Clause 44 - The Street works register
Traffic Management Bill
4:15 pm
Mr Brian White (North East Milton Keynes, Labour)
I want briefly to bring a point to the Minister's attention. One of the concerns that a number of utilities have with the register relates to road works and the Highways Agency. My hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw made a point about the Highways Agency's own works being included. How will it ensure that its planning ties in with the local authorities' works? Given that the Highways Agency plans cross the country, it must ensure that its schemes tie in with those of a number of authorities. We need to ensure that the central register enables sharing between different authorities so that the utilities can plan taking those authorities into account, and many would argue that there should be an electronic register. The issue of data sharing is key. Will the Minister ensure that these data protection and data sharing issues are addressed?