Scottish councils could be the first in the UK to be banned from diverting road maintenance funds to other services.
The measure – to safeguard maintenance of ‘a key national asset’ – is set out in a consultation paper on a new national transport strategy.
Scottish transport ministers have raised the prospect of ring-fencing central government revenue support, following local authority calls for increased investment and a report in November 2004 by the public sector watchdog.
~Audit Scotland~ found almost half of the 32 councils spent more than the grant-aided expenditure (GAE) support hypothecated for roads maintenance. Of the slight majority which spent less than their total allocation, a small number diverted more than 50% elsewhere – a fact highlighted by the executive in the consultation draft. The proposal is likely to divide councillors and senior officers, who won a pledge to increase GAE in the spending review.
Ring-fencing would ‘work against a corporate approach to service provision’, said ~Alison Magee~ the ~Convention of Scottish Local Authorities~' spokesperson on transportation. ‘We would instead like to see an outcome-focused approach to monitoring.’ Until now, Scottish civil servants – like their English counterparts – have argued that allocations are only a hypothetical indication of what a council needs to spend, and each must decide according to local needs and priorities.