DfT funding and understanding of state of local roads slammed

The Department for Transport (DfT) does not have a clear understanding of the condition of local roads, nor uses the data it does have to allocate funding effectively, a new report suggests.

Almost all journeys start and end on the local road network in England, which covers 183,000 miles and represents 98% of the total road network.

Yet, the country’s roads are deteriorating, with fleets having to fork out to fix damage to vehicles caused by millions of potholes.

Just 48% of local roads in England (excluding London) were estimated to be in good structural condition in 2023-24, with 35% in adequate condition and 17% in poor condition, according to a survey of local authorities by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA). 

However, in a new ‘value for money’ report from the National Audit Office (NAO), the DfT’s understanding of the scale of the problem and the way it allocates funds has been criticised.

For example, despite the AIA’s findings, the DfT’s latest data on road surface condition claimed that around two-thirds (67% in 2022-23) of the local road network was in good condition.

In addition, the NAO report – The Condition and Maintenance of Local Roads in England – highlights how in 2020, DfT estimated that one of its funds for local road maintenance could deliver benefits of £7 for every £1 spent at the national level, which it categorised as “very high” value for money.

These included benefits for safety, journey reliability and the environment delivered through maintaining and improving footway and carriageway surfaces.

However, the spending watchdog says the limitations in data that the DfT collects on road surface condition means it can't be used to understand the benefits that have actually been delivered from its investment of more than £1 billion a year.

The report found that there were 12 different pots of money through which DfT was providing funding for local road maintenance, between April 2015 and March 2025. However, the department had evaluated the effectiveness of funding from just one of the streams.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “It’s bad enough that historically the Government doesn’t really know just how bad our roads are. But it’s absolutely staggering that it doesn’t know whether the money it gives to councils has been used effectively.

“This has to change and we very much hope the new Government acts fast to fix it.”

The AA’s president, Edmund King, AA president, labelled the NAO report as a “damning indictment of the state of UK local roads and their upkeep”.

“The condition of local roads has been declining yet the backlog is increasing and the budget has fallen,” he added.

“Prior to the election the poor state of the roads was cited by 96% of AA members as the number one transport issue.

“The new Government has an opportunity to implement longer term funding and stricter controls and guidance to bring about more innovation leading to permanent repairs rather than the current patchwork approach.

“We estimated the damage to vehicles caused by potholes to be almost half a billion pounds last year but the damage to those on two wheels can be serious injury or even death.”

DfT provides local authorities with capital funding for planned maintenance, such as resurfacing roads and repairing bridges.

In October 2023, DfT announced £8.3bn of additional funding for local authorities to spend on road maintenance over the next 10 years.  

DfT has so far allocated around £300 million of this funding, split between 2023-24 and 2024-25. This is in addition to the funding that it had previously allocated up to 2025.

It says it is working with HM Treasury to determine allocations of future funding.

In response to the report, the DfT said it was “absolutely committed” to tackling the poor state of the country's roads.

“That’s why we’ve pledged to support local authorities to fix up to one million more potholes in England a year,2 said a spokesperson. 

“We’ll also maintain and renew our road network, to ensure it serves drivers, cyclists and other road users, remains safe, and tackles congestion.”

Williams continued: “While dangerous potholes clearly need to be fixed, we also feel more could be done with the funds councils are already given.

“We believe it’s imperative they carry out more preventative maintenance to stop potholes forming in the first place, rather than simply patching over the problem. 

“That, combined with resurfacing roads that are beyond reasonable repair, is the first step to seeing a marked improvement in our vitally important local roads.”

RAC analysis of Government data, however, shows that 60% of councils in England didn’t carry out any preventative maintenance in the financial year 2022-2023.

“There’s also no question that local authorities need more money to help them plan long-term maintenance,” added Williams. 

David Giles, chair of the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), says that the NAO report makes some strong recommendations for how the DfT can help improve its understanding of the condition of the network in England, its approach to funding and its support and guidance for local authorities to help them deliver effective and efficient highways maintenance.

“We stand by the calls made in our 2024 Alarm survey report for sustained, targeted and accountable funding for local roads, which are complementary to those NAO recommendations,” he continued.

“Without clarity on how much money will be made available over the life of this Parliament, as well as an effective ring-fence mechanism, local authorities will be unable to carry out the proactive maintenance required to improve conditions for the benefit of all road users.

“Swift action needs to be taken and we look forward to working with the new ministerial team at the DfT to support efforts to improve local road conditions and address the £14.4bn carriageway maintenance backlog reported in England in this year’s Alarm survey.”