Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of technology in addressing the rise of vehicle-related incidents due to potholes.

The Government encourages local highway authorities to find innovative solutions to help mitigate the formation of potholes and other road defects, but decisions on which technologies to use are a matter for them. This can include adopting the use of better materials or equipment to treat the road surface more effectively. The Government is also supporting a £30 million “Live Labs” programme which is exploring innovative ways to decarbonise local highways infrastructure and assets.

The Government is also enabling innovation in the ways in which local highway authorities collect and report data on the condition of their local roads. It has worked with the British Standards Institute to publish a new standard which will empower local highway authorities to choose which technology to use to identify road defects, helping them to better manage the condition of roads, and ultimately improve road user experience.