Call for evidence outcome

Proposed statutory instrument: consultation details

Updated 16 October 2023

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

Operation Brock background

The Short Straits routes – via the Port of Dover and the Eurotunnel – are used for exporting goods from the UK to mainland Europe and beyond and carry very high volumes of cross-Channel bound heavy commercial vehicles (HCVs).

Any disruption to these routes can swiftly lead to delays at the terminals. If delays on the cross-Channel routes are severe, this can lead to significant queues of HCVs on the M20 motorway and the trunk roads leading to the Port of Dover and the Eurotunnel. These delays significantly impact other Kent-bound traffic.

To help reduce disruption in Kent on the strategic and local road network, Operation Brock provides on-road holding capacity through a contraflow system. It is a temporary solution developed by NHL to help alleviate queues.

It does this while maintaining 2-way traffic on the M20 motorway, in the event of cross-channel disruption.

It was first deployed in December 2020 and has been activated 5 times:

• once in December 2020 to May 2021
• 3 times in 2022, between March to June, July to September and December to early January 2023
• once in May 2023 to June 2023 (as of June 2023)

For further information on Operation Brock, see the Activating operation brock section.

National Highways Limited

National Highways Limited (NHL) is the highways authority responsible for operating, maintaining and improving England’s motorways and major trunk roads.

It is responsible for achieving the government’s long-term plan for the strategic road network.

Activating Operation Brock

Activation of Operation Brock is a decision made by the Kent Resilience Forum which comprises of:

• Kent Police and emergency services
• Kent County Council
• port representatives
• NHL

When Operation Brock is activated, certain traffic management restrictions are currently implemented on the M20 motorway using a temporary traffic regulation order.

These restrictions are as follows when Operation Brock is activated:

• cross-Channel bound HCVs travel on the coastbound M20 motorway and are held at traffic lights near junction 9 of the M20 and released where there is space at the terminals
• all other vehicles travel on the M20 using the contraflow in place on the London-bound carriageway
• speed limits are restricted: the speed limit through the contraflow on the London-bound carriageway is 50-mph in both directions; and the speed limit on the M20 coastbound carriageway for cross-Channel bound HCVs is 30-mph
• vehicles wider than 2 metres cannot use certain lanes
• Operation Brock traffic management restrictions are indicated by traffic signs, including traffic lights

Operation Brock has proved to be an effective means of minimising disruption. It also enables local residents and businesses to continue using the M20 and the surrounding road network.

It is recognised that Operation Brock can still cause some disruption for Kent locals. NHL and the Kent Resilience Forum works to continually improve the decision-making process for when it is deployed and the wider processes that support it.

In addition, the Department for Transport (DfT) is working with local stakeholders to explore if there are longer term options to replace, or reduce the use, of Operation Brock.

Proposed statutory instrument

Currently, the deployment of Operation Brock is implemented using a temporary traffic regulation order – due to expire on 31 December 2023.

A statutory instrument is required to enable NHL to continue to deploy Operation Brock on the M20 motorway after this time. The new statutory instrument will not change the way in which Operation Brock currently operates on the M20 motorway.

It will only change the legal framework that gives NHL the power to activate Operation Brock when it is required, and it will only remain in place for as long as Operation Brock is needed.

The new instrument will restrict traffic as the temporary traffic regulation order currently does.

Similar restrictions will apply for the use of the A2 and A2070 trunk roads when Operation Brock is in use. Restrictions on these roads will continue to be implemented by NHL using traffic regulation orders.

This instrument is a permanent secondary legislation that will be made by the Secretary of State for Transport. It will be subject to review by DfT after 5 years.

This statutory instrument is critical for traffic management on the M20 motorway so it can continue beyond 2023 and DfT are calling for views on it.

More information on how you can share your views is below.

About the consultation

We are asking for feedback on a proposal for the Secretary of State for Transport to make a permanent statutory instrument to continue to regulate traffic on the M20 when there is disruption at the Short Straits.

It will not change how Operation Brock operates, but only change the legal framework that gives NHL the power to regulate traffic when it is deployed.

See below for the consultation questions.

Consultation questions

1 Provide your name and email address.

2 Are you providing an individual response or a response on behalf of an organisation?

• Yes, I’m providing a response on behalf of my organisation
• Yes, I’m providing a response on behalf of another organisation
• No, I’m providing my own response (individual)

3 What is the name of the organisation?

4 Which best describes the organisation or company?

• small to medium enterprise (SME), up to 50 employees
• large company, above 50 employees
• representative organisation
• trade union
• interest group
• local government
• central government
• police
• another type of organisation

5 How many members or employees does the organisation or company have?

• 1 to 50
• 51 to 100
• 101 to 150
• above 50

6 Do you live in Kent or near the M20 highway?

• yes
• no
• not sure

7 Do you have any comments on the use of a statutory instrument to provide a legal basis for the deployment of Operation Brock?

• yes
• no
• don’t know

8 What are your comments on the use of a statutory instrument to provide a legal basis for the deployment of Operation Brock?

9 What other comments would you like to make about the proposed statutory instrument?

How to respond

The consultation period began on 29 June 2023 and will run until 27 July 2023. Ensure that your response reaches us before the closing date.

To reply to the questions, see the Ways to respond section.

When responding, state whether you are responding as an individual or representing the views of an organisation.

If responding on behalf of a larger organisation, make it clear who the organisation represents and, where applicable, how the views of members were assembled.

If you need alternative formats of this document, such as Braille. large print or audio CD, contact OperationBrockSIs@dft.gov.uk.

What happens next

We will aim to publish a summary of responses, including the next steps, within 3 months of the consultation closing on 27 July 2023.

If you have questions about this consultation, write to:

Department for Transport

Great Minster House

33 Horseferry Road

London

SW1P 4DR

Alternatively, email OperationBrockSIs@dft.gov.uk.

Further information

Freedom of information

Information provided in response to this consultation, including personal information, may be subject to publication or disclosure in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

If you want the information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please be aware that, under the FOIA, there is a statutory code of practice with which public authorities must comply and which deals, amongst other things, with obligations of confidence.

In view of this, it would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information, we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances.

An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the department.

The department will process your personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Act (DPA) and in the majority of circumstances this will mean that your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties.

Data protection

In this call for evidence, we ask for your name and email address, in case we need to contact you about your responses. You do not have to give us this personal information. but if you do provide it, we will use it only for the purpose of asking follow-up questions.

For organisations, we are in addition asking for a brief description of your organisation to better understand the relationship between your organisation’s work and the topic.

This call for evidence and the processing of personal data that it entails is necessary for the exercise of our functions as a government department. If your answers contain any information that allows you to be identified, the department will, under data protection law, be the controller for this information.

If responding to this call for evidence online, your personal data will be processed on behalf of the department by SmartSurvey, which runs the survey collection software.

Your name and email address will not be shared with any other third parties, but your responses and evidence may be shared with a third party for the purposes of analysis.

We will not use your name or other personal details that could identify you when we report the results of the call for evidence. Any information you provide will be kept securely and destroyed within 12 months of the closing date.

Any information provided through the online questionnaire will be moved to our internal systems within 2 months of the call for evidence period end date.

Consultation principles

This consultation is being conducted in line with the government’s consultation principles.

If you have any comments about the consultation process, contact:

Consultation Co-ordinator

Department for Transport

Zone 1/29 Great Minster House

London

SW1P 4DR

Email: consultation@dft.gsi.gov.uk