Highway authorities in England have been warned they must publish details on road maintenance progress or risk losing a portion of their funding. This comes as part of new responsibilities laid out by the Department for Transport (DfT).
In a push for greater local accountability, councils will be required to disclose the number of potholes they have filled and the condition of their roads. They also must reveal their efforts to minimise street works disruption, plans for long-term preventative maintenance, and their strategies for coping with increasingly wet winter weather.
From mid-April, local authorities will begin receiving their share of the £1.6 billion highway maintenance fund announced in the Budget. However, to access the full amount, councils must now publish these reports annually and demonstrate public confidence in their work.
The DfT has stated that any authority failing to meet these requirements will have 25% of their share of the £500 million ‘uplift’ withheld. But, it appears at this stage, only the report itself is needed to receive the money, rather than the progress reported.
Heidi Alexander, transport secretary, said: “After years of neglect we’re tackling the pothole plague, building vital roads and ensuring every penny is delivering results for the taxpayer.”
The DfT also explained that ‘It is the first time the Government will be requiring highways authorities to report potholes with this level of information in this way.’ It also acknowledged that the new reports will contain more information than those also published under the Network North programme.
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