Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an estimate of the cost to Birmingham City Council of retendering contracts for highways services following the cancellation of the Birmingham Highways PFI contract.

The Government is committed to working with the Council to achieve a smooth transition away from its PFI arrangements for its local highways.

To support this, the Department has put in place future funding arrangements for Birmingham’s local highways. Starting this financial year, funding for the Council’s local highways will be provided via the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Integrated Settlement. For 2026/27, we will uplift the Combined Authority’s Integrated Settlement by £17 million, which was calculated using the Department’s local highways maintenance funding formula.

The Department has engaged the Council on its future plans for managing its local highways. However, procuring a new long-term contract for its local highways services is the Council’s responsibility.