Written question asked by Richard Holden (Conservative) on Wednesday, 17 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 22 June 2026. It was answered by Simon Lightwood (Labour) on Tuesday, 23 June 2026 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Roads

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has assessed the potential merits of a nationally consistent road asset inventory for improving long-term maintenance and policy planning.

Answer

Local highway authorities manage a wide range of assets, including carriageways, footways, drainage, bridges, street lighting, traffic signals and road markings. They are responsible for managing their networks, including asset data and maintenance decisions, which are best taken at the local level.

The Department works with the sector to promote best practice in asset management and the use of data to support long-term planning. Local highway authorities must now publish highways maintenance transparency reports, which provide information on network condition, maintenance activity and investment. These reports also require the publication of information on key aspects of asset management, including availability of asset inventories and utilisation of this data to support maintenance decisions. This supports a more consistent and comparable understanding of how networks are managed, while allowing authorities flexibility in how they manage their assets.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 10734
Session: 2026-27
Subjects: Planning Roads Repairs and maintenance
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Roads

Secondary information

Librarians' tools