There has not been any analysis of average savings from social tariffs for claimants of employment and support allowance in the work-related activity group.

Where the Ministry of Justice has closed prisons, the level of services, such as heating, water and electricity, is reduced to that necessary to maintain the fabric of the buildings and ensure the sites remain safe and secure until final disposal.

The expenditure on utility bills in prisons which have been officially closed in each of the last five years is set out in the table below:

Footnotes

1. Utilities includes: fuel; electricity; gas; and water & sewage.

2. The costs shown reflect invoices which have been submitted and paid. There is a time lag between services which have been supplied and the submission of invoices by suppliers. The figures may not, therefore, reflect the extent of the services received during the period.

3. The figures provided are drawn from our central accounting system and although care is taken when processing data, this may be subject to the inaccuracies and inputting errors inherent in any large scale recording system.

4. Expenditure includes that at local (establishment) level and central (MoJ Estates Directorate) level.

Under sections 59 and 60 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, highway authorities have a general duty to co-ordinate all street and road works on their networks and undertakers have a general duty to use their best endeavours to co-operate with such actions. The Traffic Management Act 2004 also places a Network Management Duty on local highway authorities to manage roads effectively to keep traffic moving.

We have not carried out a formal assessment, but although we consider that existing legislation is sufficient to enable effective co-operation to take place, it is clear that there is scope for reducing the impact on road users of works needed to deliver infrastructure and local services.

To this end we are engaged in a project that is looking to improve the way that data is collected and shared, how we can use this data to co-ordinate activities on the highway more effectively, and how the data can be used to inform the public about planned and live works.

To enable more proactive management of the local road network, the majority of highway authorities have introduced Permit Schemes, which enable the authority to stipulate conditions under which works can take place on the highway. We are currently undertaking an evaluation of permit schemes which concludes in November, and we expect the outcome to demonstrate that such schemes provide a clear reduction in works duration. We are keen for the remaining authorities to develop such schemes.

We have also published statutory guidance entitled ‘Code of Practice for the Co-ordination of Street Works and Works for Road Purposes and Related Matters’. This can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/street-works-co-ordination

There are no specific regulatory requirements for utilities and other companies (i.e. undertakers) to notify residents of the reasons for excavating pavements or roads. However, it may be a condition in certain authority areas where permit schemes are operating that undertakers provide advance publicity to residents of their intentions. There is also a national permit condition that requires undertakers to notify local residents and businesses but the condition is only meant to be applied where such notification is vital owing to the sensitivity of the location of the works.

Where street works involve a road closure or the imposition of certain other temporary traffic restrictions, a Traffic Order is needed under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. This legislation requires authorities to publish a notice in one or more local newspapers beforehand. They are also required to take other measures, such as placing notices along the affected street, if they consider it necessary to give adequate publicity to the order.

With regard to statutory safety requirements, undertakers must comply with a statutory Code of Practice ‘Safety at Street Works and Road Works’. This Code is issued under Section 65 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 and Section 174 of the Highways Act 1980.

The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 already requires local authorities to co-ordinate all utility works on the highway and for utility companies to co-operate with that role. The Traffic Management Act 2004 allows authorities to introduce street works permit schemes which give them greater powers to proactively co-ordinate all works, including their own, to minimise disruption for road users. The Government supports the use of permit schemes, which currently operate or are being developed in over half of authorities, and would welcome their introduction across the remaining authorities.

Timely utility connections are key in ensuring that the homes this country needs are built. A range of factors may cause delays to build out of housing developments, such as discharging planning conditions and obligations, dealing with issues around protected species, or shortages in construction skills. Some builders cite the complex process and time it can take to make utility connections as one of the more significant delays in providing new homes, and have estimated it can in some cases add a three to six month delay after construction has started.

This is why we have committed in the White Paper to review what more we could do to ensure that utilities planning and delivery keeps pace with house building and supports developments across the country.

The National Flood Resilience Review did not examine individual utility assets, as responsibility for defending these from floods rests with each utility company.

Instead, it asked the telecommunications and water sectors to assess their vulnerable sites and put in place measures to increase the resilience of their services where appropriate.

Companies have delivered on this commitment, and are now in the process of making improvements to resilience, where feasible, ahead of Christmas 2016. This includes purchasing temporary flood defences, increasing redundancy or utilising alternative assets where temporary flood defences are not suitable and working with local emergency responders on broader local flood plans. Utilities companies are also working with government and regulators to ensure appropriate long term flood defence measures are put in place.

Good progress is being made on the implementation of the National Flood Resilience Review (NFRR) recommendations. All infrastructure companies have completed their initial assessments of their vulnerable sites for suitability for temporary flood defences and as a result companies are investing heavily in resilience measures to ensure continuity of supply this winter. This includes putting in place or having deployment plans for temporary defences, and other contingency measures such as rezoning of water supplies and the use of mobile telecommunications cells to reduce the risk of disruptions of services. Further to this, the Government is working with utility companies to improve permanent defences in the longer term.

Coordination of flooding policy is a high priority across Government with a number of Departments responsible for delivering actions arising from the NFRR. As such an inter-Ministerial group has been established to oversee flooding policy, including the implementation of the NFRR.

Article 25 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 (VCDR) requires receiving States to "accord full facilities for the performance of the functions of" foreign diplomatic missions. The VCDR is given effect in UK law by the Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964.

The Department has not made any estimate of the average additional annual costs to domestic consumers who do not pay by direct debit or receive an electronic water bill.

Water companies in England and Wales do not generally differentiate between customers that pay their water bill by direct debit or access their account online, and those that choose paper billing and annual payment. We are aware of two (Northumbrian Water and United Utilities) that offer an annual discount of £7 and £5 respectively. These discounts are not cross subsidised but reflect the value of the cost saving to companies and customers. These discounts are also an incentive to encourage greater sign up as there are benefits for both the customer and the company.