Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department issues on best practice in tackling potholes.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To prevent potholes and other defects from forming in the first place, well-planned maintenance is vital, which is why the Department advocates a risk-based, whole life-cycle asset management approach to all aspects of the local highway network. There are various key bits of guidance that the Department recommends to local highway authorities, including a 2016 Code of Practice on Well Managed Highway Infrastructure, produced by the UK Roads Leadership Group and available via the website of the Chartered Institute for Highways and Transportation.
Other guidance includes the 2019 “Potholes: a repair guide” on which the Department worked with the Association of Directors, for Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT), and which is on the ADEPT website. This recommends that local highway authorities should wherever possible make permanent rather than temporary repairs, with temporary repairs only appropriate in emergency circumstances or where safety cannot be managed using alternative approaches.
To help local highway authorities to understand the impacts of the changing climate on local highway networks, the Department has published on gov.uk an independent report on the lessons learned from extreme weather-related emergencies over the period 2015 to 2020.
Mentions:
1: Simon Jupp (Con - East Devon) Devon County Council will invest an extra £10 million this financial year into our roads, taking the highway - Speech Link
2: Ian Liddell-Grainger (Con - Bridgwater and West Somerset) looked at the Somerset website—which has been there for years, by the look of it—which starts off with a highway - Speech Link
3: Guy Opperman (Con - Hexham) The reality is that the transport budget for highways maintenance has been dramatically addressed. - Speech Link
4: Guy Opperman (Con - Hexham) This transformation clearly relates and dates back to the core funding and the highways maintenance funding.I - Speech Link
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding has been provided to BCP council to fix potholes.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In 2023/24 the Government provided Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council with £6.24 million of capital funding for local highway maintenance. This was an increase of around 30% compared to the previous year, made possible in part by reallocating £604,000 of funding that would otherwise have been spent on the HS2 programme. In total, Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council will receive an uplift of over £18 million over the next decade as a result of the decision to reallocate HS2 funding.
It is up to Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council to determine how best to use this funding based on local needs, priorities and circumstances. Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council has published on its website details of how it intends to spend the additional funding the Government has provided (https://www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/projects-plans-and-consultations/highway-maintenance)
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the public purse was for (a) national and (b) local highway maintenance in each financial year since 2010-11; and how much funding has been allocated for (i) national and (ii) local highway maintenance for the (A) 2023-24 and (B) 2024-25 financial years.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National Highways and its predecessor bodies have spent approximately £8.417 billion, funded by the Department for Transport, on maintenance and renewals on the strategic road network in England during the period 2010-11 to 2022-23. It is also providing funding of £2.234 billion over 2023-24 and 2024-25, although these funding pots include an element of Capex operational activity in addition to maintenance and renewals.
The Department has allocated a total of approximately £17.1 billion of capital funding for highway maintenance to local highway authorities in England over the period 2010-11 to 2024-25. For the (A) 2023-24 and (B) 2024-25 financial years the allocations are £1.475 billion and £1.275 billion respectively. These include the amounts provided to Mayoral Combined Authorities within their City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS).
Funding allocations for all eligible local authorities between 2020-21 – 2024-25 can be found on gov.uk.
Year | (a) National Maintenance – actual spend | (b) Local Highway Maintenance – allocated funding |
2005-06 | Not available | £660m |
2006-07 | £30m | £672m |
2007-08 | £108m | £683m |
2008-09 | £284m | £703m |
2009-10 | £793m | £755m |
2010-11 | £374.3m | £1,077m |
2011-12 | £373.4m | £806m |
2012-13 | £421.5m | £779m |
2013-14 | £517.1m | £1,063m |
2014-15 | £705.5m | £950m |
2015-16 | £663.3m | £1,154m |
2016-17 | £626.2m | £1,026m |
2017-18 | £776.1m | £1,222m |
2018-19 | £674.2m | £1,346m |
2019-20 | £733.8m | £1,051m |
2020-21 | £759.5m | £1,626m |
2021-22 | £881.1m | £1,125m |
2022-23 | £911.2m | £1,125m |
Budget Allocation
Year | (i) National Maintenance | (ii) Local Highway Maintenance |
2023-24 | £1,118m* | £1,475m |
2024-25 | £1,116m* | £1,275m |
* To note that the National Highways budgets for 2023-24 & 2024-25 include an element of Capex Operational activity and other business costs in addition to Maintenance & Renewals.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 4.12 of the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, what the core level of funding for local roads was before the additional £8.3 billion was announced.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In the 2023/24 financial year, the base level of funding before the additional £8.3 billion multi-year funding uplift was announced was £1.15 billion. This included the one-off £200 million uplift announced in Budget 2023. Prior to this the 2021 Spending Review had confirmed that the core level of funding for local highway maintenance would be a total of £915 million per year, to be shared between all eligible local highway authorities in England over the period 2022/23 to 2024/25. Authorities in London and in receipt of City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) are treated separately.
Funding allocations for highways maintenance can be found on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of risk of damage to public highways from subsidence caused by global warming; what is the current budget for repairs following subsidence; and what grants are available to private landowners for such repairs.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Chapter 4 of the Third UK Climate Change Risk Assessment Technical Report assesses the climate-related risks and opportunities to infrastructure in the UK. Part 4.8 of that document considers the risks to subterranean and surface infrastructure from subsidence.
National Highways is responsible for the operation, maintenance, renewal and enhancement of the Strategic Road Network, funded by the Government in 5-year roads periods with objectives set out in Road Investment Strategies. The second Road Investment Strategy (2020-2025) includes action to enhance all-weather resilience of the strategic road network, to minimise the risk of incidents and their impact for road users. National Highways also reports under the adaptation reporting power of the Climate Change Act 2008 on what it is doing to check climate resilience against the latest Met Office Climate Projections and undertake actions to improve resilience across its network. The next round of adaptation reporting closes at the end of 2024.
In respect of local roads, the Department is providing over £5.5 billion of highways maintenance funding between 2020/21 – 2024/25 for eligible highway authorities outside London and those receiving City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS). This funding is not ring-fenced, and authorities may choose to use it to maintain their network, including repairs to the highway following subsidence and actions to make networks more resilient to changing weather patterns. The Government has also announced that it will provide an additional £8.3 billion of reallocated HS2 funds over this year and the next decade to help authorities to transform their highway networks.
The Department for Transport does not provide grants to private landowners for repairing subsidence damage.
Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of potholes on drivers in Bexley.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has recently announced a £8.3 billion funding uplift for roads resurfacing across England between 2023/24 – 2033/34. As part of this it has provided the London Borough of Bexley Council with an additional £275,000 in 2023/24 and will provide a further £275,000 in 2024/25.
This money has been provided directly to the respective London Borough rather than via the Mayor of London. At a national level, the Department publishes statistics on gov.uk on the condition and maintenance of the highways in England.
Ultimately, however, under the 1980 Highway Act it is the responsibility of the local highway authority, in this case the London Borough of Bexley Council, to maintain and manage the highway network they are responsible for. In London, transport is a devolved matter, and the overall state of London’s roads is a matter for the Mayor.
Mentions:
1: Lord Livermore (Lab - Life peer) aware of figures compiled by the LGA that show that Labour councils invest 83% more per head on road maintenance - Speech Link
2: Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con - Life peer) What I can say is that this Government have invested significantly in local highway networks. - Speech Link
Written Evidence Mar. 06 2024
Inquiry: Future of transport dataFound: There are multiple benefits from digitising the road network, especially in asset management and maintenance