Commissions "disappointed" at decision against new level crossings law

The Scottish and English Law Commissions have expressed their disappointment at the UK Government’s decision not to legislate following their 2013 joint Report on Level Crossings.

In a joint statement the two law reform bodies recognised that proposed administrative changes following the report are "very much in the spirit of our recommendations", and a minister's acknowledgment that the report was "an important piece of work that has made a significant and valuable contribution to thinking about level crossings regulation, increasing understanding and encouraging better practice".

However they added: "We are nevertheless disappointed that legislative reform is not being pursued, and remain on hand to assist in the event that legislation is thought desirable."

The recommendations in their report, which was accompanied by a draft bill, fell into three broad categories: safety of level crossings, closure of level crossings and rights of way.

The Commissions concluded that safety at level crossings should be governed in future by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, which applies to other aspects of railway safety, in place of the Level Crossings Act 1983 and a mixture of private Acts dating back to the building of the railways.

They also recommended a more streamlined procedure for closing level crossings; and that the law on rights of way across railways should be clarified. For Scotland, it was recommended ministers should have an order-making power to facilitate the exercise of access rights under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.