Rising fuel and motoring tax income should be spent on local roads, says LGA

Local Government Association calls on new approach to spending ahead of Autumn Statement

More than £400m extra each year could be spent by councils on improving local roads if government funding mirrored rising income in fuel and motoring taxes, claims the Local Government Association (LGA).

The LGA's call comes ahead of the Autumn Budget statement, which takes place on 22 November.

The LGA statement picks up themes from its recent report, A country in a jam: tackling congestion in our towns and cities.

Council leaders are calling for the government to implement a fully-funded plan for the growing number of vehicles on the nation’s roads, which has risen by 30% since 2000. The LGA says that nearly eight-and-a-half million more vehicles are now on the road, adding to congestion and road maintenance issues, such as potholes, wear-down of road markings and increasing general wear and tear.

The LGA analysis suggests that if the government matched the increase in fuel and motoring tax income generated in the last 10 years town halls would have an extra £418m to spend on local roads. The association says this funding would help reduce congestion, improve air quality, contribute towards tackling the country’s £12bn road repairs backlog and encourage residents to use alternative transport where possible.

The LGA has been highlighting what it terms to be “congestion crunch” on local roads. The LGA warns that pressure on local roads is growing as there are now 151 vehicles per mile on our roads compared to just 119 vehicles per mile in 2000. Traffic is slowing down, with the average travel speed on local ‘A’ roads is just 25 miles per hour, a 1% decrease from a year ago.

The maintenance and repair of roads is another serious challenge facing councils, it adds. While councils fill a pothole every 19 seconds, they are dealing with what the LGA estimates is a £12bn backlog of road repairs.

Cllr Martin Tett, LGA transport spokesman, said: “The government’s recent decision to share a proportion of the Roads Fund, to support local roads, has long been called for by the LGA. However, in order to make sure our roads are equipped to handle the increase in vehicles and forecast increase in traffic by up to 55% by 2040, the government needs to be more ambitious to support councils to keep traffic moving.

“The vast majority of journeys start or end on a local road – the impact of almost 30% more vehicles cannot be over-stated. Congestion, wear and tear of our roads, and air quality are all affected. Councils are doing all they can to provide their communities with the transport services they need, to manage and ensure that roads are free-flowing as possible. The government needs to develop a fully funded plan to help councils deliver the desperately needed local road improvements we need. This should include matching the extra growth in tax-take with the funding it provides councils. Only with long-term funding can councils deliver roads truly fit for the 21st Century.”

The LGA is also calling for the government to fully fund the statutory concessionary bus fares scheme. Years of underfunding mean councils are being forced to subsidise the scheme by at least £200m a year. Mileage on council supported bus services decreased by 12% between 2014/15 and 2015/16. To reverse this decline, LGA says councils also need to be given control over the Bus Service Operators’ Grant. This fuel duty rebate is currently paid directly to bus operators. The LGA believes it would enable councils to protect bus routes and give them the funding they need to provide an efficient and successful bus service.