§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what has been included in the Single Capital Pot for road, bridge and street lighting maintenance as part of this year's LTP settlement. [57266]
§ Ms KeebleAll of the block allocation for highway maintenance in the 2002–03 LTP settlement has been included in the Single Capital Pot. The total allocation 119W was £545 million made up of indicative amounts of £189 million for principal roads, £243 million for non-principal roads, and £113 million for bridges. There was no indicative allocation for street lighting. In addition £10 million was allocated for major maintenance schemes greater than £5 million: this sum is not included in the Single Capital Pot.
It is for local authorities to decide how much capital resource from the Single Capital Pot they will spend on highway maintenance in the light of their priorities for this and the other services they provide.
§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether an allowance for street lighting will be included in the LTP settlement for 2003–04. [57267]
§ Ms KeebleA decision on whether to include an indicative amount for street lighting in the LTP highway maintenance settlement for 2003–04 has not yet been taken. It would depend upon the total resources available and the progress made in other areas of maintenance. The first targets in the 10 Year Plan for Transport are to stop carriageway deterioration by 2004 and to complete bridge strengthening to carry 40 tonne lorries where necessary.
Provision for street lighting replacement is already made within the Highways Maintenance Standard Spending Assessment for Revenue Support Grant. Local authorities are also free to fund street lighting replacement from the Single Capital Pot which has been introduced in 2002–03.