A report providing the Committee with an update on the introduction of civil enforcement of moving traffic contraventions across the Reading Borough Council area.

The Executive Director of Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report that provided the Committee with an update on the introduction of civil enforcement of moving traffic contraventions across the Reading Borough Council area.  A copy of the Climate Impact Assessment was attached to the report at Appendix 1.

The report explained that Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 had introduced the principle of allowing Highway Authorities outside London to use powers to enforce moving traffic offences.  However, secondary legislation had not been subsequently laid, meaning offences could only be enforced by the Police under criminal law.  The Department for Transport (DfT) had announced in 2020 that they would be fully enacting the remaining elements of the Traffic Management Act, permitting Highway Authorities outside London to use approved camera devices under civil law, to enforce traffic contraventions.  This would allow the highway network to be more effectively managed by the Highway Authority (the Council), and would allow the civil enforcement of a variety of moving traffic contraventions whilst maintaining national standards to improve road safety, pollution levels, journey time and public realm in locations with low compliance.  Moving traffic contraventions related to traffic controls which were enabled through Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) and the correct signing and lining and included the following:

•      driving through a 'No Entry' sign;

•      turning left or right when instructed not to do so;

•      entering yellow box junctions when your exit was not clear;

•      driving where motor vehicles were prohibited;

•      driving a private vehicle on a route for buses only.

The Council had applied to the DfT to be included in the list of authorities that could enforce key highway restrictions or prohibitions across the Borough which was confirmed and had come into force on 15 July 2022, with the passing of The Civil Enforcement of Moving Traffic Contraventions Designations and Miscellaneous Amendments Order 2022. 

From 8 April to 20 May 2022, the Council had launched a six week public consultation and exercise that had set out how it would implement Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004.  Although the Council had applied for the powers across the Borough, there had been a need to identify some sites for immediate enforcement once the legislation had been passed and there were currently fifteen sites that had been identified for a first tranche.  All fifteen were yellow box junctions and the locations were set out in the report.

The report stated that in general consultees had been in favour of enforcement of moving traffic contraventions, with 52% of consultees supporting the overall initiative.  Of the written comments that had been received overall 22% had been in general support of this type of control, whilst 16% of comments has raised concerns that this was about income generation and 9% of responses had been concerned that this would not be a good use of Council funds.

Following consultation, officers had continued to work on the implantation of the tranche one sites and it was anticipated that the first sites would go live before the end of 2022, with all the sites active by 1 April 2023.  Across 15 locations there were 25 enforcement areas, this was due to some sites enforcing multiple directions.  The DfT had prescribed a six month warning notice period at every site, which meant that the first correspondence sent for each vehicle at every site would not contain a Penalty Charge Notice, but a Warning Notice that had no charge attached to it.  The same would apply to every new site that might be introduced in the future.  Following the introduction of the initial sites it would be anticipated that more sites would follow, where this would meet the criteria for this method of enforcement and a facility would be introduced to allow stakeholder, including the public, to suggest sites they felt would benefit from enforcement.

In answer to a question about the use of the enforcement action to support School Streets, Helen Taverner, Parking Services Manager, explained that it could be used, but there would be a need to proceed with caution and the regulations stated that it could not be designed into the system from the beginning.  It would only be introduced for this purpose after it had been proved that engineering and education measures had failed to work.

Resolved –    That the report be noted and the scheme as described endorsed.