Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 18 of the report by Britain Remade entitled Back on Track: How To Build New Trams in The UK and Get Britain Moving, published in August 2024, on updating the Highway Authorities and Utilities Committee code of practice, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of updating the Streets Works (Sharing of Costs of Works) Regulation 2000 to rebalance the cost of diverting utilities from tram projects to utility companies.

I note that the report by Britain Remade entitled ‘Back on Track: How To Build New Trams in The UK and Get Britain Moving’ makes various recommendations about how tramway construction can be made quicker, cheaper and easier.

Whilst there are lessons to be learned from across the globe, the development and delivery of mass transit, including trams, is devolved in England. It is for local authorities to identify and bring forward the best mass transit solutions for their areas. My Department has a large team who work closely with Mayoral Combined Authorities and the largest Local Transport Authorities on plans for mass transit systems where those might form part of the local transport system in our largest cities.

My Department also works closely with the Highway Authorities and Utilities Committee (HAUC(UK)) to reduce the impact of street and road works on members of the public. HAUC(UK) are currently reviewing the Diversionary Works Code of Practice with Department officials. There are currently no plans to amend the ‘The Streets Works (Sharing of Costs of Works) Regulation 2000’.

The New Road and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA) balances the statutory rights of highway authorities and undertakers to carry out works and to minimise the disruption caused by these works. Financial incentives play an important role in ensuring compliance with requirements. There is a risk that by removing safeguards when utilities work on tram routes, reinstatements may not be fit for purpose, resulting in damage and possible safety issues that the tram company operator or Local Highway Authority would then need to resolve.

The proposed Planning and Infrastructure Bill also aims to streamline infrastructure delivery, including through reforms to the Transport and Works Act 1992. The reforms will deliver a consenting process to enable the authorisation of new railways or tramways in England and Wales (as well as guided transport schemes and inland waterways) that reduces unnecessary administrative burdens placed on applicants pursuing transport infrastructure projects under the Transport and Works Act 1992 (TWA92) regime. The Bill will make various technical amendments to the TWA92 to ensure the regime is fit for purpose and proportionate, with the intention of streamlining and improving the efficiency of delivering new transport schemes. Measures include enabling cost recovery for statutory consultees and local authorities to support their resourcing and encourage timely, high-quality input. They also include introducing statutory deadlines for determination of applications to provide greater certainty for stakeholders. Other measures are allowing the inclusion of additional authorisations to streamline multiple approval processes, replacing model clauses with more flexible guidance, and clarifying legislation through amendments.

In terms of studying and implementing cheaper, shallower trackbeds, my Department is supporting the Coventry Very Light Rail (CVLR) research and development project which aims to deliver all the benefits of a modern light rail solution at half the cost and time, with reduced disruption during construction due to its innovative shallow track form and battery-operated vehicle.