We asked the Department what outcomes it was looking to achieve from the funding it provides to local authorities, which is over £1 billion each year. The Department told us that this was a live discussion with Ministers as part of the spending review and it would be looking to determine what metrics should be used to measure those outcomes.10 The Department also confirmed that it does not know exactly how local authorities spend its funding as it is not ring-fenced, and that it does not seek reporting from 5 C&AG’s Report, para 3 6 C&AG’s Report, para 3 7 C&AG’s Report, para 2.4 and Figure 7 8 C&AG’s Report, para 3 9 C&AG’s Report, para 2 10 Q 36 9 local authorities on this. However, it told us that it is confident that its funding is being used on local road maintenance, given local authorities spend additional money in this area.11