Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that data held by her Department on the condition of roads in England is a) consistent and b) of high quality.

Official statistics on the condition of local roads in England are published annually Road conditions in England to March 2025 - GOV.UK. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality, and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics.

Local Highway Authorities are required to provide consistent Road Condition data in line with MHCLG single data list requirements 130-01 and 130-02.

In September 2024, DfT released a new standard for road condition monitoring. This new standard transforms the use of data in highway maintenance by introducing innovative new methods for monitoring the condition of local roads in England, while ensuring the quality and comparability of road condition data across the country.

Local authorities must procure a survey that has demonstrated that they can deliver data against PAS 2161 in the approval process defined by DfT. Regular approval exercises will be conducted to assess whether technologies can produce comparable and standardised road condition data. Only those technologies that meet the defined criteria and performance thresholds will be approved for use in national reporting.