Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to introduce a Key Performance Indicator for Highways England on reducing litter on motorway verges.
There is currently a litter metric performance indicator included in the performance specification for the current Road Investment Strategy 2. This measures the percentage of the Strategic Road Network where litter cleansing is managed by National Highways (including most motorway verges) which is either free of litter, refuse and detritus, or predominately free apart from some small items, in line with the code of practice on litter and refuse published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
National Highways is required to report against this metric and is monitored on its performance and held to account by the Office for Rail and Road (ORR). In preparation for the third road period, which will start in April 2025, we are currently considering potential metrics for inclusion in RIS3 performance specification, as well as possible improvements to existing metrics.