Yes I know about the debate around this 'easy to use' assessment.
I suppose the Government has to compare councils one way or another ... but this leads to a sort of 'league table' for public rights of way.
When actually the results can't be compared between Highway Authority areas at all! For instance, in Cumbria, one long fell-top path would fail if it misses a signpost at one end. Which explains why rural authorities sometimes have a low pass-rate.
Last year the Government changed the way it asks councils to report on this sort of thing, and made collecting this information no longer mandatory... in other words, some councils might now chose to carry on, to see how they themselves improve over time - others will change their methodology and carry on, and others still will stop collecting the data (because of council cuts!)
When all local people want to do is to find paths, walk them with normal footwear for the time of year, and follow them on a map if they are out on a longer walk away from home! Ho hum!