Councils must report on how many potholes they fill in, or miss out on £1.6-billion in government funding, writes Elizabeth Hunter.

From mid-April local authorities will start to receive their shares of the government's £1.6-billion in highway maintenance funding.

But to get the full amount, councils in England must publish annual reports to prove public confidence in their work.

Launched at the end of March (March 24), local authorities who fail to meet these conditions will see 25 per cent of of their pothole funding withheld if reports do not show how many have been filled.

Reports from councils in the area will be published on their websites by June 30, and will detail the amount spent, the number filled, and how the councils are minimising roadwork disruptions.

They will also be required to show how they are spending more on long-term preventative maintenance programmes and that they have robust plans for the wetter winters the country is experiencing – making potholes worse. 

The announcement comes after figures from the RAC show drivers in England and Wales encounter an average of six potholes per mile, with damage to cars as a result costing an average of £600 to fix.

From October to December 2024, RAC patrols assisted 4,709 drivers for damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs or distorted wheels with callouts most likely to be caused by wear and tear from defective road surfaces. This was 669 more than the 4,040 recorded in the third quarter of 2024.

The RAC has warned that the number of pothole breakdowns could increase even more in 2025 following the severe weather conditions experienced over the last six months, including snow and bouts of flooding

However, on top of plans to encourage councils to report their road maintenance work, the Transport Secretary has also unveiled £4.8-billion in funding for 2025/26 for National Highways to deliver critical road schemes and maintain motorways and major A-roads across the country.

Following the announcement, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “The broken roads we inherited are not only risking lives but also cost working families, drivers and businesses hundreds - if not thousands of pounds – in avoidable vehicle repairs.

"Fixing the basic infrastructure this country relies on is central to delivering national renewal, improving living standards and securing Britain’s future through our Plan for Change.

“Not only are we investing an additional £4.8-billion to deliver vital road schemes across the country to get Britain moving, next month we start handing councils a record £1.6-billion to repair roads and fill millions of potholes across the country.

“British people are bored of seeing their politicians aimlessly pointing at potholes with no real plan to fix them. That ends with us.

"We’ve done our part and handed councils the cash and certainty they need - now it’s up to them to get on with the job, put that money to use and prove they’re delivering for their communities.”