Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Accepted
Local road funding has become increasingly complex with twelve different funding pots.
Conclusion
During the past decade, funding for local roads has become more complex, with the Department providing 12 different funding pots for road maintenance. Each type of funding has different eligibility criteria; eight of the 12 are based on road network length; three require local authorities to bid for money; and one is an incentive fund.30 The Local Councils Roads Innovation Group told us that there is a gap between those councils with the ability to apply for one-off funding pots and those without.31
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's observation and intends to move to multi-year funding settlements and radically simplify funding by consolidating grants and local highways maintenance funding streams.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Summer 2025 3.2 Long term certainty is determined by the length of the settlement set out by a Spending Review. 3.3 The government is resetting the relationship with local government. The government intends to move to multi-year funding settlements in future, to provide long-term funding certainty for local government. The government has also set out plans to radically simplify the funding paid out to the sector – consolidating grants into the settlement wherever possible. This will give local authorities greater certainty and freedom to deliver their priorities. 3.4 The department also intends to consolidate local highways maintenance funding streams for those authorities who receive them, so that they receive one funding line only. In addition, those authorities in receipt of City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) have their highway maintenance funding consolidated, further reducing the number of funding streams and providing greater flexibility in how mayoral combined authorities allocate funding.