§ Dr. CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his Department's current estimate of the cost of making good all defects in local authority adopted roads(a) in total and (b) by local authority; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AtkinsThe Department of Transport does not have the detailed condition data that would be necessary to estimate the cost of rectifying all defects in roads that local authorities are responsible for maintaining. Central Government's contribution to local authority road maintenance is made as part of the annual revenue support grant settlement, and to structural maintenance of local authority bridges through the transport supplementary grant settlement. Local authorities are consulted through their representative bodies as part of the process of deciding on these levels of funding.