking place. Will the Minister demand that utility companies do everything in their power to get roads open as quickly as possible, particularly when they have dug them up under the emergency procedure?

Absolutely. There can be legitimate reasons why works are sometimes left unoccupied—for example, when they are waiting for materials to cure or gas to vent—but I take the hon. Member’s point, particularly where utilities are using emergency procedures unnecessarily. We have examined Street Manager data and spoken to industry representatives and found no evidence of misuse. None the less, given the number of urgent works—which are, of course, not unrelated to the appalling state of our roads left by the previous Government—we will see what more can be done to ensure that these works are managed and communicated to road users properly.

Roadworks plague my constituency. A significant issue is that utility companies dig up the roads without requiring council permission, and they often leave these sites incomplete while different teams carry out their work, causing chaos and congestion in the process. We frequently face the absurd situation where there are roadworks on diversion routes for roadworks. Does the Minister agree that we need to require utility companies to co-ordinate with councils to properly plan this maintenance work and complete their projects in a timely manner, in order to avoid congestion?

My hon. Friend is proving a great champion for road users in his constituency. The simple answer to his question is yes. Local authorities already have a legal duty to co-ordinate all works on their network, and utility companies have a duty to co-operate, and we will ensure that they do so.