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Clive Efford (Eltham) (Lab): The lack of attendance in the House can be put down to the fact that many hon. Members want to use our highways to get back to their constituencies in order to be in front of a television set by 7.45 pm. That is a laudable objective, and we wish our players all the best this evening.

I shall comment on only a couple of matters because my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) has covered all the issues that the Select Committee looked into. It is worthy of comment that the Highways Agency on the whole is a very efficient organisation. Its actions go largely without comment, which is probably testimony to the fact that it does its job reasonably well. As with all organisations, it is in extreme circumstances that its preparations for certain eventualities are tested and its activities brought to the fore. In the severe weather last year the arrangements that the Highways Agency had put in place were found wanting in the extreme.

The communications system was inadequate and seemed to rely on the mobile telephones of drivers. It was most shocking to us when we cross-examined people from the agency that once the gritting lorries had left the depots it was impossible to keep track of where they were, what they were doing and whether they had got stuck themselves. That was clearly a failure of the agency to put in place adequate procedures to maintain an efficient service when it was most needed by people on our road network.

The other issue that came to light in that cross-examination, to which my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich has referred, was the lack of penalty clauses in the contracts for private contractors. My hon. Friend the Minister has obviously taken that message on board because I can see him nodding, but the problem needs to be stressed and emphasised. We need to ensure that we do not fall down on that issue in future. If we are setting aside seriously large sums of money for litigation to deal with penalty clauses, perhaps we ought to consider an in-house service over which we have more direct control so that we do not rely on so many contracts that are perhaps not as enforceable as we would like.

Another issue to which I should like to draw attention, and which was also referred to by my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich, is the role of the police and the Highways Agency at the time of a severe accident on the road network. The issue concerns who takes control at that point, and who has responsibility for reopening the road. A clear protocol needs to be drawn up to ensure that the responsibilities are clear. Responsibility for the road network and enforcement of the relevant laws should clearly lie with the police. It has been emphasised recently—not just in evidence to our Committee—that there is a link between crime and antisocial behaviour and traffic offences, so we would create difficulties for ourselves if we separated the responsibilities for traffic management and for enforcement. There is increasing concern in our communities about antisocial behaviour and we are trying to build partnerships between local authorities, the police and other agencies. At times, that can prove to be difficult. New powers have been handed to the police to deal with antisocial behaviour. I am finding it excruciatingly difficult to get the local authority to go
 
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along with what the police want to do to deal with the problems. I use that as an example of how the police may lose out on essential information and intelligence if they lose the responsibility for traffic management and traffic issues.

In the knowledge that hon. Members who are present may want to get back to their constituencies, I will conclude my comments.

2.57 pm

Mr. Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury and Atcham) (LD): This is a useful debate, and it is a pity that for the most part only eight hon. Members have been present in the Chamber. It is important that the House hold to account the Minister and in turn Government Departments and agencies following Select Committee reports. The Highways Agency has a budget of some £4.6 billion, which is bigger than the whole international development budget. Clearly, an enormous amount of expenditure goes on the maintenance and expansion of our road network. Hence it is a pity that more hon. Members are not able to take part in the debate.

I wish to highlight a number of issues. I pay tribute to the staff of the Highways Agency; they do an exceptionally good job. The tragedy is that only when mistakes are made do they come to the fore, whereas they play an important role in keeping our roads moving day to day—some 5,860 miles of motorways and trunk roads.

The aim of the Highways Agency stated in its business plan is:

"Safe Roads, Reliable Journeys, Informed Travellers."

For the most part, it achieves that. It aims to reduce congestion, improve reliability, and improve road safety while respecting the environment and seeking feedback from customers. I know that the roads Minister likes to mention the fact that the Highways Agency plants more trees than any other organisation in the country.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. David Jamieson): After the Forestry Commission.

Mr. Marsden: Absolutely. I pay tribute to what the agency does to put something back into the environment, even though obviously with road expansion and building it has to take something out. I saw that at first hand when the A5-Nesscliffe bypass was built. The Highways Agency in conjunction with the Environment Agency and the local authority did a superb job in protecting badger setts and other wildlife during and after construction. They were extremely professional in mitigating the damage to the environment.

I was slightly alarmed to note that customer satisfaction levels have fallen in respect of the performance of the Highways Agency on motorways and trunk roads. That applies to several of the criteria, including the availability of phones, provision of signs, clarity of signs, positioning of signs, availability of variable message signs and the maintenance of signs. Perhaps the Minister could comment on that and flesh out the details of the actions that the Highways Agency has taken to improve customer satisfaction. I make no apology for raising that issue, but I should put it into
 
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context by saying that the satisfaction level of road users is still around 80 per cent. Most businesses would be happy to achieve such levels, but it is worrying that the trend is downwards.

I know that an extra 600 or so variable message signs have been installed in the past year, but many motorists get frustrated if those signs are not up to date. There is nothing worse than receiving while driving information that turns out not to be true, such as a lane closure ahead or the need to reduce speed.

The Highways Agency deserves credit for reducing the casualty rates in the past seven years. It is on target to continue to reduce those rates. I worry that the agency does not seem to be achieving its target to reduce the number of slight injuries, and I hope that the Minister will be able to assure the House that improvements will be made and the agency will get back on schedule in that area.

As the Transport Committee pointed out and as our Chairman has mentioned, just one inch of snow in January 2003, combined with the failure of the agency's contractors to send out gritting lorries, resulted in thousands of motorists being stranded in north London and Essex. The Government's reply to the report set out the development of contingency plans, which the agency has tested by undertaking

"an additional technical audit of . . . winter maintenance plans, and . . . an emergency exercise."

What were the results of that audit and what improvements have been made?

The Committee also pointed out that

"It is intolerable that the Highways Agency has no immediate financial sanction available where a contractor fails to keep the motorway and trunk roads system free of ice and open."

The Committee Chairman also mentioned that issue and she said that new maintenance contracts were now in place. Those contracts include new termination clauses, but I wonder whether those clauses could be invoked quickly enough to allow another contractor to take over at a moment's notice. It would be no help to motorists stranded by ice and snow if the contractors who were not doing their job could not be replaced quickly.

Other hon. Members have made valuable contributions this afternoon about the work of the Highways Agency, including the need to expand certain roads. As I mentioned, my constituency has a new bypass, which has improved air quality and reduced pollution, especially for St. Andrew's school, which used to have thousands of vehicles pass its doors every day. It was also very difficult to cross the road outside the school, but that has now changed. The A5 is part of the trans-European national network, so it is very important.

I accept the case for some road expansion and some new roads—such as the M6 toll road, which has been very successful. Indeed, I use it myself and it is very convenient. However, I worry that we will continue to expand and build new roads at the expense of the environment. We need a new, concerted effort to try to reduce the amount of congestion and traffic on our roads.

I am also concerned about the bureaucracy and red tape that seem to bind the 1,780 staff of the agency. Last year in my constituency, we had the case of Dorrington
 
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village. That village is on the A49, one of the main roads that runs north to south through the English and Welsh Marches. The A49 is a major tourist route and, at the height of the summer season, the agency decided to close half that road to repair a railway bridge. I know that the work was essential, but it took six months to complete. Lack of consultation and poor communication from the regional office and the chief executive's office made it difficult for the agency to win over local hearts and minds and convince people that it was doing a good job.

As the Chairman of our Committee pointed out, failures can be very costly. For example, the Thelwall viaduct project has gone hopelessly wrong. It was refurbished in 1996 at a cost of some £30 million. It is an important viaduct that carries some 180,000 vehicles every day. A spot check revealed terrible failings in the bearings, some of which had almost split in half. Remedial work is under way and will probably continue for another year, and the total cost will be an additional £24 million. Who was responsible for that? Will that extra £24 million come out of the agency's budget? Is legal action against the contractors pending? Can the Minister assure the House that such a failure will not happen again?

3.7 pm

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