Tarmac respond to Audit Commission report

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Paul Fleetham provides Tarmac’s response to Audit Commission report on road maintenance

THE Audit commission has released a report looking at the challenges faced by the country’s 152 council highways authorities.

‘Going the distance - Achieving better value for money in road maintenance’ reports on England’s 236,000 miles of local roads and looks out how the roads are under attack from increasing traffic, severe winters, higher repair costs, and dwindling highways funding.

Responding to the report, Paul Fleetham (pictured), managing director of Tarmac National Contracting and Tarmac Middle East, said: ‘It is good that the Audit Commission report underlines the need for local authorities to continue to drive efficiencies by using proven models like the Midlands Highways Alliance.

‘However, greater collaboration and efficiency programmes are not the silver bullet for local authorities and contractors to tackle the current 11-year road maintenance backlog.

‘It is disappointing that the report downplays this backlog and doesn’t reference the link between the declining condition of UK roads and the continuing lack of appropriate long-term government funding.

‘While additional funding has been allocated to pothole repairs this year, it is not enough to cover the damage caused by the harsh winter weather, let alone carry out the work needed to get our roads up to a reasonable standard.

‘The reality is, highways budgets are decreasing year-on-year and councils will continue to face tough spending decisions.

‘Under the localism agenda, local authorities are free to allocate funds to their services as they see fit, but they still need adequate financial support from central government to tackle the magnitude of the maintenance backlog and ensure our vital road asset runs smoothly and efficiently.’