c Initially, the Department had limited knowledge of whether the spending devolved to Transport for London and local authorities (the latter for maintenance) was cost-effective. The Department should build on its good work to understand these areas of spending during the spending review. It should work with these bodies to develop measures for them to report against, both to the Department and to the public for greater transparency to give assurance that taxpayers' money is being spent well.
d Reducing maintenance may lead to a deterioration in road quality and so increase costs in the longer term. The Department needs to monitor closely the condition of national and local roads, compared with the minimum condition needed to meet its objectives and avoid incurring future costs. This should be combined with regular progress reports on actual efficiency savings achieved.