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Written question asked by Julian Knight (Independent (affiliation)) on Friday, 13 October 2023, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 17 October 2023. It was answered by Richard Holden (Conservative) on Monday, 23 October 2023 on behalf of the Department for Transport.


Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps to encourage local authorities to increase their use of artificial intelligence to identify the presence of potholes.

Answer

In England, local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. To ensure they fulfil those duties, all local highway authorities have an inspection policy in place for their highway network.

Aside from the current requirement to provide the Department with road condition data obtained using SCANNER (Surface Condition Assessment for the Nationals Network of Roads), the Department does not prescribe how other highway inspections are undertaken but encourages local authorities to consider new technologies to help them manage and maintain their respective networks. Many local authorities are taking advantage of processes and systems that utilise artificial intelligence as part of their inspection regime.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
201770
Session
2022-23
Transferred
Yes
Subjects
Local government Roads Repairs and maintenance Artificial intelligence
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk