- English councils risk losing up to a third of their road maintenance funding if they fail to demonstrate effective spending, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced.
- This amounts to £525 million of the £1.6 billion allocated for local roads in the 2026/27 financial year, which will be withheld unless authorities prove appropriate use of funds.
- Councils must publish reports showing all highways cash is spent purely on road maintenance, including long-term plans and policies signed off by senior local authority members.
- Roads minister Simon Lightwood emphasised that this measure ensures funds are directly used for fixing roads and tackling potholes, preventing diversion elsewhere.
- The announcement follows estimates that the cost to bring England and Wales's pothole-plagued roads up to standard has reached a record £18.6 billion, with only 51 per cent of the local road network currently in good condition.
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