Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Accepted
Simplify local authority road funding, provide long-term certainty, and clarify maintenance monitoring.
Conclusion
The Department’s approach to funding is short-term and fragmented, hindering local authorities from planning more cost-effective work. In the last decade funding for local roads has become more complex, with the Department providing funding to local authorities via 12 different funding pots, each with differing eligibility criteria. It has largely provided funding to local authorities on an annual basis. This differs from how the Department supports the maintenance of other transport routes, such as the strategic road networks where funds are allocated on a five-year basis to enable long-term planning. The Department acknowledges that longer-term funding enables better value for money but has not taken steps to change the way it funds local roads. In addition, some of the funds have focused on specific issues, for example on repairing potholes, which are the result of poor maintenance. This short-term approach is likely to have pushed local authorities to focus more on reactive action rather than the preventative work that would offer greater value for money. recommendation a. As part of the next phase of the spending review the Department should simplify its funding to local authorities and provide more long-term certainty around the amount and duration of funding. b. The Department should make clear how it will effectively influence and monitor local road maintenance when the funding to local authorities is coming from different government departments and local authorities have more flexibility within the overall pool of money on how to prioritise spending.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and is reviewing its approaches to evaluating spending and data gathering for local highway maintenance, committing to publish information on Gov.UK detailing how it will influence and monitor local highways maintenance once these reviews are complete.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. government is reviewing its approaches to evaluating spending on local highway maintenance and the data that it gathers to understand the condition of the local highway network. Once these exercises are complete, the department will publish information on Gov.UK about how it will influence and monitor local highways maintenance.