The National Audit Office (NAO) issued its report on the current state of England’s local roads, and it is not good news. Their detailed conclusions are summarised in this document, and the full report can be downloaded from here.
Local roads are a vital part of local transport infrastructure, used every day by millions of people. Despite their importance, the condition of local roads is declining and the backlog to return them to a good state of repair is increasing.
DfT has provided between £1.1 and £1.6 billion of capital funding each year to local authorities and has set out plans for additional funding through to 2034. Given the fiscal constraints, it is essential that DfT secures maximum value from the funding it has available.
However, at present DfT does not have a good enough understanding of the condition of local roads, and does not use the limited data it does have to allocate its funding as effectively as possible. It does not know whether the funds it allocates are delivering improvements in road condition, and has not updated its guidance to local authorities, to share good practice and help them make the most of their limited funds, for some years.
Managing the local road network is becoming increasingly complex – for example, as climate change and autonomous vehicles demand more from it – and the additional funding that DfT has secured provides an opportunity to equip local authorities to better meet these challenges.
If DfT is able to address the issues in its current approach it will be much better placed to improve the value for money of funding in this area and secure an improved and more resilient local roads network.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “This is sadly yet more damning evidence that England’s local roads are in a truly dire state of repair.
“It’s bad enough that historically the Government doesn’t really know just how bad our roads are. But it’s absolutely staggering that it doesn’t know whether the money it gives to councils has been used effectively. This has to change and we very much hope the new Government acts fast to fix it.
“While dangerous potholes clearly need to be fixed, we also feel more could be done with the funds councils are already given. We believe it’s imperative they carry out more preventative maintenance to stop potholes forming in the first place, rather than simply patching over the problem. That, combined with resurfacing roads that are beyond reasonable repair, is the first step to seeing a marked improvement in our vitally important local roads. Worryingly however, RAC analysis of government data shows that 60% of councils in England didn’t carry out any preventative maintenance in the financial year 2022-2023.
“There’s also no question that local authorities need more money to help them plan long-term maintenance. For this reason, we’re keen to hear from the Government that it’s honouring its predecessor’s commitment to give £8.3bn from the cancellation of the northern leg of HS2 to local roads over the next 11 years.”
Edmund King, AA president, said: “Todays NAO report is a damning indictment of the state of UK local roads and their upkeep. The condition of local roads has been declining yet the backlog is increasing and the budget has fallen. Prior to the election the poor state of the roads was cited by 96% of AA members as the number one transport issue.
“The new Government has an opportunity to implement longer term funding and stricter controls and guidance to bring about more innovation leading to permanent repairs rather than the current patchwork approach. We estimated the damage to vehicles caused by potholes to be almost half a billion pounds last year but the damage to those on two wheels can be serious injury or even death.”
Michelle Gardner, Deputy Director Policy at business group Logistics UK, says: “The report makes sober reading and is a sad reflection on the state of disrepair of England’s roads. Potholes cost the UK’s economy over £14.4 billion1 a year and there is now an opportunity for the new government to implement the report’s recommendations and repair the infrastructure relied on by businesses and the wider population every day.
“The NAO recommends that the DfT works with HM Treasury to set out how it will provide longer-term funding certainty to local authorities, and this, together with the current lack of accurate data on the condition of local roads, is something we are urging the new government to address as soon as possible. Long term funding will enable local authorities to implement preventative road maintenance which, as the NAO recognises, delivers better value for money for taxpayers, is more cost effective than reactive, short-term maintenance activity and will keep deliveries moving to support the UK’s economy.”
