Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled Major renewal of ageing English roads delivered with £27 billion investment, published on 26 March 2026, what criteria was used to determine the allocation of funding across regions.

The third Road Investment Strategy 3 (RIS3) sets the level of performance and investment the Government expects to see in England’s motorway and trunk road network over the period from April 2026 to March 2031. It takes account of evidence gathered over many years from a wide range of sources and stakeholders, and follows a 2023 public consultation. It will benefit all parts of England, including Essex.

DfT Ministers have received correspondence, including from Essex County Council, on the case for the A12 (Chelmsford to A120) widening scheme and on the merits of improvements to the A120 between Braintree and Marks Tey.

In finalising RIS3 investment decisions, Ministers considered a wide range of factors, including alignment with government missions; regional equity; impacts on growth, safety and the environment; and the impacts of congestion on all road users, including freight movements, in different parts of the country. This helped ensure that investment is prioritised where pressures on the network are greatest and where improvements can deliver the most benefit. National Highways will set out further details of how RIS3 funding will be allocated in its Delivery Plan, due in early summer.

National Highways engages with local authorities and other stakeholders as it develops its Route Strategies, which assess the current performance and future needs of the Strategic Road Network and inform future investment decisions. RIS3 was informed by Route Strategies undertaken in Road Period 2 (2020-2025). National Highways will shortly be commencing this process afresh to inform the development of the fourth Road Investment Strategy (RIS4).

The potential impacts of the Lower Thames Crossing on other roads in Essex and elsewhere were appraised through the Lower Thames Area Model, a strategic transport model providing detailed representation of the networks in Dartford, Thurrock, Kent, Essex and East London. This ensured that the project’s expected effects on Thurrock’s road network were properly assessed as part of the wider decision‑making process.

Funding under the Road Investment Strategy is allocated to National Highways for investment in the Strategic Roads Network across England rather than by region or by local highway authority area. It is not therefore possible to give a precise breakdown by county of where the funding will be spent. This will depend on asset need, and operational and other spend.

The condition of local roads in Basildon and Thurrock is the responsibility of the respective local highway authorities. The Government has announced a record investment of £7.3 billion for local highway maintenance over the next four years. Essex County Council is eligible to receive £230,943,000 of this and Thurrock £19,416,000. Decisions on the allocation of this funding are matters for the local highway authority.