Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of current funding allocations for rural road maintenance in (a) Warwickshire and (b) Oxfordshire to address the effect on rural roads of (i) freeze-thaw conditions and (ii) heavy agricultural traffic.
Answered by Simon Lightwood
The Government is investing a record £7.3 billion in local highway maintenance across England between 2026 and 2030. This long-term settlement gives local highway authorities the certainty they need to move away from short-term reactive repairs, including those caused by freeze-thaw conditions and heavy vehicles, and instead invest in preventative maintenance so that roads can be fixed properly and fewer potholes form in the first place.
Over the four-year period to 2029–30, Warwickshire County Council is eligible to receive a total of £128.1 million of capital funding for highways maintenance. Oxfordshire County Council is eligible to receive a total of £167.9 million in capital funding for highways maintenance over the same period.
Funding is allocated to local highway authorities based on a formula which considers road lengths and classification, and other assets like bridges and lighting columns. It is for local authorities to determine how best to spend this funding.
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