Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of (a) pothole repairs and (b) other maintenance of roads in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

We have recently published details of the very significant £8.3 billion extra road funding which will make an unprecedented transformation in the condition of our highways across the country. Bedford and Central Bedfordshire will receive an additional £0.47 million and £0.702 million respectively in both this financial year and the next as part of this. This is on top of the Department providing Bedford and Central Bedfordshire Councils with £4.39 million and £6.55 million respectively to maintain their local highway networks in 2023/24; this includes their share of the extra £200 million announced at Budget 2023.

It is up to each local highway authority to ensure that it is maintaining its roads appropriately and in accordance with its statutory under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980.The Department strongly advocates a risk-based whole lifecycle asset management approach to local authority highways maintenance programmes and encourages good practice in highway maintenance through channels such as the Well Managed Highway Infrastructure Code of Practice, produced by the UK Roads Leadership Group (UKRLG).