Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will issue guidance to local authorities on the use of longer-lasting road surfacing materials.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department allocates pothole and highway maintenance capital funding to local highway authorities in England, outside of London, based on the length of roads, number of street lighting columns, and the number of bridges for which they are responsible. It is up to the respective highway authority how best to spend this funding to fulfil its statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, based on local knowledge, circumstances and priorities.
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 encourages good practice in local highway maintenance 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 and Recommendation 32 gives advice on carbon reduction.
Decarbonisation is a key Government priority. Through the ADEPT Live Labs research programme, the Department is investing £30 million into seven projects aimed at reducing carbon by using sustainable materials and processes, such as warm-mix asphalts and asphalt modifiers.
Local highway authorities across England are set to benefit from a major boost in funding for highway maintenance, representing the biggest ever road resurfacing programme to improve local roads. My Department has published details of the £8.3 billion extra road funding which will make an unprecedented transformation in the condition of our highways.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will issue guidance to highways authorities on the best practice to decarbonise roads maintenance.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department allocates pothole and highway maintenance capital funding to local highway authorities in England, outside of London, based on the length of roads, number of street lighting columns, and the number of bridges for which they are responsible. It is up to the respective highway authority how best to spend this funding to fulfil its statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, based on local knowledge, circumstances and priorities.
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 encourages good practice in local highway maintenance 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 and Recommendation 32 gives advice on carbon reduction.
Decarbonisation is a key Government priority. Through the ADEPT Live Labs research programme, the Department is investing £30 million into seven projects aimed at reducing carbon by using sustainable materials and processes, such as warm-mix asphalts and asphalt modifiers.
Local highway authorities across England are set to benefit from a major boost in funding for highway maintenance, representing the biggest ever road resurfacing programme to improve local roads. My Department has published details of the £8.3 billion extra road funding which will make an unprecedented transformation in the condition of our highways.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using lower carbon warm mix asphalt in national road repairs.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department allocates pothole and highway maintenance capital funding to local highway authorities in England, outside of London, based on the length of roads, number of street lighting columns, and the number of bridges for which they are responsible. It is up to the respective highway authority how best to spend this funding to fulfil its statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, based on local knowledge, circumstances and priorities.
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 encourages good practice in local highway maintenance 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 and Recommendation 32 gives advice on carbon reduction.
Decarbonisation is a key Government priority. Through the ADEPT Live Labs research programme, the Department is investing £30 million into seven projects aimed at reducing carbon by using sustainable materials and processes, such as warm-mix asphalts and asphalt modifiers.
Local highway authorities across England are set to benefit from a major boost in funding for highway maintenance, representing the biggest ever road resurfacing programme to improve local roads. My Department has published details of the £8.3 billion extra road funding which will make an unprecedented transformation in the condition of our highways.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will issue guidance to local authorities on (a) effective and (b) efficient ways to allocate pothole and road maintenance funding.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department allocates pothole and highway maintenance capital funding to local highway authorities in England, outside of London, based on the length of roads, number of street lighting columns, and the number of bridges for which they are responsible. It is up to the respective highway authority how best to spend this funding to fulfil its statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, based on local knowledge, circumstances and priorities.
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 encourages good practice in local highway maintenance 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 and Recommendation 32 gives advice on carbon reduction.
Decarbonisation is a key Government priority. Through the ADEPT Live Labs research programme, the Department is investing £30 million into seven projects aimed at reducing carbon by using sustainable materials and processes, such as warm-mix asphalts and asphalt modifiers.
Local highway authorities across England are set to benefit from a major boost in funding for highway maintenance, representing the biggest ever road resurfacing programme to improve local roads. My Department has published details of the £8.3 billion extra road funding which will make an unprecedented transformation in the condition of our highways.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Potholes Fund; and how many potholes have been repaired through the Potholes Fund since its establishment.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government provides funding for local highway authorities to carry out their statutory duties. It is up to them to determine how this funding is used on their highway networks. Funding for highways maintenance, including the Potholes Fund, is unringfenced; the Department does not collect statistics on the number of potholes filled by each local authority.
Further detail on how the Government plans to repair potholes was published on 17 November on https://www.gov.uk/government/news/8-billion-boost-to-repair-roads-and-back-drivers.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to include improvements in Lincolnshire as part of the funding allocated through Network North.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Lincolnshire will receive additional funding through a number of different funding streams and projects as part of Network North. Please some examples of funding below:
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the condition of road infrastructure in England and how many potholes they have (1) identified and (2) filled to completion on (a) roads and (b) pedestrian pavements.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as it is for each individual local highway authority to assess which parts of its network need repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances.
The Department annually collects and publishes information on GOV.UK regarding the condition of roads in England, covering surface condition, skidding resistance, and highway maintenance treatments and expenditure. This information comes from surveys which identify a series of road surface defects, although some of these defects may be related to potholes, the number of potholes cannot be recorded. The most recent release can be read on GOV.UK.
The Department does not hold information on the condition of footpaths, this information will be held by local authorities for their own asset management needs.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 40p of Network North: transforming British transport, CP 946, published by his Department in October 2023, how much he plans to spend on fixing potholes in (a) 2024/25 and (b) 2025/26.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department intends to publish funding allocations for individual local highway authorities shortly, which will make clear how much of the £8.3 billion uplift will be available in future years for maintenance of the highway network.
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.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department has provided for local road maintenance in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. During the past ten financial years the Department has provided over £11.9 billion to local highway authorities across England outside of London for highway maintenance. This includes formula funding from the Highways Maintenance Block, Pothole Action Fund (2016/17 – 2020/21), Potholes Fund (2020/21-2024/25) and the Wet Weather/Resilience fund.
Year | Maintenance Block (£m) | Additional Pothole and Other Top Ups (£m) | Wet Weather funding (£m) | Total |
2014/15 | 707 | 243 |
| 950 |
2015/16* | 976 |
| 180 | 1,156 |
2016/17* | 976 | 50 |
| 1,026 |
2017/18* | 1,051 | 121 | 50 | 1,222 |
2018/19 | 876 | 470 |
| 1,346 |
2019/20* | 1,001 | 25 | 25 | 1,051 |
2020/21* | 976 | 650 |
| 1,626 |
2021/22 | 625 | 500 |
| 1,125 |
2022/23** | 625 | 500 |
| 1,125 |
2023/24** | 625 | 700 |
| 1,325 |
Total | 8,438 | 3,259 | 255 | 11,952 |
* Financial years also include grant funding to local authorities through the Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund, a competitive funding element top-sliced from the Highways Maintenance Block.[1]
** This includes the funding that is now being paid as part of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS).
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-highways-maintenance-challenge-fund-schemes