Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled How well does your council fix potholes? Tough new guidance for councils will end patch-up fixes and lead to smoother, safer journeys, published on 9 June 2026, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of local highway funding levels to remove the road maintenance backlog.

The Government recognises the impact of historic underinvestment in England’s local road network and is providing a record £7.3 billion over this Parliament to help local highway authorities plan ahead, adopt more preventative maintenance and improve the long-term condition their roads. Local highway authorities are responsible for maintaining their networks and are best placed to decide how to use available funding for their areas.

We have also introduced a new incentive funding system for local highway authorities, with a portion of their funding dependent on them demonstrating compliance with best practice in highways maintenance, and an annual ratings system which grades authorities based on information about the condition of their roads, how effectively they spend their record Government funding, and whether they do so using best practice. Together, these measures will help ensure the increased and long-term investment translates into real improvements for road users.

We are already seeing signs of progress, with the percentage of local roads receiving maintenance treatment in 2025 increasing by 23% for major roads compared to 2024, and increasing by 16% for minor roads.