Recommendations & Conclusions
4 items
4
Conclusion
2nd Report - Condition and maintenance …
Deferred
The Department does not allocate funding to local authorities for the maintenance of local roads according to where it is most needed. The Department provides most of its funding to local authorities based on road length, number of bridges, and number of lighting columns in a local authority. It does …
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The Department does not allocate funding to local authorities for the maintenance of local roads according to where it is most needed. The Department provides most of its funding to local authorities based on road length, number of bridges, and number of lighting columns in a local authority. It does not, however, take into account traffic volumes or underlying road condition. Nor does it include other factors such as local 5 environmental conditions, for example whether a road is prone to flooding, and the additional wear and tear that would arise. The Department has also not explored with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government whether local authorities that charge a Community Infrastructure Levy money on new developments, may be permitted to spend this money on local road maintenance. recommendation a. As part of the next phase of the Spending Review the Department should revise the way it allocates funding to local authorities ensuring that funding also reflects the expected wear and tear of local roads due to the level of usage and local environmental conditions. b. The Department should also work with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to explore the scope for local authorities to use surplus Community Infrastructure Levy funding on local road maintenance.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees but only addresses the second part of the recommendation, stating that Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) receipts can already be spent on infrastructure. It commits to exploring better communication about existing CIL funding and its potential uses, rather than exploring new scope for …
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HM Treasury
24
Conclusion
2nd Report - Condition and maintenance …
Deferred
Most of the Department’s funding to local authorities over the last decade has been through the eight funding pots that use road network length as the main basis for allocations. The mechanism for these pots uses simple data sets to allocate funding, weighted between road length (82.4%), the number of …
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Most of the Department’s funding to local authorities over the last decade has been through the eight funding pots that use road network length as the main basis for allocations. The mechanism for these pots uses simple data sets to allocate funding, weighted between road length (82.4%), the number of bridges (15.4%) and the number of lighting columns (2.2%) in each local authority.47 The Department explained that the allocation based on road length is then split equally into three parts, a third for A roads, a third on B roads and a third on C roads.48
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Government response AI summary
The government disagreed with the implicit recommendation to change the funding formula but agreed to review it for fairness, stating it cannot commit to changes until assessments are complete and the earliest implementation would be financial year 2026-27.
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HM Treasury
25
Recommendation
2nd Report - Condition and maintenance …
Deferred
The Department does not base funding allocation on other information, such as the condition of roads nor on factors that could have led to a deterioration in the condition of roads such as traffic volume, type of traffic or environmental factors.49 The Department told us that the current formula has …
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The Department does not base funding allocation on other information, such as the condition of roads nor on factors that could have led to a deterioration in the condition of roads such as traffic volume, type of traffic or environmental factors.49 The Department told us that the current formula has the benefits of being simple, objective and based on stable data as road lengths do not change very much over time. 50 It also uses road type as a proxy for traffic, directing more money to the roads which are used more heavily (A roads) than others.51
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Government response AI summary
The government disagrees with the committee's implied recommendation for immediate change but agrees to review the funding formula to better reflect road wear and tear. They state no changes can be committed to until feasibility is assessed, with the earliest implementation for financial year 2026-27.
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HM Treasury
26
Conclusion
2nd Report - Condition and maintenance …
Deferred
We asked the Department whether it considers where investment could have the greatest impact and why a factor such as traffic volume has not been included.52 The Department said that arguments for including other factors are often made, and that its last consultation on this subject was some time ago, …
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We asked the Department whether it considers where investment could have the greatest impact and why a factor such as traffic volume has not been included.52 The Department said that arguments for including other factors are often made, and that its last consultation on this subject was some time ago, but that this decision is one for Ministers. Reassessing funding allocation to include traffic volumes would be a large exercise which would benefit some local authorities, but reduce the funding of others, for example in rural areas.53 On taking flood risk into account, officials acknowledged they would consider whether differential impacts across the country from this risk should be reflected in any future revisions to funding allocation.54
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Government response AI summary
The government states it disagrees with the committee's recommendation (interpreted as an immediate call to include specific factors) but agrees to review the funding formula to better reflect conditions affecting wear and tear, with any changes taking effect from 2026-27 after feasibility assessment.
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HM Treasury