Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will hold regular discussions with (a) Transport for London and (b) the Mayor of London on ensuring that roadworks, lane closures and maintenance works in Parliament Square and nearby are kept to a minimum at times when Parliament is sitting.

Ministers and officials from the Department for Transport have regular meetings with their counterparts in Transport for London and the Greater London Authority at which a variety of issues are discussed, including the impact of roadworks on London's traffic.

Transport for London, Westminster City Council and the Royal Parks Authority are each responsible for different roads near to Parliament Square, and all roadworks in the Westminster area are planned and managed in such a way as to minimise any disruption to traffic. The London area-wide permitting scheme also allows the relevant highway authority to request that roadworks are carried out at particular times.

TfL and others also regularly discuss the timing of, and potential disruption arising from, works in the vicinity of Parliament Square with the Parliamentary Estate. Where possible, roadworks are scheduled in such a way as to avoid disrupting Parliamentary Business: recent roadworks at Carriage Gates, for example, were scheduled to coincide with the February recess.