Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2025 to Question 26375, if she will ask National Highways to make an estimate of the amount spent on maintaining balancing ponds in Bedfordshire in each of the last five financial years.

National Highways’ financial systems do not categorise spending to this granularity, however, National Highways estimate approximately £380,000 has been spent on balancing ponds in Bedfordshire since October 2019. Spend on balancing ponds includes general maintenance such as de-reeding, de-silting and jetting, alongside ancillary work including clearance of vegetation, removing fly-tipped waste and renewing fences around the ponds.