Penalty issued by Scottish Road works Commissioner

Issued by the Office of The Scottish Road Works Commissioner

The Scottish Road Works Commissioner has issued a penalty of £50,000 to British Telecommunications plc in connection with a number of serious failures by Openreach to comply with the relevant legislation covering road works in Scotland.

The nature of the offences, which occurred in the north of Scotland, included many instances of unsafe working practices, concerns about endangering the public, working without valid notification, non-compliance with the specification for the reinstatement of trenches, not co-operating with Highland Council staff and operatives not having the correct qualifications. 

The Commissioner has powers to issue penalties up to a maximum of £50,000 where a utility company fails to comply with their duties as a statutory undertaker.

Mrs Elspeth King, the Scottish Road Works Commissioner, said: “I warned BT about the numerous failures in compliance in Highland and expected an immediate improvement in performance, but this did not occur.  As the offences were of a serious nature, many involving unsafe working, I have decided to impose the maximum penalty of £50,000.  I hope that this action sends out a clear message to all organisations carrying out road works in Scotland that poor performance will be identified and penalised accordingly.”

“I am pleased to note that BT has now responded to the failures, confirming to me that it is fully committed to compliance in the future, and that it has introduced extensive new procedures to ensure this.”