Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations she received from the former Member of Parliament for Runcorn & Helsby on the condition of roads in that constituency between 5 July 2024 and 30 April 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Parliamentary Questions and their answers are publicly available on the parliament website.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with Cheshire West and Chester Council on (a) road maintenance and (b) pothole repairs in Runcorn and Helsby constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department regularly engages with local highway authorities and their representative bodies, such as the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT) and the Local Government Association (LGA) on matters relating to highway maintenance.
The Secretary of State for Transport has not had direct discussions with Halton Borough Council on road maintenance or pothole repairs in Runcorn, or with Cheshire West and Chester Council on road maintenance or pothole repairs in Runcorn and Helsby constituency.
In March, the Prime Minister announced that in order to receive their full share of this year's £500m uplift in highways maintenance funding, local highway authorities have to publish a report on their maintenance plans and demonstrate how they are complying with best practice in highways maintenance. Both councils have published these reports, which can be found on their websites.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with Halton Borough Council on (a) road maintenance and (b) pothole repairs in Runcorn.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department regularly engages with local highway authorities and their representative bodies, such as the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT) and the Local Government Association (LGA) on matters relating to highway maintenance.
The Secretary of State for Transport has not had direct discussions with Halton Borough Council on road maintenance or pothole repairs in Runcorn, or with Cheshire West and Chester Council on road maintenance or pothole repairs in Runcorn and Helsby constituency.
In March, the Prime Minister announced that in order to receive their full share of this year's £500m uplift in highways maintenance funding, local highway authorities have to publish a report on their maintenance plans and demonstrate how they are complying with best practice in highways maintenance. Both councils have published these reports, which can be found on their websites.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department has taken assess (a) novel and (b) potentially inexpensive solutions for improving (i) pothole repair and (ii) other road maintenance.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is committed to enabling local highway authorities to maintain and renew their local highway networks effectively.
For this financial year, the Department has already announced a funding uplift of £500 million compared to the last financial year for local authorities to spend on highway maintenance. 25% of this funding uplift is subject to local highway authorities demonstrating how they are complying with best practice, for example in relation to the adoption of innovative technologies to repair potholes and undertaking preventative maintenance to prevent potholes from forming in the first place.
The Department also encourages and supports innovation through its update to the Code of Practice for Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure, which will include guidance on matters such as innovative surface treatments.
The is also supporting the £30 million Live Labs 2 innovation programme which is supporting the local highway sector to demonstrate innovative low-carbon ways of maintaining local highways. It includes projects that are testing and evaluating novel surfacing materials for the benefit of the whole highways sector.