How bad are England’s roads? The Government doesn’t know

The condition of local roads in England is declining, the repair backlog is growing and the Department for Transport (Df) doesn’t have a grasp on the situation, according to a damning new report.

The National Audit Office (NAO) investigated the state of England’s 183,000-mile local road network, and examined whether the DfT is ensuring value for money through maintenance and supporting local authorities. The results are not encouraging.

The NAO concluded that the “DfT does not have a good enough understanding of the condition of local roads, and does not use the limited data it does have to allocate its funding as effectively as possible. It does not know whether the funds it allocates are delivering improvements in road condition, and has not updated its guidance to local authorities, to share good practice and help them make the most of their limited funds, for some years.”

What’s wrong with the roads?

Unsurprisingly, the main issue is potholes, with an estimated 1.9 million of them filled in England during 2023-24, according to a survey by the Asphalt Industry Alliance trade body, which also suggested that the cost to empty the backlog of outstanding pothole repairs would be £15.6 billion.

The NAO report found that less than half (48%) of England’s roads are in a “good structural condition”, with 35% classed as adequate and 17% as poor. Maintenance levels have been falling since 2017.

The local road network in England represents 98% of tidal roads, and includes pavements, bridges and drainage systems as well as roads themselves. The DfT itself says poorly maintained roads can be dangerous, increase congestion and journey times and dissuade cycling and walking.

Find out more about potholes, what causes them and how to make a claim if one damages your car.

What’s stopping the problems being sorted?

According to the NAO, “there are currently significant gaps in [the] DfT’s information on the condition of local roads”. The report says local authorities do not share all the data that they should with the DfT – something the DfT is planning to remedy through closer working and recruiting dedicated staff for road condition data collection.

Some 62% of the road network is made up of unclassified roads, for which there is no requirement for authorities to report their condition, meaning the DfT lacks information on them. There’s no data collected on footways, cycleways or bridge conditions, either.

The lack of data held by the DfT means it can’t properly understand how or if the funding it provided for local road maintenance actually improves their condition.

In addition, the increasing backlog in road maintenance work means local authorities don’t have the resources to do preventative work that could work out as better value in the long run. Funding from the DfT to local authorities is increasingly short term, and costs of road maintenance has risen, which means much of the work carried out is reactive rather than preventative – they’re spending too much time fixing existing problems rather than stopping the problems happening in the first place.

Long-term funding does exist – some £8.6 billion was announced by the DfT for local roads maintenance in October 2023 – but it’s not been allocated yet.

What does the NAO report recommend?

The NAO makes several recommendations. Firstly, the DfT should review its requirements for local authorities on how they report the conditions of local roads, making use of advances in data collection and technology. This should ensure the DfT has the information it needs.

Secondly, it should request information on things like bridges, footpaths and so on, which in some cases is already held by local authorities, is passed on to the DfT.

The funding allocation approach needs to be reviewed to ensure money goes where it’s needed, and the DfT should work with the Treasury to work out how to provide long-term funding to authorities for preventative road maintenance.

The DfT should also review how it evaluates its investments to assess whether the funding is doing what it’s meant to.

What’s been the reaction to the NAO report?

David Giles, the chair of the Asphalt Industry Alliance, said the results echo its own findings. “The condition of our local roads is now at an all-time low and there are significant challenges ahead if we are to see significant improvements,” he said.

Welcoming the recommendations, he added: “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.”

The RAC’s head of policy Simon Williams said: “This is sadly yet more damning evidence that England’s local roads are in a truly dire state of repair.

“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.”