MPs launch inquiry into impacts of street works by utility companies

The Transport Committee will investigate ways to help limit the damage and disruption to England’s roads and pavements by work carried out by utility companies. 

In a new inquiry launched today (Friday, December 6), the cross-party Committee will examine how better management, regulation and enforcement could benefit both road users – including cyclists and pedestrians – and the local authorities charged with maintaining road surface quality and overseeing traffic flows. 

MPs will look into the effectiveness of issuing fines to utility companies that mismanage their street works, and of the inspection scheme that was introduced in 2023.  

They will also scrutinise the system of local authorities’ renting road lanes out to utility companies and to what extent this incentivises timely completion of street works, as well as scrutinising other potential examples of best practice such as coordinating works between utility companies. 

Chair of the Transport Committee, Ruth Cadbury, said: “There’s nothing like having your journey delayed by road works, especially when they seem to take far longer than needed to complete. But often it’s excavations by utility companies rather than road maintenance that are the cause. 

“Today the Transport Committee launches an inquiry that will investigate how street works can best be managed to minimise disruption and damage to roads and traffic and be better coordinated. 

“The Committee now welcomes written evidence submissions that will help us ask the right questions and get the best answers.”  

Submissions should be made via the Committee’s website by midnight on January 21, 2025.

The inquiry will consider the effect of utility works on road and pavement surface quality and on maintenance needs and costs, and how local authorities can manage this.   

It will investigate whether local authorities have sufficient powers and resources to manage the effect of street works on congestion, travel disruption, pavement access and accessibility, as well as the effectiveness of processes for notification of works and obtaining permits, including the classification of emergency works and opportunities for coordinated works, and what makes for a good working relationship between utility companies and highway authorities.   

It will also look into whether fines are a sufficient deterrent to poor practice, whether other enforcement mechanisms would work better, and whether the inspections regime introduced in 2023 has improved the quality of reinstatement works.   

Furthermore, it will consider whether lane rental is a successful model, the potential merits of making it available in more areas, and what other tools or best practices could be more widely adopted.  

The trade association representing utilities and their contractors on street works issues, Street Works UK, welcomed the inquiry.

A spokesperson said: “We are pleased to see that the committee is examining a number of areas relevant to the sector, including the effectiveness of lane rental schemes – an issue we have long raised with Government.

“The street works sector ensures that communities nationwide are connected with essential services such as water, broadband, energy and heating - enabling the UK economy to function and thrive.

“Street Works UK members work hard to deliver these vital services while minimising the impact on road users and pedestrians. 

“The inquiry gives the street works sector an opportunity to showcase its daily contributions, outline barriers affecting the delivery of critical works, and propose solutions for balancing vital works with minimising disruption.”