Announced yesterday, the programme will see the Government spend £1.9bn in 2014 alone – more than twice the amount spent in 2013.

This will be followed in 2015 by an even larger programme of improvement and investment on our major roads, with spending rising to £3bn a year by 2020.

In response, John Allan, national chairman, Federation of Small Businesses, said: ‘FSB research has shown the poor state of roads costs around half of small businesses up to £5,000 a year due to congestion and poor maintenance. The doubling of investment in roads next year is long overdue. A fit for purpose road network is crucial to the 80 per cent of UK small businesses which rely on a car or van for their business operations and ongoing investment is fundamental to supporting the competitiveness of UK plc.’