Asked by Lord Berkeley To ask Her Majesty’s Government what
assessment they have made of the funding they provide to Highways
England and local authorities to ensure that roads are maintained
in a safe condition. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,
Department for Transport (Baroness Sugg) (Con) My Lords, over
£12 billion has been provided...Request free trial
Asked by
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have
made of the funding they provide to Highways England and
local authorities to ensure that roads are maintained in a
safe condition.
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Transport (Baroness Sugg) (Con)
My Lords, over £12 billion has been provided to Highways
England and local authorities to maintain and renew the
road network in England outside London in the six years up
to 2020-21. This is a significant increase on previous
years. It is of course for each authority to assess which
of its roads need repair, based on local knowledge and
circumstances, but the Government believe that the sums
allocated are ensuring that roads are maintained safely.
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(Lab)
I am grateful to the Minister for that reply, but many
organisations will think that even that increase is nothing
like enough. The RAC reckons that potholes cost drivers
£100 million a year in damage to their cars. Cycling UK
notes that in 2016, 64 cyclists were killed or seriously
injured because of potholes. I nearly joined that rank when
I fell into a pothole, which was under water, outside your
Lordships’ House. The repair consisted of a white line
painted round the pothole—and it is still there, three
months later. On 13 June the Government issued a British
road safety statement, which included measures to improve
the safety and reduce the deaths of vulnerable road users
such as cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists. Will the
Government put that into practice, with more commitment?
One idea would be to put an extra 3p per litre on the price
of petrol, ring-fenced for potholes on local roads.
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My Lords, we must certainly do all we can to reduce deaths
and injuries on our roads. According to Cycling UK, over
half of people say that they would cycle more if they were
not so worried about the state of our roads. Potholes and
poorly maintained roads are a menace for all road
users—including noble Lords—which is why we are taking
action to improve the condition of the local road network.
In particular, the Department for Transport has allocated
£296 million to the Pothole Action Fund, on top of existing
funding. Noble Lords will know that fuel duty is most
definitely a matter for the Chancellor, but I will
certainly pass on the noble Lord’s suggestion.
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(Con)
Potholes or not, how can pedestrians on the pavements
alongside these roads maintain themselves in a safe
condition when cyclists refuse to equip their machine with
a bell and curse those, like me, who politely ask them to
mend their ways? Could they possibly be in league with
those who will stop at absolutely nothing to reduce the
size of this House?
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My Lords, we absolutely want to improve the safety of
cyclists and all other road users, including pedestrians.
Obviously, we are in favour of cycling. It improves
people’s health, cuts congestion and is good for the
environment. Among employers, it has been associated with
fewer sick days and improved productivity. We are keen to
support cyclists, as I said. Last year, we published our
cycling and walking investment strategy, which included
£1.2 billion of funding to encourage more people to travel
by foot or by bike—but I will certainly see whether there
is anything we can do to ensure that cyclists put a bell on
their bicycle.
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(LD)
My Lords, Local Government Association analysis shows that,
over a five-year period, the Government plan to spend £1.1
million per mile on the strategic road network but to
provide local authorities with just £21,000 per mile for
local roads. Of course, local roads make up 98% of the road
network and bear the brunt of congestion, which is made
worse by pothole problems and the lack of money to invest
in modern road networks. There is a serious knock-on effect
on emissions. Does the Minister accept that the Government
need to redress the balance on funding?
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My Lords, local road maintenance funding is rising, but I
accept that we need to readdress the balance. It is right
to concentrate spending on where it is needed most. While
the strategic road network includes only 2% of all roads by
length, it carries one-third of traffic. However, we know
that other important roads have long gone underfunded, and
that is why we are introducing a major road network from
2020 and will provide a share of the national roads fund to
invest in bypasses, road widening and other road
improvements.
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(CB)
My Lords, will the Minister comment on the fact that
utility companies seem to dig up our roads, and three
months later another utility company digs the same hole?
Would it not be a good idea to get some form of licensing,
with the authorities giving permission for these holes to
be dug, and for the utility companies to contact other
utility companies to make sure that there is no common
ground there?
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I certainly agree with the noble Lord on that. We have
introduced the lane rental scheme, which has encouraged
utilities to work together at weekends and in the evening
to reduce congestion and the inevitable annoyance to
motorists. We saw disruption to drivers cut by half in Kent
and London, where we ran a pilot, and we are looking to
extend that across the country. On licences and permits, we
absolutely encourage local authorities to use permit
schemes for works on the roads, which will help with
planning. They will also ensure that utilities work
together. Around 65% of local authorities use permit
schemes now, and we encourage others to join.
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Lord (Lab)
My Lords, will the Minister tell us whether Her Majesty’s
Government believe in value for money? If the answer is
yes, will she explain how patch and mend delivers value for
money on a whole-life basis? If the answer is no, does she
accept that Her Majesty’s Government are storing up a
massive bill as roads self-destruct under the present
policy?
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My Lords, I can certainly confirm that this Government
believe in value for money. We are spending a record £23
billion on the enhancement, renewal and maintenance of our
roads up and down the country, and will continue to invest
in that to provide better journeys for motorists and to cut
congestion. We have seen improvements and that our
investment is making a difference. A, B and C roads
combined have seen a gradual improvement, with fewer roads
being considered for maintenance.
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(Con)
My Lords, in her reply to my noble friend , the Minister seemed
to imply that she could do nothing about bells on bicycles.
If the law does not require the fitting of bells on
bicycles, does the Minister agree that it would be a very
good idea, and will she consider whether the law should be
amended?
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My Lords, as I said, we have introduced cycling and walking
investment strategies. We are also looking at cycling safety
and I will certainly feed in that suggestion.
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(CB)
With respect to bells on bicycles, perhaps the Minister would
like to go back to 1998, because I seem to remember that,
when I was a very junior Minister in charge of road safety, I
found myself on the front page of every tabloid newspaper for
saying, when answering a question, that all new bicycles
should have a bell.
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My Lords, I do all I can to avoid being on the front page of
tabloid newspapers, which is why I am not committing to it
now—but, as I say, I will certainly take that back.
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