An open letter to CBC re Highways Budget

Below is an email sent on 27th January to the Leader of Central Bedfordshire Council and the Executive member for Finance and Highways regarding their use of the government’s cash boost to fix our roads, the intention of which is to reduce their contribution to the Highways budget by the amount of extra funding provided by the government, resulting in their being no net additional funding to fix the crumbling roads of Central Bedfordshire. *I received a reply from the Leader of the Council on the same day. I include their response at the bottom of this letter.

Dear Adam/John

I know you are fully aware of the continuing poor condition of our roads across Central Bedfordshire. One of the core aims of Central Bedfordshire Council’s Independent Executive (as per the Strategic Plan 2024-2027) is to “be ambitious in our plans towards improving and maintaining the roads and travel network.”

Therefore, it was extremely disappointing to hear that rather than use the additional funding (above the baseline) that the government is allocating to local councils for fixing potholes and road maintenance to boost spending, In the case of Central Bedfordshire this uplift is £2.57m, Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) is instead using this as an opportunity to reduce their capital spending, resulting in CBC spending on Highways remaining virtually the same as last and previous years.

This was not the intention of the government uplift and it will likely put at risk 25% of this uplift which is being held back until certain criteria are met and evidence that the money is being spent on our roads wisely. In light of your current intention to reduce your contribution to the Highways capital budget by the same amount as the government’s additional funding provided to CBC for Highway maintenance, this evidence will not be available.

This could potentially lead to CBC losing £642,500. That is a lot of potholes that will be unfilled. Of course, I am aware of the financial pressures faced by CBC and other councils, but this is bad business and bad news for the road users of Central Bedfordshire.

It has also been stated by the council that the whole of the funding uplift (£2.57m) could be held back by the government. My understanding from reading the government announcement is that it is only 25% of the funding that has the potential to be held back. You can read the relevant document which discusses the ‘incentive element’ here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/highways-maintenance-funding-allocations/highways-maintenance-block-formula-allocations-2025-to-2026

Further, while I am sure it is not the intention, the claim that ‘all’ the additional money provided by the Government will be spent on our roads, without clearly setting out the corresponding reduction in CBC’s amount of spending, is the sort of smoke and mirrors that reduce trust in politicians and politics. This is not in anyone’s interest.

To ensure that Central Bedfordshire does not lose vital funding and to enable a reversal in the shocking decline in the state of our roads, the clear intention of the Labour government, I would urge you to reverse your funding decision regarding Highways maintenance outlined in your draft budget.

I have included a link (below) to a piece from ‘Highways’ magazine which discusses the additional funding from the government, and their view on what the government criteria may be regarding the 25% of the incentive element that will be held back.

For reference, I have also included a table summary of CBC’s Highways spending from the 2022/23 financial year and including the draft Highways budget for 2025/26. This data is sourced from the CBC budget books available online.

https://www.highwaysmagazine.co.uk/Govt-confirms-1.6bn-for-local-roads-but-new-incentives-leave-uncertainty/14278

Due to the level of interest in this issue, please regard this as an open letter.

Kind regards

Julian Vaughan

Langford

Bedfordshire

27th January 2025

*Reply received from the Leader of Central Bedfordshire Council on the same day, 27th January, set out belowwithout comment.

“Thank you very much for your email. Rest assured Central Bedfordshire Council will continue to work with the government to ensure public money is used as effectively as possible.”