I am writing to request information relating to your authority’s expenditure on reinstatement works that were required as a result of previous highway excavations carried out by utility companies or their contractors. Specifically, I am requesting the following information:

1. Total Spend on Reinstatement Repairs
For each of the last five financial years (2020/21 – 2024/25 or most recent available):
• The total gross expenditure incurred by the council on repairs to the public highway that were required due to failure, deterioration, or defect in reinstatements originally carried out by:
o Statutory undertakers (e.g., water, gas, electricity, telecoms)
o Their contractors or sub-contractors
Please include costs such as:
• Patching or resurfacing works
• Emergency repairs linked to failed reinstatements
• Additional inspections or investigations specifically triggered by reinstatement failure

This data shows the estimated expenditure on repairs to highway reinstatements in Wokingham Borough. There is no database field in our system used to specifically flag up reinstatement repairs. Reports have been filtered using the Comments field for the search terms “reinstatement”, “trench” and “failed”. These have then been reviewed to check the Defect was relevant.
• 2020-2021: £1,679.92
• 2021-2022: £4,439.53
• 2022-2023: £5,096.03
• 2023-2024: £5,872.77
• 2024-2025: £3,216.18

2. Amount Recovered From Utility Companies
For the same five financial years:
• The total amount invoiced to utility companies or contractors for defective reinstatement repairs
• The total amount actually recovered
• Any outstanding amounts (if held in recorded form)

Invoices are not recorded in a way that allows filtering by inspection type. However, the total amounts invoiced for all failed inspections in the financial years below have been reconciled, with all payments received:
• 2020/21: £2,604
• 2021/22: £4,601.90
• 2022/23: £7,133.50
• 2023/24: £13,882.50
• 2024/25: £20,325

3. Volume of Defective Reinstatements
For each of the same years:
• The number of reinstatements recorded as defective or non-compliant under:
o The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA)
o SROH requirements
o HAUC guidance or your local inspection criteria
If possible, please break this down by utility type (water, gas, electricity, telecoms, etc.).

The total number of reinstatement defects issued per financial year is as follows:
• 2020/21: 48*
• 2021/22: 103
• 2022/23: 114
• 2023/24: 170
• 2024/25: 162

*Note: Data for 2020/21 is partial, as Street Manager was introduced on 1 July 2020. Figures provided are based on records available from that date onwards.

4. FPNs and Defect Charges Issued
For each of the five years:
• The number of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) issued relating to reinstatement issues
• The total value of FPNs issued
• The total value successfully recovered

The number of FPNs issued, including those later withdrawn, is shown below. Due to varied payment methods, it has not been possible to collate payment data within the permitted timeframe:
• 2020/21: 461 (77 withdrawn)*
• 2021/22: 998 (79 withdrawn)
• 2022/23: 576 (117 withdrawn)
• 2023/24: 740 (111 withdrawn)
• 2024/25: 552 (64 withdrawn)

*Note: Data for 2020/21 is partial, as Street Manager was introduced on 1 July 2020. Figures provided are based on records available from that date onwards.