Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2025 to Question 99925, what assumptions were used to estimate that the funding increases described will enable local authorities to fill an additional one million potholes per year, including assumptions on (a) the average cost of a pothole repair, (b) the proportion of funding allocated to reactive pothole repairs rather than other maintenance activity, and (c) regional variation in repair costs.

The estimate is based on the industry assumption that the national average cost of repairing a pothole is approximately £70. Using this figure, the £7.3 billion of funding from 2026/27 - 2029/30 would enable local authorities to fix millions of additional potholes each year when compared to previous funding levels.

Alongside funding to support local authorities in repairing potholes, the Government has also taken action to prevent them from forming in the first place. A share of the increased investment that the Government made available in this financial year and in future years is contingent on local highway authorities demonstrating how they are complying with best practice in highways maintenance, including the greater adoption of preventative maintenance. These requirements are intended to incentivise local authorities to adopt more preventative maintenance and other best practice to ensure roads are kept in good condition for longer, fewer potholes form in the first place and that this funding is spent as effectively as possible in improving the condition of local roads.