Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of maintenance by highway authorities of (a) drainage gullies and (b) other (i) channels, (ii) culverts and (iii) drains to facilitate water drainage from road carriageways; whether there are any (A) incentives for and (B) requirements on such authorities to ensure adequate maintenance; and if he will make a statement.

In respect of the Strategic Road Network (SRN), National Highways specifies the requirements for drainage design and maintenance in its Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB). This suggests that those responsible for the network should:

o remove surface water from the carriageway as quickly as possible to provide safety and minimum nuisance to the road users;

o maximise longevity of the pavement and its associated earthworks;

o minimise the impact of the runoff on the receiving environment in terms of flood risk and water quality; and,

o manage water flows from earthworks and structures associated with the roads.

On the strategic road network, drainage work is carried out via planned renewal and improvement work funded by the Roads Investment Strategy (RIS), with performance monitored and reported to the Office for Rail and Road.

On other roads, drainage gullies are the responsibility of the respective local highway authority. Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, to maintain the local highway network. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as it is for each local highway authority to assess which parts of its network need repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances.