Dr Simon Opher, Member of Parliament for Stroud, has today welcomed the Labour Government’s record funding boost for road maintenance, including up to £177m for Gloucestershire.
Councils across England will fix potholes and prevent new ones, thanks to a doubling of roads cash by the end of the Parliament as part of the Budget.
Each local authority will be able to use its share of the £7.3 billion to identify the roads most in need of repair and deliver immediate improvements for communities and residents.
The Government is also turning up the pressure on local authorities by more than tripling the share of local roads funding that is tied to transparency – from 8% to over 30% of the budget, worth more than £500 million. Councils can only unlock the funding if they publish clear pothole and maintenance data and follow best practice.
Dr Simon Opher said:
“At the election, Labour promised to fix an extra million potholes a year by the end of the Parliament. This announcement shows that we are putting our money where our mouth is. It’s double the funding that was promised by the previous Conservative government.
“Along with the freeze on rail fares and prescription charges, and £150 off average energy bills from the measures in the Budget – we are making an immediate difference to people’s lives.”
The announcement follows the Budget last week, which included a range of measures to address the cost of living, including freezing regulated rail fares for 12 months, keep prescription charges frozen at £9.90, and bringing forward a number of measures to reduce energy bills. The Chancellor was clear she was determined to defy the forecasts and promised to break Britain out of its cycle of decline through stability, investment and reform.
