Road funding stop-and-go, say MPs Piecemeal and stop-go investment in Englands road system is making cost-effective maintenance difficult, MPs have warned. The Department for Transport has cut the roads budget, only to make emergency cash injections to deal with problems such as flooding, the Public Accounts Committee said. The department said it had to deal with unforeseen problems. It added that it was reforming funding, and was committed to fixing potholes. The departments unpredictable and fluctuating budgets for road maintenance over decades have put value for money at risk, said committee chairman Labour MP Margaret Hodge. Road satisfaction low Public satisfaction with the state of English roads was at its lowest level since 2008, she added. It was ludicrous that the government had cut road maintenance budgets by £1.2bn over the four years from April 2011, but had then intermittently given £1.1bn of additional funding on nine separate occasions for reasons including flooding and winter damage to the roads, Mrs Hodge said. Compensation claims for damage arising from poor road conditions cost £31.6m in 2013/14 , the committee said. Potholes cost £52 each to fill in, it added in its report. The Department for Transport said it was absolutely committed to tackling potholes on local roads. It said it encouraged councils to undertake more planned preventative maintenance and to be more efficient in how they tackle problems. We have committed to spending £24bn on our strategic road network up to 2021 - the biggest investment in our roads since the 1970s - and we are reforming roads funding so that it is stable and guaranteed, DfT added. However, it said it would make no apology for responding to unforeseen circumstances, such as the additional £180m we have provided to help councils deal with damage caused by severe weather. Visit drivingschoolsw.co.uk for more motoring news
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 05:43:12 +0000
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