Local governments in the UK must demonstrate that they are improving road conditions and addressing what the government calls the "scourge of potholes," or risk losing millions of pounds in funding. The UK Department for Transport stated that local councils will receive a total of £1.6 billion in road maintenance funding starting in mid-April, including an additional £500 million.
Read Also...:
The Bottom Line - Decisions That Made Me: Julian Metcalfe (Itsu and Pret A Manger) - BBC Sounds
03-31, 2025
Free Thinking - The Middle Classes
03-31, 2025
The people who turned public toilets into homes and businesses
03-31, 2025
Why are Morrisons and Sainsbury's cafes closing?
03-31, 2025However, to receive the full amount of additional funding, the UK Department for Transport stated that local governments in the UK must publish annual reports detailing the progress of pothole repairs. Governments that fail to do so will have a quarter of their funding withheld. This move aims to ensure local governments are accountable for road maintenance work and to increase transparency.
The Local Government Association stated that the government should focus on preventative measures rather than "reactively" repairing potholes, as the latter is more costly. All eligible local governments will receive 75% of the additional £500 million promised in last autumn's budget, with the remaining 25% potentially being withheld. The withheld funds will be redistributed to councils that have demonstrated the necessary progress.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that broken roads "not only endanger lives, but also cost working families, drivers, and businesses hundreds or even thousands of pounds in avoidable vehicle repairs." He also added that local councils have the funds to get the job done. According to the Royal Automobile Club (RAC), there are six potholes per mile of road in England and Wales.
The UK Department for Transport stated that local councils' road maintenance progress reports must be published by the end of June, stating how much they have spent, the number of potholes filled, how they are minimizing disruption from roadworks, and their long-term road maintenance plans. By the end of October, local councils must also demonstrate that they have consulted local communities on where repairs should be carried out. The Department for Transport added that councils that fail to meet these strict conditions will see 25% of their funding withheld. This policy only applies to councils in England, as funding for local governments in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland is a devolved matter.
During the campaign, the Labour Party pledged to repair up to one million potholes a year in England. The Local Government Association stated that the government's increased funding will help to start "tackling the growing backlog of local road repairs," which currently stands at £17 billion and "could take more than a decade to clear."
The Local Government Association added: "Local councils are already spending more on tackling potholes and repairing roads than they receive from central government. However, it is in everyone's interest to ensure public money is well spent. This includes the government playing its full part by using the spending review to ensure local councils have adequate long-term funding certainty so they can focus on more cost-effective preventative measures rather than reactively repairing potholes, which is more costly." Shadow Transport Secretary Gareth Bacon described the government's announcement as a "pothole plaster." He said: "Labour likes to talk big about fixing roads, but they are more interested in chasing headlines." Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Paul Kohler called for a "more sustainable approach" to repairs, saying that repairing individual potholes is welcome, but does little to address "crumbling road infrastructure."
