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 the announcement on additional funding for pothole repairs in the Spring Budget 2023, what his Department's policy is on whether pothole funding can also be used by local authorities to maintain (a) footways and (b) cycleways.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Pothole funding can be used for all highways repairs, including to footways and cycleways.
Written Evidence Feb. 01 2024
Inquiry: Children, young people and the built environmentFound: There are now over 500 school streets, around 100 low traffic neighbourhoods, and 352km of Cycleways
Feb. 27 2024
Source Page: Recovered appeal: land south of A46 Shurdington Road, Leckhampton, Cheltenham (ref: 3309156 - 27 February 2024)Found: s Report for a recovered appeal for a residential development comprising 350 dwellings, open space, cycleways
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an estimate of the number of pothole-related damages to vehicles in Warwickshire in each year since 2010.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Under the 1980 Highways Act, local highway authorities, such as Warwickshire County Council, are responsible for maintaining and managing the local highway network within their area.
For the 2024/25 financial year, the Government is providing Warwickshire County Council with over £18.2 million for highway maintenance. This includes £2.056 million of reallocated HS2 funding and is a 12.7% increase over the funding the Council was expecting in 2024/25 before the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement.
It is up to the respective highway authority how best to spend this funding to fulfil their statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980. Funding is not ring fenced and Warwickshire can spend the money on all aspects of highway maintenance such as bridges, cycleways, and lighting columns – and not just the fixing of potholes.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of potholes on drivers in Warwickshire.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State is keen to support motorists in Warwickshire, and elsewhere, by mitigating the impact of potholes. Under the 1980 Highways Act, local highway authorities, such as Warwickshire County Council, are responsible for maintaining and managing the local highway network within their area.
For the 2024/25 financial year, the Government is providing Warwickshire County Council with over £18.2 million for highway maintenance. This includes £2.056 million of reallocated HS2 funding and is a 12.7% increase over the funding the Council was expecting in 2024/25 before the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement.
It is up to the respective highway authority how best to spend this funding to fulfil their statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980. Funding is not ring fenced and Warwickshire can spend the money on all aspects of highway maintenance such as bridges, cycleways, and lighting columns – and not just the fixing of potholes.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the road network is safe for (a) cyclists and (b) cars in the context of trends in the number of potholes.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Under the 1980 Highway Act, it is the responsibility of the local highway authority to maintain and manage the highway network that it is responsible for.
The Government allocates funding to local highways authorities so that they can most effectively spend it on maintaining and improving their respective network for all road users, based upon their local knowledge, circumstances and priorities. The Government has recently announced an £8.3 billion funding uplift for the resurfacing of local roads over the period 2023/24 to 2033/34, which will allow local authorities to make their roads smoother and safer for cyclists and drivers alike.
To assist local authorities in treating potholes and other road defects, in March 2019 the Department worked with the Association of Directors, for Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport to publish Potholes: a repair guide. The Government has also worked with the UK Roads Leadership Group’s Footway & Cycletrack Management Group to produce guidance on maintaining assets for cycleways and footways. This can be found on the CIHT website.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
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, whether recent funding allocated to pothole repairs will be used to help motorists report potholes.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has announced, as part of the Prime Minister’s Network North plan, that an additional £8.3 billion will be provided to local highway authorities across England over the period 2023/24 to 2033/34 to enable them to maintain and resurface local roads. £150 million of this additional funding has been made available to local authorities in 2023/24 and a further £150 million will be made available in 2024/25. This uplift, in additional to the £200 million funding increase announced in the 2023 Spring Budget, means that local highway authorities across England, including North Northamptonshire, are receiving around 30% more highway maintenance capital grant funding in the 2023/24 financial year than in the previous financial year.
The funding is for the resurfacing of carriageways, cycleways and footways to prevent potholes and other road defects from occurring, as well as to help keep local bridges and other highway structures open and safe. It is up to the respective highway authority how best to spend it to fulfil their statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980.
Motorists can already report potholes and other road defects through their respective local highway authority websites. The additional funding will enable local authorities to do more to tackle potholes and other problems reported by motorists. The Department has asked all local highway authorities to publish details of how the additional funding is being spent, and these reports should already be on authorities’ websites. This will help raise awareness of highway maintenance issues and may encourage more road users to report potholes.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of trends in the levels of pothole repair funding.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has announced, as part of the Prime Minister’s Network North plan, that an additional £8.3 billion will be provided to local highway authorities across England over the period 2023/24 to 2033/34 to enable them to maintain and resurface local roads. £150 million of this additional funding has been made available to local authorities in 2023/24 and a further £150 million will be made available in 2024/25. This uplift, in additional to the £200 million funding increase announced in the 2023 Spring Budget, means that local highway authorities across England, including North Northamptonshire, are receiving around 30% more highway maintenance capital grant funding in the 2023/24 financial year than in the previous financial year.
The funding is for the resurfacing of carriageways, cycleways and footways to prevent potholes and other road defects from occurring, as well as to help keep local bridges and other highway structures open and safe. It is up to the respective highway authority how best to spend it to fulfil their statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980.
Motorists can already report potholes and other road defects through their respective local highway authority websites. The additional funding will enable local authorities to do more to tackle potholes and other problems reported by motorists. The Department has asked all local highway authorities to publish details of how the additional funding is being spent, and these reports should already be on authorities’ websites. This will help raise awareness of highway maintenance issues and may encourage more road users to report potholes.
Mar. 22 2024
Source Page: Recovered appeals: land south of Chiswell Green Lane and land north of Chiswell Green Lane, St. Albans (refs: 3313110 and 3312277 - 22 March 2024)Found: a new school, open space provision and associated landscaping, internal roads, parking, footpaths, cycleways
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department issues to highway authorities on best practice in local roads maintenance to achieve (a) value for money and (b) improved outcomes.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department strongly advocates a risk-based, whole lifecycle asset management approach to local authority highways maintenance programmes. This considers all parts of the highway network, such as bridges, cycleways, and lighting columns, and not just the fixing of potholes.
The Department also encourages good practice in local highway maintenance for all local highway authorities and endorses the UK Roads Leadership Group’s Code of Practice 'Well-managed highway infrastructure' - https://www.ciht.org.uk/ukrlg-home/code-of-practice/. The Code gives advice on all aspects of highway maintenance.