The hon. Lady seems to believe that her authority has nothing to learn from others, and other people can make of that what they will. She has also knocked back a potential saving of £11 million that could be used to improve the potholes in the area that she represents, potholes that she regards as so appalling.

The Government believe that if local authorities are to take proper care of their highway assets, they need to plan. For some years, we have been working with the UKRLG to encourage authorities to develop transport asset management plans. These are not just documents that engineers write and then put on a shelf, as they provide a clear statement of the assets held, their condition and the level of service that the council wants them to deliver. Only in the light of these can the transport asset management plan set out how the authority intends to manage the asset to keep it in a condition that will deliver that level of service.