Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria are used to determine the allocation of funding for road resurfacing to local councils; and how these criteria have been applied to Dorset Council.

The main criteria used to determine the allocation of highway maintenance funding to local highway authorities are road length and road classification, along with the number of bridges and street lighting columns that each local authority is responsible for maintaining. The Department uses a bespoke formula to allocate funding to eligible authorities, including Dorset Council; details of the formula can be found on gov.uk.

It is for Dorset Council to decide how much to spend in the West Dorset constituency and how much to spend elsewhere across its network.

Funding allocations for Dorset Council for the last six years are set out in the table below.

Funding for Dorset Council 2020/21 – 2025/26

* For 2020/21, this included the £500 million Pothole Fund, allocated funding from the £100 million Challenge Fund, and the final £50 million of the previous Pothole Action Fund, totalling £650 million.

**25% of this funding is subject to authorities adhering to incentive measures as announced on March 24, 2025.