Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help (a) promote UK-based innovation in road (i) maintenance and (ii) resurfacing and (b) ensure that (A) public procurement and (B) supply chain standards support the adoption of such technologies.

The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is determined to support local highway authorities in adopting new and innovative technologies to maintain and improve their highway networks in a way that is cost effective and reduces carbon impacts.

For example, the Department has funded Live Labs 2, a three-year, £30 million programme designed to support the local highways sector to adopt innovation and reduce its carbon impacts. Projects funded under the programme include the trialling and demonstration of sustainable materials and processes, and the creation of toolkits and databases so that all local highway authorities can access findings and lessons learned from the programme. Each project is a collaboration between a local highway authority, a contractor, and at least one UK university.

Further to this, in March, the Prime Minister announced that to receive their full allocation of this year’s £500m uplift in highways maintenance funding, all councils in England must publish annual progress reports and prove public confidence in their work. These reports also require local highway authorities to set out how they are adopting innovation in highways maintenance. This is helping to highlight positive innovations and new technologies and encourages authorities to learn from each other.

Finally, the Department is currently updating the Code of Practice for Well Managed Highways Infrastructure. The Code provides guidance to local authorities on the delivery of safe, efficient, and sustainable highway services through a risk-based, evidence-led approach to asset management. This update will ensure the Code reflects the latest best practice on innovative and low-carbon road repair technologies.