We’re making sure every pound goes straight into fixing roads and tackling potholes across England, not being spent elsewhere.
- councils will now face tougher rules to prove they are fixing potholes or risk losing up to a third of next year’s funding
- government is ensuring taxpayers’ money is working harder to get smoother roads and not redirected elsewhere
- red-rated councils will receive funding to improve performance and deliver visibly smoother, safer roads
Councils will face new rules on how they spend funding to fix potholes and maintain local roads, as the government today (14 April 2026) sets out new requirements to ensure taxpayers see real improvements.
Under the new measures, local highway authorities that fail to demonstrate they are maintaining roads effectively could lose around a third of their £1.6 billion funding for the next year.
Pothole damage already costs the average driver around £500 in avoidable repairs at a time when every pound in people’s pockets matters, and the government is determined to ease that financial burden by ensuring councils fix roads properly.