To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the average level of per capita funding provided for road maintenance to local authorities in each English region.

The Department for Transport does not allocate highways maintenance funding to local highway authorities based on population but on likely need. The formula, developed and agreed with local authorities, distributes funding on the basis of road length, bridges needing repair, and lighting stock. The Department believes that this is a fair way of allocating funding—as those authorities with larger highway networks to maintain receive a higher proportion of the available funding.

Further details on the methodology can be found via the following weblink:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120606202955/http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/local-transport-capital-block-funding/maintenance-block-formula-explanatory-note.pdf