We recognise that roads in coastal communities can face particular pressures, including from flooding and extreme weather. That is why we are investing a record £7.3 billion in local highway maintenance over the next four years to repair and renew local roads. Alongside that investment, our Climate Adaptation Strategy includes commitments on guidance for highways authorities to identify risks and implement adaptation measures, enhancing resilience to flooding and coastal erosion.

Information on the MRN/LLM Programme can be found at: Major Road Network and Large Local Majors programme.

Information on the MRN/LLM Programme can be found at: Major Road Network and Large Local Majors programme.

Following a review of the Major Road Network/Large Local Majors (MRN/LLM) Programme, relevant local authorities were informed that their schemes were being removed from the Programme on 8th October 2026.

The above confirmation was part of the finalisation of the MRN/LLM Programme Review and letters were sent to Mayors, local MPs and Council Leaders on this date.

The Department is aware of the challenges associated with soil affected roads. Under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, the statutory responsibility for maintaining the public highway rests with local highway authorities, who are best placed to make decisions based on their local knowledge and circumstances.

To support local highway authorities in the maintenance of their highway networks, the Government has confirmed a record investment of £7.3 billion for local highway maintenance over the next four years.

In addition, the Department has recently undertaken a comprehensive review of the Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure Code of Practice, a guidance document for local highways authorities. The updated code has strengthened guidance on resilience, climate adaptation and risk-based asset management.

Essex County Council’s total consolidated local transport settlement for 26/27 through to 29/30 is £378.8m. This is the combined figure for Integrated Transport Fund and Bus Services Fund. This includes the funding paid by the Department for highway maintenance, the Local Authority Bus Grant, active travel funding, Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) funding and the Local Transport Grant. The breakdown is as follows:

• Essex County Council has been allocated a total Integrated Transport Fund of: £345,763,694.37
• Essex County Council has been allocated a total Bus Services Fund of: £33,118,068.23

The MRN/LLM Programme currently has £57.26m allocated to Essex County Council, with £53.26m of this being allocated up to 29/30.

There has been no change to the above figures since the outcome of the MRN/LLM Review was announced on 8^th October. This is because all of the schemes that have been removed from the Programme following the review were all at an early stage of development and, as such, no funding commitment had been made to any of them.

The Government is committed to making road-user payments simpler and is supporting the rollout of the National Parking Platform, which enables motorists to use their preferred parking app across participating area, supporting greater interoperability, choice and competition.

The Platform is also exploring opportunities to support tolls and other road-user payments in future, including how payment could be made more seamless for motorists.

The Department has made no assessment of, and has no plans to introduce, a mandatory national payment system for all parking charges, tolls and road-user charges.

The Department has not published guidance to local authorities on charging for filming on public highways, including casual filming which does not obstruct the highway or require a road closure. Decisions on the management of filming activity on local highways are a matter for the relevant local highway authority.

The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department has not made a formal assessment of the merits of providing additional statutory powers to vary permit timelines during emergency works. Local highway authorities operating permit schemes already have powers to review, vary or revoke permits and permit conditions in order to manage activities on their networks.

A) Pollution mitigation measures to be incorporated into the National Highways Lune Gorge bridge improvement project.

The M6 Lune Gorge scheme involves the replacement of seven existing bridge decks close to the River Lune and its tributaries. National Highways has undertaken an accelerated review of drainage outfalls in the Lune Gorge area to complement the renewal works and better understand any potential water quality risks.

The review applied National Highways' standard water quality assessment tools and found no anticipated water quality risks resulting from the scheme. Therefore, no dedicated pollution mitigation measures are planned as a direct consequence of the bridge renewal works.

Regarding the construction work, pollution prevention measures have been developed to prevent deterioration of water quality, protect local ecology and minimise environmental risks.

B) Pollution mitigation measures for future major road infrastructure schemes.

The Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB), available online, sets out how all current and future National Highways’ major road infrastructure schemes assess, monitor, and mitigate pollution. Examples include standards on noise, air quality, and water quality.

The Major Road Network/Large Local Majors (MRN/LLM) Programme Review considered those 40 or so schemes that had not reached the Outline Business Case stage, despite being in the Programme for over six years. This included the A127 Corridor for Growth scheme, promoted by Essex County Council.

Our review considered many factors including whether the schemes were affordable to local authorities and central Government; how soon they could be delivered; their overall value for money; and how well they aligned with the Government’s priorities, including economic growth and housing development.

As the A127 scheme is at an early stage of development, full modelling and analysis on journey time savings and impacts of the interventions on road safety were not available to us.

Following the decision being relayed to the promoter (Essex County Council) on 8^th October, it is now for them to determine how best to take forward this scheme or other improvements on the A127.

The consideration of compensation claims arising from alleged highway defects, including potholes, is a matter for the relevant highway authority. Local highway authorities have a duty under section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain highways maintainable at public expense. Section 58 of that Act provides a statutory defence to a claim for breach of that duty, where the authority can show it had taken such care as was reasonably required in the circumstances. Where liability is disputed, it is ultimately for the courts to determine whether that defence applies.

The Department encourages local authorities to focus on long-term preventative maintenance, which is more cost-effective than reactive patching. This year’s local highway authority transparency reports require authorities to report the proportion of pothole repairs carried out using permanent and temporary repair methods, alongside information on how they set and monitor repair-longevity requirements. This is to improve transparency about the durability of repairs and to encourage the use of preventative maintenance, and of permanent repairs where it is practical and appropriate to do so.

The methodology for the 2026-27 Local Road Maintenance Ratings are being developed. Further information will be published in due course.

Detailed contractual information relating to projects that remain under active consideration, development or review is commercially sensitive and disclosure could prejudice future commercial activity and value for money. The Department therefore does not disclose contract-level information for such schemes.

For schemes that have been formally cancelled and will not proceed, Table 1 lists delivery contracts formally terminated by National Highways following cancellation of the associated scheme since July 2024.

Table 1

The strengthened local highway authority transparency reports require authorities to publish information on whether they set and monitor repair-longevity requirements, alongside information on the proportion of permanent and temporary repairs they deliver. The Department will consider future reporting requirements in light of the information that has been published this year and ongoing engagement with the sector.

The Government is using transparency requirements, annual ratings and incentive funding to encourage councils to move away from short-term patching and towards preventative maintenance and longer-lasting repairs.

The methodology for the 2026-27 Local Road Maintenance Ratings is being developed and further information will be published in due course. Future incentive funding requirements will be informed by the evidence councils have set out in their recent transparency reports, alongside wider engagement with local highway authorities and sector bodies.

Detailed contractual information relating to projects that remain under active consideration, development or review is commercially sensitive and disclosure could prejudice future commercial activity and value for money. The Department therefore does not disclose contract-level information for such schemes. For schemes that have been formally cancelled and will not proceed, Table 1 lists delivery contracts formally terminated by National Highways following cancellation of the associated scheme since July 2024.

Table 1

The A1 Morpeth to Ellingham scheme was cancelled on value for money grounds while the A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down, A12 Chelmsford to A120 widening and A47 Wansford to Sutton dualling schemes were cancelled on affordability grounds.