As a Member of Parliament and a Surrey County Councillor, I have long been campaigning for reform of the system which has left our local roads in a truly woeful condition. Now, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) published its latest report looking at England's local roads - and it is is clear that this issue has reached crisis point. The report brands the growing £15.6 billion repair backlog as a 'national embarrassment' and highlights significant failures in how our roads are maintained and funded.
Over the course of PAC’s inquiry, I was particularly determined to challenge officials over the root causes of this escalating problem. One area that I focused on was the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). This levy, charged by around half of local planning authorities in England, is intended to fund infrastructure improvements for new developments. According to current rules, CIL can be used to repair and enhance existing infrastructure, including roads, but today vast sums remain unspent.
As a member of the Public Accounts Committee I pressed Department for Transport officials on whether any work had been done to understand the scale of unspent CIL funds nationwide. Concerningly, officials admitted that they had no knowledge or insight to offer. In a follow-up submission, the Department for Transport did acknowledge that some local authorities hold significant reserves of unspent CIL and that the Department will work with local authorities and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to explore how these funds can be used to support investment into our roads. This money, currently sitting idle, could be put to work improving roads and easing the frustrations faced by millions of motorists across Surrey. I am delighted to have been able to push this onto the departmental radar!
Another area of concern covered in the report is the Government’s current funding model for local roads, which fails to account for traffic volumes. Here in Surrey we have the fifth busiest road network in England, yet the funding we receive to maintain it is not proportional to the heavy wear and tear caused by high traffic levels. This model is fundamentally unfair and leaves constituents in Reigate struggling with substandard roads.
During the inquiry, I was also alarmed to learn how the focus on short-term fixes, such as pothole repairs, has come at the expense of long-term preventative maintenance. The backlog has grown from £9 billion in 2019 to an estimated £15.6 billion today. This spiral of reactive repairs, driven by annual funding cycles, not only increases costs but also prevents the major improvements our roads badly need from being delivered. I was pleased to see the final report reflect my emphasis on the need for a more strategic approach, with calls for longer-term funding certainty and simplified allocation processes.
As anyone living in Reigate who has ever driven a car knows, the state of England’s roads is more than an inconvenience; it is a national scandal. Crumbling, pothole-ridden roads are damaging vehicles, endangering lives, and undermining our economic productivity. I have been raising concerns about road quality for many years precisely because I know how deeply this problem affects my constituents, and I share their frustration. The recommendations in the PAC’s report provide a clear roadmap for change and I was proud to have played a role in mapping out this bold, deliverable and transformative programme of measures. I very much hope that the Government will act on them.
