To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether (a) the roll-out of broadband fibre to (i) households and (ii) other buildings, (b) electric vehicle charging points and (c) major housebuilding programmes will be exempt from lane rental scheme charges.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria his Department uses to approve a local authority’s application for a lane rental scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there is a cap on lane rental scheme charges for major works to (a) install and (b) replace apparatus.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) discounts and (c) fee waivers from lane rental schemes are available for joint works; and what definition his Department uses for joint works.

The Department announced in February 2018 that it would develop bidding guidance later this year for authorities that want to set up lane rental schemes. It also announced that approval will be subject to certain conditions. These include that authorities must have a well-run permit scheme in place; schemes would apply to an authorities’ own works; charges should be used to encourage certain behaviour e.g. more joint works; and schemes should be trialled for a period of time. Finally, it would like to see authorities put in place caps for some major works so that these are not unfairly penalised.

The relevant legislation allows local authorities to charge up to £2,500 per day on the busiest roads at the busiest times. Authorities can offer discounts and waive charges in certain circumstances.