Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve the condition of local roads.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department’s road condition statistics highlight that local classified roads are improving, with fewer requiring maintenance. The Government is providing local highway authorities with over £6 billion between 2015 and 2021 for highways maintenance. We will soon be announcing how we will allocate a further £185 million for 2017/18 financial year, in addition to over £1 billion already committed, to improve the condition of local roads.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make an assessment of whether the powers local councils and police have to enforce restrictions on heavy goods vehicles driving on weight-restricted roads are sufficient to protect rural roads and surrounding environments.
Answered by Andrew Jones
All road users benefit from clear directions, including HGV drivers. It is clearly not in the interests of HGV drivers to rely upon inaccurate information, which may make them late or even involve them in accidents. Nevertheless, we believe that legislation would be a costly, bureaucratic and inappropriate way of dealing with the problem. Instead we have made significant efforts to link together freight associations, local authorities and satnav companies to ensure that HGV drivers are aware of the issue and have the latest information available to them.
Councils already have the means to set height and weight restrictions for roads, which are enforced by the police, and HGV satnav devices increasingly include up-to-date routing information that takes account of such restrictions.
Decisions on all aspects of traffic management policy are the responsibility of local traffic authorities, and how they and the police enforce this once they are in place it is a matter for them. We believe the necessary enforcement powers are available for this.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will bring forward legislative proposals to require heavy goods vehicles satellite navigation system providers to remove weight-restricted roads from their routes.
Answered by Andrew Jones
All road users benefit from clear directions, including HGV drivers. It is clearly not in the interests of HGV drivers to rely upon inaccurate information, which may make them late or even involve them in accidents. Nevertheless, we believe that legislation would be a costly, bureaucratic and inappropriate way of dealing with the problem. Instead we have made significant efforts to link together freight associations, local authorities and satnav companies to ensure that HGV drivers are aware of the issue and have the latest information available to them.
Councils already have the means to set height and weight restrictions for roads, which are enforced by the police, and HGV satnav devices increasingly include up-to-date routing information that takes account of such restrictions.
Decisions on all aspects of traffic management policy are the responsibility of local traffic authorities, and how they and the police enforce this once they are in place it is a matter for them. We believe the necessary enforcement powers are available for this.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Framework Agreement between his Department and Network Rail on the reclassification of Network Rail will ensure that the Freedom of Information Act 2000 applies to Network Rail.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
On 17th December 2013, the ONS announced that under new EU statistical rules (ESA10) which come into force on 1st September 2014, Network Rail will be reclassified to the public sector.
The Department for Transport is currently working with Network Rail to decide on the details of how Network Rail will operate in the public sector. A Framework Agreement explaining these decisions will be published before 1st September.
This Framework Agreement will address a number of issues, and this is likely to include our intended approach to the FOIA.