National Underground Asset Register
There is estimated to be around 4 million kilometres of buried pipes and cables in the UK, and a hole is dug every 7 seconds to install, fix, maintain or repair these assets that are critical in keeping the water running, gas and electricity flowing and telecommunications lines connected. Approximately 1 in every 65 holes dug results in an accidental asset strike (c. 60,000 a year), causing around £2.4 billion worth of economic cost, putting workers’ lives at risk and causing disruption.
	There are 600+ owners of underground assets (or "apparatus") across the public and private sectors (including energy, water, telecommunications and local and transport authorities) who hold data about their own apparatus, which they are required by law to share for the purposes of ‘safe digging’. However, currently there is no standardised method to do this with multiple organisations having to be contacted for each dig, providing information in varied formats, scales, quality and on different timelines resulting in a complex process for installing, maintaining, operating and repairing buried apparatus.
	This Act streamlines the data-sharing process, reduces the risk of potentially lethal utility strikes on apparatus and promotes more efficient management and maintenance of underground apparatus, through establishment, on a statutory footing, of the National Underground Asset Register ("NUAR"). NUAR is a digital map that seeks to improve both the efficiency and safety of underground work by providing secure access to location data about pipes, cables and other types of apparatus installed in streets.
	The measures update existing data sharing obligations related to buried apparatus to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the data and technology developments that have happened since the previous legislative measures were made. They simplify and expedite the process by which apparatus data is shared by requiring undertakers to share their data in a prescribed manner through NUAR. This will ensure those planning and carrying out street works have access to up-to-date, comprehensive and standardised data when they need it, to carry out their work effectively and safely. This legislation also ensures a sustainable ongoing service through introduction of fees on those who benefit from the service, rather than relying on taxpayer funding. The provisions allow for data to be made available for purposes beyond safe digging, where appropriate.