Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of Highways England on its progress on meeting its performance indicators on (a) reducing carbon emissions and (b) delivering improved biodiversity.

As part of the second Road Investment Strategy, published last year, we asked Highways England to calculate baselines for both its corporate carbon emission and biodiversity Key Performance Indicators. There have been productive conversations between Highways England and the Department during the past year on the setting of the baselines, details of which will be provided in Highways England’s Delivery Plan update, due to be published in the Summer.

The Office for Rail and Road will independently monitor and assess Highways England’s performance against the targets throughout the remainder of the road period.