Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the rate of road repairs.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The government is providing £6.5bn during the second road investment strategy (2020-2025) to National Highways for the operation and maintenance of the Strategic Road Network (SRN). National Highways are required to report against a Key Performance Indicator which measures the overall road surface condition of the SRN, through its monitoring of this performance indicator National Highways can focus its efforts on areas most in need and priority repairs.
To undertake road repairs National Highways have to part or fully close the road. National Highways have to weigh up the impact of closing the road on users against the benefit of carrying out the repairs as quickly as possible. Safety of the workforce and road users and the needs of neighbouring communities are some of the key factors considered when determining traffic management measures.
For local roads, between 2020/21 – 2024/25 the Government is providing over £5.5 billion to eligible local highways authorities in England, outside of London and the Mayoral Combined Authorities to help carry out maintenance of the highway. This funding is not ringfenced, enabling local authorities to spend flexibly according to local needs and priorities. Maintenance of the local highway network is the responsibility of the local authority.
Highway authorities are also able to introduce and operate lane rental schemes. As part of these, utility companies may need to pay charges of up to £2,500 per day for works on the busiest roads at the busiest times, unless they move the works to less busy roads or carry them out at less busy times.
Estimate memoranda Mar. 06 2024
Committee: Transport Committee (Department: Department for Transport)Found: a net cash requirement, designed to cover the elements of the above budgets which require DfT to pay
Jul. 26 2010
Source Page: The Resilience of England’s Transport Systems in Winter. An Independent Review. Interim Report. 124 p.Found: Highways Agency 2.9 The Highway Agency is responsible for around 4,500 miles of highway in England (Figure
Mentions:
1: Rupa Huq (Lab - Ealing Central and Acton) we were promised does not end up being the terminus, and so that my long-suffering residents do not pay - Speech Link
2: Priti Patel (Con - Witham) They are trying to engage with the Department and National Highways, but a one-person legal challenge - Speech Link
3: Mark Harper (Con - Forest of Dean) Friend that National Highways works closely with local communities when delivering major projects, and - Speech Link
4: Sheryll Murray (Con - South East Cornwall) Taking over such key pieces of infrastructure and funding them through tax measures which they already pay - Speech Link
Mar. 20 2009
Source Page: Highways Agency business plan 2009-10. [Incl. annexes]. 52 p.Found: Highways Agency business plan 2009-10. [Incl. annexes]. 52 p.
Mar. 14 2024
Source Page: Local government stewardship: Reports and letters regarding developments in statutory interventions in Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, Liverpool City Council and Thurrock Council and the Tees Valley Mayor’s initial response to independent review. 12p.Found: Executive of the College of Policing from 2018 – 2020, the standards setting body for policing in England
Mentions:
1: Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD - Life peer) A general rule of life is that you get what you pay for. - Speech Link
2: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con - Life peer) I pay tribute to the work of Yorkshire Water and United Utilities in that area. - Speech Link
3: Lord Douglas-Miller (Con - Life peer) So far, National Highways has delivered over 30 water quality initiatives. - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Mark Harper (Con - Forest of Dean) Network North plan, the Government are providing a record funding increase of £8.3 billion for local highways - Speech Link
2: Marco Longhi (Con - Dudley North) Government funding, but very impressed by the responsiveness and the quality of work by Dudley Council’s highways - Speech Link
3: Eddie Hughes (Con - Walsall North) As a civil engineer, I am always excited to hear about more money being spent on the highways, but is - Speech Link
4: Mark Harper (Con - Forest of Dean) From next Tuesday, National Highways is lifting over 1,000 miles of roadworks, which means that over - Speech Link
Written Evidence Mar. 19 2024
Committee: Transport Committee (Department: Department for Transport)Found: A frequent complaint was having to pay higher prices for smaller deliveries of concrete, with the
Nov. 12 2008
Source Page: Table showing empty property, what the (a) address, (b) occupying organisation and (c) floor area of each part of the Government civil estate that is currently occupied. 186 p.Found: HIGHWAYS AGENCYGARSTANG DEPOTSTUBBINS LANEPRESTON1239.0Department for TransportDFT - HIGHWAYS AGENCYGLENBURN