The Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is holding an evidence session on the condition of local roads in England at 10am on Thursday 21st November.
The session follows the National Audit Office’s 2024 report on local roads in England, and the Government’s approach to funding their maintenance.
The NAO found that local roads are getting worse, with fewer roads being maintained. Pothole-related breakdowns and other incidents are on the rise, according to the report, with RAC patrols attending nearly 30,000 pothole-related breakdowns in 2023, up by 33% compared to 2022. In 2023, the AA dealt with 631,852 pothole-related incidents, the highest for five years.
The report also found that the limited data Government collects showed local roads’ surface conditions as stable over time, despite industry bodies’ information showing them worsening and road users increasingly unhappy with their condition.
Based on the NAO report, the Committee will hear from senior officials at the Department for Transport (DfT). Likely topics include:
- the Government’s understanding of the condition of local roads;
- how DfT allocates funding to maintain them; and
- what support and guidance it is providing to local authorities.
From 10am:
· Dame Bernadette Kelly DCB, Permanent Secretary, Department for Transport (DfT)
· Dave Buttery, Director, Roads Strategy, DfT
· Rupert Furness, Deputy Director, Local Highways and Active Travel, DfT
(Picture – Highways News)
