Recommendation 14

Immediate urgent and immediate emergency permits are an essential tool, but they should be used in situations when there is a genuine need or plan to urgently fix a problem. The Department for Transport should consult on how the use and definition of urgent works could be amended to prevent the use of these permits for works which are known about by utility companies well in advance or do not require instant attention, such as a low level waterpipe leak. Options could include introducing a new category of immediate permit which accommodates work to maintain the supply of a service but is not going to be fixed immediately, or reforming immediate permits so that the level of advance warning required is linked to the severity of disruption. The Department should consider whether fines could also be used against companies which are found to have misused immediate permits. (Recommendation, Paragraph 64)