Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help tackle the variation between national and local standards for (a) preventing and (b) repairing potholes.

Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area.

National Highways are responsible for the maintenance of Strategic Road Network in England.

The Government will provide £24 billion of capital funding between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve both motorways and local roads across the country. This funding increase will allow National Highways and local authorities to invest in significantly improving the long-term condition of England’s road network, delivering faster, safer and more reliable journeys.

That is on top of the record investment of almost £1.6 billion for local road maintenance that we have made this year, a £500m increase compared to 2024-25. 25% of this funding uplift will be held back until local authorities can prove that they are meeting certain criteria to ensure that best practice in sustainable highways asset management is followed.