‘Street works’ refers to when utility companies dig up roads to install or repair pipes and cables for gas, water, electricity and broadband. The term is different to ‘road works’ – maintaining roads and filling potholes.  

Around 2.2 million street and road works were carried out in England between April 2023 and March 2024. Over 200 organisations have the right to dig up roads. 

The UK Government’s response to the Committee’s report is available to read here. 
 
Transport Committee Chair, Ruth Cadbury MP said: 
 
“The Government’s rejection of all the major recommendations in our report risks making itself simply look unwilling to stand up to utility companies, on behalf of frustrated road users who have to endure unreasonable and often repeated street works delays. 
 
“It is all well and good for DfT to say it wants to explore ways to replicate best practice on a voluntary basis, but if the incentives are not changed, we carry on without carrots or sticks, then why should the Government expect anything to change? 
 
“There is also a contradiction in the way Ministers oppose the wider adoption of lane rental schemes because it fears local authorities could misuse those powers. At the same time, they say they are fully behind devolution and empowering local decision makers on a host of other important issues. 
 
“Road users in constituencies across the country trying to get around, access shops and service, deserve better. Our recommendations, if adopted, would help to grip this never-ending nuisance.” 

CIHT’s own impending report ‘Reducing the impact of highway works on road users’, due to be launched on 25 September, includes similar recommendations to the Transport Committee. 

CIHT asks the UK Government to reflect on the feedback that the industry has provided, through both the Transport Committee’s report and CIHT’s report, and to reconsider its response in light of this as we believe that many of the recommendations are viable. 

CIHT looks forward to continuing to work with the Transport Committee, Department for Transport, and the UK Government to ensure that insights and recommendations from CIHT members are included in public policy decision formation.

Join CIHT and guest speakers for the online launch of our latest report, Reducing the impact of highway works on road users, which looks at ways of minimising disruptions caused by streetworks and road works and will discuss the implications of this government response for the wider sector.

Further Information: 

Below is a summary of how the Department for Transport (DfT) responded to the main recommendations in the Transport Committee’s report.:

Lane rental schemes

The Committee said DfT should support more local authorities to set up lane rental schemes by allowing all relevant authorities to do so without needing approval from the Secretary of State. To incentivise quicker completion, under the schemes, a utility company is charged per day that the street works are carried out on an area’s busiest roads. 

Response: The recommendation was rejected, despite the Department agreeing that the schemes have been effective where used. It suggests there would be a risk of local authorities introducing “poorly targeted schemes” that would increase costs for utility companies. 
 
Extending the reinstatement period

Utility companies are responsible for the quality of the road surfaces they have reinstated for just two years after completion. If cracks begin to appear after two years it is the local council that will become responsible for patching the road up again. The Committee recommended that this two-year guarantee period for reinstatements should be extended to five years, similar to the six years period operating in Scotland.  

Response: Ministers said they want to see how a similar change to the reinstatement period will play out in Scotland. They also argue that the 2023 performance-based inspections regime already incentivises better standards and states that the effectiveness of that regime will be evaluated in 2026 before considering further changes. 
 
Deadlines for fixing defects

MPs said DfT should introduce timescales for companies to repair faulty reinstatements. Fines should increase each time a deadline has not been met, and the company responsible should also pay the Department a sum equivalent to the cost of compliance after the first exceeded deadline. 
The report raised how the two-cycle cap on inspections of reinstatements means that there is no financial incentive for utility companies to fix a defect once they have already been inspected twice. It said the cap should be lifted so that companies aren’t able to leave defects for councils to sort out. 

Response: The Government said it wants to work “collaboratively” with the industry but said it will discuss these recommendations with the Highway Authorities and Utilities Committee (HAUC(UK)), a mediation body which represents both the local authorities and utility companies which carry out works. 
 
Tightening the use of immediate permits 

Immediate and urgent permits enable companies to dig up roads with little or no notice given to the local authority. They are intended to be used in situations such as a burst water main causing localised flooding. The Committee received concerns from highways authority representatives of increased misuse of these permits, for example, when a company had known for a while that the work in question needed doing but still chooses to fix it with an immediate permit without any warning. The Committee said DfT should consult on a new definition that prevents this. 

Response: The Government says it has investigated the issue of companies misusing immediate permits and found no evidence of misuse so far. It does acknowledge that the use of emergency and urgent permits is increasing; 18.4% more urgent permits were used in 2023/24 than in 2021/22. The Government says it commits to updating the Co-ordination Code of Practice to clarify when immediate permits should be used, while continuing to monitor usage trends, but it has not committed to reviewing what types of work immediate permits can be used for. 
 
Longer-term planning 

DfT has guidance in place that encourages utility companies to share ‘forward planning information’ on the Street Manager system, and encourages local authorities and utility companies to identify opportunities to coordinate work. The Committee urges DfT to make this mandatory, which should further help to avoid multiple companies digging up the same area of road in short succession by instead going in at the same time.  
MPs also recommend that this requirement to inform the local authorities further in advance should apply to developers of new estates that will require utility infrastructure to be installed under roads to service their new sites. 

Response:  
·                DfT agrees in principle that early notification should happen but disagrees that forward planning notices should be made mandatory. It points to effective voluntary arrangements, such as between Bristol City Council and Wessex Water and says it wants to explore what barriers there may be to following this best practice elsewhere. 
·                DfT said it has committed to working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to explore options for earlier sharing of utility connection plans between property developers and councils, but does not say it will require developers to do so and does not suggest any way of incentivising positive behaviour. 
  
A Street Works Commissioner 

The Committee said DfT should consider setting up a Street Works Commissioner in England, similar to the Road Works Commissioner in Scotland, to help ensure the consistent application and interpretation of legislation, provide an option for independent dispute resolution between councils and companies, and monitor performance across the sector. This would provide clarity for the street works industry and help promote good practice.  

Response: DfT said setting up a new arms-length body would not be consistent with the Government’s ongoing review of such bodies with the aim of reducing their number. It also said an English Street Works Commissioner would need far greater resources than its Scottish counterpart because it would receive far higher caseloads. DfT does not suggest an alternative to this proposal, only that it will explore ways to enhance existing dispute resolution processes with the existing body HAUC(UK). 

Improving accessibility 
The Committee wanted to know what feedback the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) had provided to DfT regarding accessibility in its updated Safety Code of Practice for street works. It also wanted to know what changes had been made to the Safety Code based on that feedback. 

Response: In response to this recommendation, the Government says it will launch a consultation on proposed changes to the Code and will outline the specific changes made to improve accessibility while “incorporating advice received from DPTAC”. 
 
  

Street Works Report Launch

25 September 2025, 14:00-15:00

Join CIHT and guest speakers for the online launch of our latest report, Reducing the impact of highway works on road users, which looks at ways of minimising disruptions caused by streetworks and road works and will discuss the implications of this government response for the wider sector.