The government has told local councils they must start publishing data on how many roads they have repaired risk losing their share of an extra £500m set aside for tackling the ‘pothole plague’
The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced said councils will start to get their share of a £1.6bn road maintenance pot from mid-April.
But to keep their hands on the extra cash, local authorities must publish annual reports detailing progress on pothole fixing or face losing a quarter of their full allocation.
All local authorities who are eligible will get 75% of the extra £500m promised in last autumn’s budget. The remaining 25% could be withheld.
Funding that is held back will be redistributed to councils that have proven to have made the required progress.
The DfT said councils’ road maintenance progress reports must be published by the end of June and say how much they are spending, how many potholes they have filled, how they are minimising roadwork disruption, and what their long-term road maintenance plans are.
By the end of October, councils must also demonstrate that local communities have been consulted on where repairs should take place.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said broken roads were “not only risking lives but also cost working families, drivers and businesses hundreds – if not thousands of pounds – in avoidable vehicle repairs”.
He added that councils have the cash to get on with the job.
According to data from the RAC, there are six potholes for every mile of road in England and Wales.
During the election campaign, Labour pledged to repair up to a million potholes a year in England.
