Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to conduct additional road maintenance while there are restrictions in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Responsibility for managing the highway network in England, including maintenance decisions, rests with the relevant highway authority. For the Strategic Road Network, motorways and major A roads, that is Highways England. The rest of the network is managed by local highway authorities. It is for local highway authorities to decide whether to carry out additional maintenance, based on local needs and priorities.

In April 2020 I wrote to the local highways maintenance sector, with advice on continuing with their highways maintenance works and thanking them for their efforts. The Government’s current policy is that construction activity should continue where it can be undertaken safely, in accordance with the Public Health England and industry guidance.