Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to support local authorities with highway maintenance costs.

The Government is committed to tackling the poor state of our roads and has pledged to support local authorities.

By 2029/30, the Government will commit over £2 billion annually for local authorities to repair and renew their roads and fix potholes – doubling funding since coming into office. For the first time, we have confirmed allocations for four years of funding, enabling local authorities to plan ahead and move away from expensive, short-term repairs and instead invest in proactive and preventative maintenance. This is in addition to the Government’s investment of £1.6 billion in 2025/26, a £500 million increase compared to 2024/25.

Local authorities should prioritise preventative treatments, such as surface dressing and other measures, to stop potholes forming in the first place. This focus on best practice is why a portion of funding is designated as incentive funding. This incentive funding will be subject to local authorities demonstrating that they comply with best practice in highways maintenance, for example by spending all DfT’s capital grant on highways maintenance and adopting more preventative maintenance.