Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what low carbon (a) materials and (b) methods are used by Highways England in road (i) maintenance and (ii) construction.

National Highways use a wide range of low carbon materials and methods such as using bio-binders and recycled materials in asphalt, stipulating lower carbon concrete mixes in construction contracts, and investing in research and development into low-carbon materials. National Highways also follow lean construction practices and the principles of the circular economy to embed approaches that minimise emissions, including updating their standards - the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) - to include use of recycled materials. Additional information on National Highways, ambitious programme for putting roads at the heart of Britain’s net zero future can be found online (see: https://nationalhighways.co.uk/netzerohighways/) and within their ‘Net zero highways Our 2030 / 2040 / 2050 plan’.