Transport Insights

Could transport ministers’ messaging over local authority road maintenance be any more mixed? They want to tell councils to prioritise preventative maintenance but can’t help going for headlines with talk of “fixing potholes”.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has issued a press release (with the image below) on the start of new rules for funding in which it claims simultaneously that there is a lot more money and that there might not be a lot more money:

Councils will face new rules on how they spend funding to fix potholes and maintain local roads, as the government sets out new requirements to ensure taxpayers see real improvements.

Under the new measures, local highway authorities that fail to demonstrate they are maintaining roads effectively could lose around a third of their £1.6 billion funding for the next year.

Fixing potholes and maintaining local roads could be a sensible balance of reactive and preventative maintenance until roads minister Simon Lightwood puts his foot in his mouth:

Drivers deserve smooth, safe journeys and we’re making sure every pound goes straight into fixing roads and tackling potholes, not being spent elsewhere.

If every pound goes straight into fixing roads and tackling potholes, that leaves no money for preventative maintenance.

Fortunately, the DfT press release has some quotes from motoring organisations to point out that Lightwood doesn’t know what he is talking about.

The quote attributed to AA president Edmund King is:

Fixing potholes remains the number one motoring issue for drivers, so it is right that councils are being scrutinised over their repair plans.

We urge local authorities to use their funding to resurface roads rather than simply patch up their streets. Proper investment in the road network helps create safer, smoother journeys for everyone.

And council directors’ body ADEPT issued a statement in the name of David Shepherd, chair of its Transport and Connectivity Board:

We welcome the government’s commitment to accountability and to ensuring investment in local roads delivers real improvements for drivers. Multi-year funding certainty is something local authorities have repeatedly called for over many years, so they can plan effectively and prioritise long-term, preventative maintenance over costly reactive repairs.

However, withholding up to a third of funding from local authorities that are already managing a £19bn repair backlog risks being counterproductive.

…transparency and performance frameworks must be fair, clearly understood and allow local authorities to demonstrate the real complexity of maintaining their networks. We look forward to engaging with government on the detail of these new requirements.

Certainly, if councils are pressed to “simply patch up their streets”, that will be counterproductive.