To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to require local authorities to publish a statement annually setting out their policies on street lighting with details of the number, age and energy efficiency of the assets; and if he will make a statement. (114834)

The Department endorses the recommendation in ‘Well-lit Highways’, the UK Lighting Board code of practice for highways lighting management (TSO, 2004), that local authorities should clearly and publicly state their public lighting service policy, and local highway authorities have been encouraged to prepare transport asset management plans drawing together the information required to execute policies effectively. The plans will include a description of the transport assets held, their existing condition, and proposed service levels. They will also provide an opportunity to set out the authority's asset management policies, including those relevant to the energy efficiency of assets.

Good inventory records are a necessary foundation for effective management of highway assets, and DfT officials have been working with the UK Lighting Board to encourage local authorities to improve their street lighting inventories.