Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Road Resurfacing

Thursday 8 February 2024 · 5 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government providing 8.3 billion for local highway maintenance in England over the next decade.
  • Nottinghamshire County Council to receive 2.3 million for road repairs this year and next.
  • Bill Esterson cited Northamptonshire losing 16 million in highways maintenance funding since 2020.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Darren Henry
Transport
Context

The MP is concerned about road conditions in his constituency and seeks specific information on the funding being provided by the government for local highway maintenance.

Question

What funding is the Department providing for road resurfacing?

Answer from Mark Harper

As part of the Network North plan, the Government are providing a record funding increase of £8.3 billion for local highway maintenance in England over the next decade to enable local highways authorities to resurface roads up and down the country. Over that period, Nottinghamshire will get £138.44 million of additional funding over and above what it would have received.

Answered
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Q2 Tom Randall
Transport
Context

The MP notes the difficult financial situation of Conservative-controlled Nottinghamshire County Council and its efforts to spend millions on road repairs beyond its regular highways budget. He highlights this as a top issue for his constituents.

Question

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that answer, and for the billions that have been redirected to the midlands for road repairs from HS2. Conservative-controlled Nottinghamshire County Council, in difficult financial circumstances, is endeavouring to spend millions, beyond its regular highways budget, on road repairs. May I impress on him that this remains perhaps the top issue raised with me in my inbox? Will he bear that in mind, particularly when he has his conversations with the Treasury? Will he join me in my campaign to carry on fixing Gedling's roads?

Answer from Mark Harper

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the issue, and for pointing out how effective Nottinghamshire County Council is in spending the £2.3 million that it is getting this year and will get next year; this is revolutionary long-term funding.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific commitment to support Nottinghamshire's efforts beyond acknowledging its effectiveness.

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Q3 Darren Henry
Transport Local Government Environment
Context

The MP highlights severe pothole issues in Broxtowe compounded by recent flooding events causing five times more damage than previous years. Constituents frequently contact his office about this issue.

Question

May I associate myself with the Secretary of State's remarks wishing His Majesty the King a speedy recovery? Potholes in Broxtowe are incredibly bad; my constituents raise this issue all the time. The ongoing situation has been compounded by multiple recent flooding events in Nottinghamshire, which have resulted in five times more damage to our roads than has occurred in other years. My office gets calls and emails constantly about this plight, from constituents in Beeston, Stapleford, Strelley, Nuthall and Kimberley, to name a few of the areas I am contacted about. This week, I met my hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Ben Bradley), the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, to raise this issue. What more are the Government doing to work with local councils to tackle potholes in Broxtowe?

Answer from Mark Harper

My hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Ben Bradley) raised the issue of flood damage with me as well, and we are looking at what we can do. We made a big decision on that, and improving the road network over time and allowing local authorities to spend that money shows an important sense of priorities.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Details on specific actions or funding for addressing potholes in Broxtowe.

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Q4 Clive Efford Lab Eltham and Chislehurst
Transport
Context

The MP criticizes the government for the deteriorating state of roads, citing examples such as October being described by the AA as the worst month for pothole breakdowns.

Question

The pothole situation is a metaphor for what the Government have been doing with public investment in the past 14 years. The roads have got worse and worse, with the Automobile Association describing October as the worst month for pothole breakdowns on our roads. If the Government were really concerned about this issue, they would not have starved local authorities of the resources to deal with the problem. Is that not correct?

Answer from Mark Harper

No, I do not agree with the hon. Gentleman on that at all. We have given local authorities more than £5 billion of funding for local road maintenance. The £8.3 billion in the Network North plan is over and above that.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific criticism about past government policies and their impact.

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Q5 Bill Esterson Lab Sefton Central
Transport
Context

The MP highlights the extensive cuts to the road repair budget in Northamptonshire, leaving many potholes unfilled. He points out that the Network North announcement will only partially cover these losses.

Question

The Secretary of State seems to have forgotten the extensive cuts to the road repair budget that his Government have presided over. Let us consider the example of Northamptonshire, where the Government have cut £16 million from highways maintenance since 2020 alone. That is leaving 330,000 potholes unfilled. He knows that the Network North announcement will give Northamptonshire back only £2.5 million of that £16 million over the next two years. As for Wellingborough, the last time Peter Bone mentioned road repairs was in 2015. After 14 years of neglect by the Conservative Government and their former Conservative MP, is not the best advice for people in Wellingborough who want action on potholes to vote for Labour's Gen Kitchen next Thursday?

Answer from Mark Harper

It will not surprise the hon. Gentleman to hear that I do not agree with him at all. Before the Network North announcement, the Government were already investing over £5.5 billion of capital funding in highways maintenance between 2021 and 2024-25, and in the Budget last year, the Chancellor found an extra £200 million for eligible highways authorities.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific acknowledgment of Northamptonshire's road repair funding losses and future support.

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