Part 3: National Underground Asset Register Section 56: National Underground Asset Register: England and Wales Section 106E: Fees payable by undertakers in relation to NUAR
Once the NUAR service as provided for by these new legislative provisions is operational, the policy intent is for its running costs to be funded through fees paid by those who benefit from the service, rather than being funded by the taxpayer.
	Through regulations made under new section 106E(1), the Secretary of State may create a fees scheme for these purposes. This scheme may require undertakers with apparatus in a street to pay fees to fund the operation of the NUAR service. Such an approach reflects the benefit that such undertakers will receive through the removal of the requirement, currently set out at section 79(3) of NRSWA 1991, to make their records of information relating to their apparatus available to others.
	The Secretary of State has a number of options available when setting the amount of fees to be payable under the scheme, as set out in subsection (2). The specific amount (or amounts) of fees may be set out in the regulations themselves. Or the Secretary of State can set out in regulations the maximum amounts of the fees, or a method through which specific or maximum amounts of fees can be determined. The Secretary of State is able to make different provision for different purposes (see section 106J(2)); in practice, this will enable, if considered appropriate, a "tiered" approach through which undertakers are allocated a tier and charged a particular fee based on this.
	If the regulations adopt an approach other than specifying the actual amounts of fees, then the Secretary of State must set out the actual amounts in a statement which is to be published and laid before Parliament, as required by subsection (4). As a result, whatever approach is taken, the actual amounts of fees that apply in any particular case will be readily available to those required to pay them.
	In general terms, subsection (3) imposes a requirement on the Secretary of State, when making regulations under subsection (1), to seek to ensure that – so far as possible and taking one year with another - the fees being imposed match the costs of running NUAR. This reflects the intended approach through which such fees will be targeted to cover such costs but not generate additional revenue beyond this. Subsection (10) clarifies that this balancing exercise includes fees imposed through regulations made under section 106E(1) of NRSWA 1991 and Article 45E(1) of SWNIO 1995 ("combined NUAR income"), and the expenses incurred in running the service across England, Wales and Northern Ireland ("combined NUAR expenses"). This reflects the intention for NUAR to operate as a single service across the three nations.
	Before making regulations relating to a fee scheme, the Secretary of State must first comply with the consultation requirements set out at subsection (6). These require consultation with representatives of persons likely to be affected by the fee scheme, and such other persons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.