Street Works exams to be maintained
STRONG opposition to the scrapping of street works qualifications has led to the Government maintaining existing regulations and shelving its plans for reform.
The results were revealed after the Government recently held a consultation on whether to scrap or deregulate Street Works qualifications as part of its Red Tape Challenge Initiative.
The Red Tape Challenge Initiative identifies excessively burdensome or unnecessary regulations and removes them from the statute book or revises them to make them less of a chore.
Government officials said Street Works fell into this category through the insistence of street works operatives and supervisors having to hold specific qualifications as required by the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA) and the Street Works Regulations 2009.
However, results from the consultation showed that councils, in particular, were worried the move would cause a drop in standards of workmanship and increase unsafe working conditions.
Many councils are still battling the ‘winter potholes’ and feared any reduction in workmanship could lead to greater damage to the roads and therefore refused to support the reforms.
A Utility company also expressed significant concerns saying its costs would rise.
Many responses did show an interest in simplifying the qualification however.
You can read the full report on https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-street-works-qualifications
