Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to councils in South West England to complete road maintenance words to help reduce potholes.

The Government recognises that historic underinvestment has made it difficult for authorities to maintain their roads in the way that they would want to. The Government has therefore confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment into local highways maintenance over the next four years. This new, four-year funding settlement is in addition to the Government's investment of £1.6 billion this financial year, a £500 million increase compared to last financial year. The Department’s confirmation of increased funding allocations for the next four-year period has given authorities the certainty to plan ahead and shift away from short-term fixes to proactive and preventative maintenance to stop potholes from forming in the first place.

Between 2026/27 to 2029/30, local highway authorities in the South West are eligible for £1.5 billion of this highways maintenance funding. In addition, the West of England Combined Authority is receiving highways maintenance funding consolidated as part of its £540m million City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, and from 2026/27 will receive increased Transport for City Regions funding worth £752 million in total up to 2031/32.

Finally, the Department recently announced a new rating system for local highway authorities. Under this system, all local highway authorities in England received a red, amber or green rating based on the condition of their roads, how much they spend to maintain their roads, and whether they do so using best practice. The ratings will be updated annually and provide an incentive to highway authorities to further adopt best practice. They enable the Department to identify where councils need to improve and to support them.