Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 24
24
Deferred
Department's local road funding primarily allocates based on road network length and assets.
Conclusion
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
Government Response 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.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
4.1 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 4.2 The government agrees to review the funding formula that it uses to distribute capital funding to local highways authorities to see whether it can be adjusted to make it a fairer reflection of the conditions that affect the wear and tear of local roads. However, the government cannot commit to any changes to the allocation methodology until each option has been assessed for feasibility and deliverability, in line with the normal policy making process. The government would also expect to engage with local highway authorities about any methodology to understand how any changes might impact on their services. 4.3 Local highway authorities have already had their capital funding set out for the financial year 2025-26 so the earliest date any changes to the funding formula could be made would be to align with the start of financial year 2026-27.