Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department ahs provided dedicated support has been provided to West Northamptonshire Council in the context of the Local Road Maintenance Ratings 2025 to 2026; and whether a peer review has been commissioned.

As part of the publication of the local road maintenance ratings for 2025/26, the Department for Transport confirmed that it will provide red-rated authorities with a dedicated support programme to help improve local outcomes. This is in the form of expert-led peer reviews, through which sector experts will work collaboratively with authorities to identify areas where performance could be enhanced. The Department has commissioned the Local Government Association to deliver these reviews.

West Northamptonshire received an overall red rating under the Departments’ road maintenance rating system, with underlying scorecards showing red for condition, amber for spend, and red for best practice. The authority is therefore eligible for this support offer. The Department has written to all red-rated authorities to arrange the peer reviews and the review for West Northamptonshire will be conducted during the 2026/27 financial year.

The Department recognises that historic levels of investment have made it difficult for authorities to maintain their roads in the way that they would want to. Therefore, alongside providing this dedicated support to red-rated authorities, the Department has also confirmed a record, £7.3 billion investment into local highways maintenance for the next four years. This will allow local authorities to invest in significantly improving the long-term condition of England’s road and local highways network, delivering faster, safer and more reliable journeys.