Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of ringfencing future funding to local authorities for the (a) repair of potholes and (b) resurfacing of public highways; and if he will make a statement.

The Department for Transport (DfT) allocates capital funding through the section 31 grant process so that local highways authorities can most effectively spend this funding on maintaining and improving their respective networks, based upon their local knowledge, circumstances, and priorities.

Section 31 grant funding is not ringfenced as set out in the Local Government Act 2003; it is up to the highway authority how to spend this funding to fulfil its statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980. Local decision makers are democratically accountable for the decisions they take.

DfT strongly encourages authorities to spend their allocations on highways maintenance activities and advocates a risk-based whole lifecycle asset management approach to local authority highways maintenance programmes. This considers all parts of the highway network, such as gulleys, bridges, cycleways, and lighting columns – and not just the fixing of potholes.