CECA: ‘name and shame councils’

A CECA source told CJ: "We hope to present the findings after we gather sufficient information during our next trends survey. This way the government can have enough evidence to take action."

CECA's move follows the publication last week of a report by the House of Commons transport committee into the condition of the country's road network.

The Local Roads and Pathways document claims that, although 80% of England's local authorities used their structural maintenance allocation, large amounts of funds were being used elsewhere.

The report claims the nation's road network has seriously deteriorated, with an estimated backlog of work of £1.1bn per year.

The government has pledged £610m for local highway maintenance in 2003/04 and £651m in 2004/05.

The transport committee's defects index for non-trunk road conditions across England and Wales shows that conditions improved in the late 1970s, but since 1980 conditions have worsened every year. The defects index reached its highest mark two years ago and remained high in 2002.

The principal road network for England has also continued to deteriorate: in 1993 13.5% of the network required close monitoring of its structural condition; in 2002, this figure rose to nearly 17%.

In a bid to address the problem, the committee has recommended that the Department for Transport publish an annual comparison of the planned and actual expenditure on road maintenance along with details of the quality for each council's roads.