Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what sanctions have been applied to service providers by Highways England for failure to collect litter in 2018.

The performance of Highways England service providers in relation to litter is measured against the grades of cleanliness defined within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse.

Each Highways England region manages its own maintenance contract and any failure to meet contractual obligations would trigger sanctions under the contract.

In 2018 there have been no reported incidents of sanctions being applied in relation to litter, apart from the East Midlands, where payments to a service provider were withheld until evidence was provided that cleanliness had been brought up to standard.