To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what guidance his Department issues on the minimum amount of grit to be spread on roads in icy conditions. (312217)

Gritting rates are a matter for each highway authority. The Department for Transport endorses the UK Roads Liaison Group's code of practice on highways maintenance management, ‘Well-maintained Highways’, which contains advice on winter service, including choice of de-icing materials and target rates of salt. This guidance was updated following the severe weather experienced in February 2009. In addition, the Highways Agency has developed its own guidance for the treatment of the trunk road and motorway network.

In order to help preserve salt stocks during the severe and prolonged weather over the last month, on 8 January 2010, the Secretary of State for Transport asked the Local Government Association, on behalf of local authorities across England, the Highways Agency and the Mayor of London, to reduce their daily use by 25 per cent; on 12 January he further asked them to conserve significantly more than that, by reviewing their salt spreading strategy and for local authorities to prioritise their local networks as necessary.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of repairs to roads following damage incurred during recent severe weather in (a) England, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) Leeds. (314468)

It will be for each local highway authority to assess the damage to its network resulting from the severe weather, and to estimate the costs of repair. The Department for Transport will consider any requests for financial assistance that local authorities may make, in line with its established criteria; and, it will provide engineering consultancy support to local authorities formulating bids. It will be for each bidding authority to demonstrate that the damage is exceptional.

The Highways Agency is responsible for the maintenance of the strategic road network in England. The Agency has a road maintenance programme to ensure that carriageway maintenance is carried out at the optimum time, to minimise deterioration in the condition of the road and damage caused by severe weather, while delivering value for money. It is inevitable however that the recent severe weather will, in a small number of locations, cause a deterioration in the road surface condition. The Agency does not however separately identify or estimate the additional maintenance costs directly associated with severe weather. The Agency's experience is that such costs are likely to reflect only a relatively minor part of the overall maintenance expenditure. Safety related defects such as potholes are treated promptly as part of the Agency's maintenance policy.