Committee publication · Correspondence · 22 April 2026
Letter from the Secretaries of State for Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local and Department for Transport relating to unadopted roads, dated 14 April 2026
From: Transport Committee
Summary
Joint letter from the Secretaries of State for Housing and Transport responding to the Transport Committee's inquiry into unadopted roads and estate infrastructure. The government outlines ongoing consultation on private estate management (closed March 2026), commissioned research into road adoption barriers, and coordinated departmental work to develop reform proposals addressing adoption rates, standards, and homeowner protections.
Key findings
- MHCLG conducted public consultation 'Reducing the prevalence of private estate management arrangements' (December 2025 – March 2026) exploring mandatory adoption, common standards, and financial incentive removal for developers.
- DfT commissioned IPSOS research examining road adoption landscape, barriers to adoption, and local highway authority experiences; findings expected publication later in 2026.
- Departments coordinating on joint policy development informed by CMA Housebuilding Market Study response, MHCLG consultation proposals, and DfT empirical evidence on adoption practices.
- Government response to MHCLG consultation under analysis with publication timeline described only as 'later in due course'.
- Cross-government decisions on reform proposals promised, with further details to follow once consultation responses and research findings analysed.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Ruth Cadbury MP, Steve Reed OBE MP, Heidi Alexander MP, Department for Transport, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, IPSOS, Competition and Markets Authority
Notable line
“Officials at DfT and MHCLG will continue to work closely together to explore reforms to adoption and highways frameworks that could support more effective and consistent adoption outcomes.”
Key Quotes
“MHCLG launched a public consultation on 'Reducing the prevalence of private estate management arrangements' on 18 December 2025, which closed on 12 March”
“DfT have also commissioned research through IPSOS examining the current road adoption land- scape in England, collating evidence from local highway authorities and stakeholders, to better un- derstand barriers to adoption and identify improvements.”
“DfT intends to publish the findings of the research, subject to the usual quality assurance and approvals processes and any confidentiality constraints, with publication expected later this year.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗