Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the capacity of the UK transport network to facilitate the delivery of Special Order category abnormal indivisible loads required to achieve the Government’s Net Zero targets.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National Highways manage the High and Heavy Loads Grid on behalf of the Department to facilitate the movement of abnormal indivisible loads. Management of assets (such as bridges) is a devolved matter with responsibility falling to the relevant owner, such as National Highways for those on the Strategic Road Network, or a local transport authority for local roads. All special-order proposals require case-by-case consultation with National Highways’ central team and a special-order permit to be issued. That team co-ordinate the route clearance with every road and structure owner and police authority along a suggested route to gain approval, taking into account the dimensions of a proposed vehicle configuration. Only when all affected parties give their approval that the proposed route is safe to traverse can a special-order permit be issued.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding has been allocated to (a) Stafford Constituency for (i) road maintenance and (ii) pothole filling since July 2024.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
For the 2024/25 financial year, the previous Government allocated Staffordshire County Council £28.935 million for local highway maintenance. For the 2025/26 financial year, this Government is providing Staffordshire County Council with £39.4 million, an increase of around £10.5 million, for local highway maintenance.
The Department advocates a risk-based whole life cycle asset management approach to local authority highway maintenance programmes. This considers all parts of the highway network, such as bridges, cycleways and lighting columns – not just the fixing of potholes. Funding is not ring-fenced, and it is entirely a matter for Staffordshire County Council to determine how the money is best spent to improve its local highway network according to local needs and circumstances.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the condition of roads in (a) Stafford and (b) the surrounding area.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is committed to maintaining and renewing the local highway network. Staffordshire County Council is the local highway authority for the Stafford constituency, and they are therefore responsible for the condition of their local network.
This Government has a commitment to enable local highway authorities in England to fix up to a million more potholes a year. At Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced an extra £500 million for local highway maintenance for the 2025/26 financial year, an increase of nearly 50% compared to the current financial year. The Government will confirm funding allocations to English local highway authorities, including Staffordshire County Council, in due course.
The Government publishes data annually on the condition of the local road network in England, including Staffordshire, and these are available on gov.uk.