Roads, highways and potholes

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Highways maintenance and potholes ran through the 2026/27 budgets of Reform-led county authorities, with officers repeatedly casting the funding shortfall as a national problem rather than a local failure.[1][2] Where administrations added money they funded it from their own budgets, borrowing or claimed efficiency savings, and leaned on Department for Transport maintenance grants rather than any programme branded Network North.[3][4][5][6]

Key figures

5 Reform-led councils reported their highways maintenance backlog to committee or full council
Kent County Council
Kent County Council's Growth, Economic Development, Transport and Communities Cabinet Committee was told the total highway asset management backlog across all highway assets was now estimated at just over £1 billion, against a previously reported £770 million figure covering the highway network alone.
“the total backlog for all highway assets was currently estimated at just over £1 billion.” source ↗
Derbyshire County Council
The Cabinet Member for Potholes, Highways and Transport contested the size of the inherited backlog, putting it at 17,000 potholes rather than the higher figure quoted by opposition members, and reported having since filled 45,000 potholes, 10,000 more than the year before.
“It's actually a backlog of 17,000 potholes. We've now filled in 45,000 potholes, which is 10,000 potholes more than the previous year-on-year comparison.” source ↗
Nottinghamshire County Council
At Place Select Committee on 8 December 2025, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment Councillor Bert Bingham presented the council's Highways Review, which reported that Nottinghamshire has 2,760 miles of road with an estimated replacement value of £10bn and that officers described the shortfall in funding for highway asset maintenance as a national issue, while stating the council's ambition was to match or exceed current highway funding levels.
“Officers noted the deficit in funding allocated to drainage assets, explaining the issue of highway asset depreciation and backlog was a national issue.” source ↗
Staffordshire County Council
Answering a councillor question on highways in July 2025, the Leader of Staffordshire County Council acknowledged the maintenance backlog, saying the administration would work with all councillors to tackle it.
“will work with all councillors to address the backlog in road maintenance and improve infrastructure delivery” source ↗
Warwickshire County Council
On 25 February 2026, the Director of Highways reported to the Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee a rise in pothole repair jobs since 1 January 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, and a resulting backlog of permanent repair jobs.
“resulting in a backlog of 1,624 permanent repair jobs” source ↗
Derived from an exhaustive search for “highways maintenance backlog”, counted against the corpus as of 2026-07-08.
6 Reform-led councils added new money to their 2026/27 highways-maintenance or pothole budget, from +£2m to +£18.5m
Kent County Council
Kent's Capital Highways Maintenance grant for 2026/27 was reported at £56 million, an increase of £2 million on the previous year, alongside a further £274 million pledged for highways and drainage over the following four years.
“a Capital Highways Maintenance grant of £56 million, representing an additional £2 million compared to the previous year.” source ↗
Derbyshire County Council
Cabinet approved the 2026-27 Highways Capital Programme and, within it, introduced a new £3.000m Member-led Minor Residential Roads Resurfacing Programme, an additional dedicated resurfacing budget on top of the existing capital programme.
“Approve the introduction of the £3.000m Member-led Minor Residential Roads Resurfacing Programme and delegates to the Highways Director, as Chair of Highways Capital Programme Board, and the Cabinet Member for Potholes, Roads and Transport the approval to amend or extend this Programme” source ↗
Lincolnshire County Council
Lincolnshire County Council's Executive on 3 February 2026 proposed creating a £4 million Highway Improvement Fund in the 2026/27 budget to target drainage issues and potholes on the highway, alongside a £0.5 million Community Fund, and members welcomed the additional funding.
“It was also noted that paragraph 3.6 of the Update proposed the creation of two new reserves, to provide a £0.5m Community Fund to provide funding for local community projects and a £4m Highway Improvement Fund to focus additional funding to target drainage issues and potholes on the highway.” source ↗
Staffordshire County Council
Staffordshire's Medium Term Financial Strategy and 2026/27 Budget, approved by County Council on 12 February 2026, named £15m into highways as one of its major investments, funded through service efficiencies and a new delivery model.
“£15m into highways, supported by service efficiencies and a new delivery model which has enabled timely repairs of all high-risk defects” source ↗
Nottinghamshire County Council
On 23 April 2026 Nottinghamshire's Cabinet resolved (2026/013) to approve the Phase 2 Highways Capital and Revenue Programmes -- including an additional Council Capital Maintenance Programme -- and to vary the Transport and Environment Portfolio Capital Programme by £15m to fund additional investment in the Highways Improvement Programme, financed from borrowing.
“2) That, subject to the support of the Corporate Asset Management Group, the Transport and Environment Portfolio Capital Programme be varied by £15m to reflect the additional investment in the Highways Improvement Programme funded from borrowing.” source ↗
Lancashire County Council
Lancashire County Council's cabinet on 5 March 2026 approved the apportionment of the £48.526 million Department for Transport highway maintenance grant for 2026/27 together with an additional £18.474 million provided in the council's own budget.
“The proposed apportionment of the 2026/27 Department for Transport Highway Maintenance funding grant of £48.526m and the additional £18.474m provided in the budget, as detailed in the report and at Appendices 'A' and 'B' of the report, be approved” source ↗
Derived from an exhaustive search for “pothole / carriageway resurfacing budget 2026/27”, counted against the corpus as of 2026-07-08.
4 Reform-led councils voted down opposition budget amendments seeking extra highways or pothole funding for 2026/27
Kent County Council
A backbench amendment to the 2026/27 budget proposing an extra £180,000 for the Highways Asset Maintenance Fund for pothole repairs, funded by cutting Political Assistant posts and Member Allowances, was defeated at the February 2026 budget-setting County Council (29 for, 48 against, 1 abstention) -- so this proposed increase did not go ahead.
“This amendment proposes an increase to the Highways Asset Maintenance Fund, with the additional £180k specifically allocated for pothole repairs across the county.” source ↗
Leicestershire County Council
At Leicestershire's budget-setting Full Council on 18 February 2026, an opposition amendment (moved by Mrs Taylor, seconded by Mr King) to add £3m to the 2026/27 footpath maintenance budget, explicitly to reduce the backlog of reported defects, was defeated 23 votes to 19, with 10 abstentions.
“The proposal set out in Table F was not carried, with 19 members voting for the amendment and 23 voting against.” source ↗
Lincolnshire County Council
A Conservative amendment to transfer a further £10 million from the Volatility Reserve to the highways maintenance budget for 2026/27, focused on permanent repairs and preventative maintenance, was put to a recorded vote at the same meeting and fell.
“a recorded vote was taken on the fifth amendment by the Conservative Group. Upon being put to the vote the amendment fell.” source ↗
West Northamptonshire Council
At Full Council on 26 February 2026, a Conservative amendment to the Reform administration's 2026-27 Final Budget that included 'additional investment in highways repairs' was put to a recorded vote and lost, 15 votes for to 52 against with 1 abstention.
“additional investment in highways repairs, and support for local communities through the councillor empowerment funding and planning support for parishes.” source ↗
Derived from an exhaustive search for “highways maintenance budget amendment”, counted against the corpus as of 2026-07-08.

Reporting the backlog

In Derbyshire the cabinet member for potholes put the inherited backlog at 17,000 potholes rather than the larger figure opponents cited, and rebutted a circulated 100,000 backlog claim as actually the number of potholes filled in a year.[7][8] Kent's officers were blunter, telling councillors the £1 billion headline had merely been rounded up from a previously reported £1.3 billion and signalled no real improvement, and that clearing it would need roughly £150 million a year.[9] West Northamptonshire, by contrast, published no quantified backlog at all: members noted its performance report did not even show how many reported potholes were still unallocated, and a proposal to log road condition as a formal strategic risk was only referred up to the leadership team.[10][11]

How the increases were funded

Derbyshire framed its new residential-roads resurfacing money as recycled Reform savings, saying its re-tendered highways contract came in under estimate and the difference was reinvested.[3][12] Nottinghamshire instead borrowed to top up its capital programme, while Lancashire drew on its own budget alongside the DfT grant and Lincolnshire ring-fenced a dedicated fund aimed squarely at drainage and potholes.[4][5][13] Staffordshire tied its highways investment to service efficiencies and a new delivery model, and reported filling an average of 845 potholes a week, about 5 per cent above its five-year average.[14][15] Leicestershire funded no fresh carriageway line of its own but reallocated capital between schemes and pointed to £22 million of extra highways and transport grant received since its February 2025 strategy.[16]

Bigger top-ups rejected, and the gaps

In Lincolnshire the administration pressed ahead with its own new highways fund even as it voted down a Conservative bid to move a further £10 million from reserves into maintenance.[13][17] West Northamptonshire's leader blamed forces largely outside the budget debate, citing a Department for Transport red rating on the county's highways and a large share of highways funding being diverted to SEND home-to-school transport.[18] Kent's defeated amendment would have funded its pothole top-up by cutting political-assistant posts and member allowances.[19] Warwickshire alone recorded no quantified 2026/27 increase in its published minutes, only a general commitment to resurfacing and pothole repairs, while West Northamptonshire held its capital-programme detail in unpublished appendices, so genuine coverage gaps sit alongside the clear negatives.[20][21]

References

1. At Place Select Committee on 8 December 2025, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment Councillor Bert Bingham presented the council's Highways Review, which reported that Nottinghamshire has 2,760 miles of road with an estimated replacement value of £10bn and that officers described the shortfall in funding for highway asset maintenance as a national issue, while stating the council's ambition was to match or exceed current highway funding levels.
“Regarding the Council’s ambition for the highway budget, officers confirmed the Council’s intention was to match or exceed current funding levels.” Document, 25 March 2026 ↗
“Officers noted the deficit in funding allocated to drainage assets, explaining the issue of highway asset depreciation and backlog was a national issue.” Document, 25 March 2026 ↗
“there were 2,760 miles of roads in Nottinghamshire which had an estimated replacement value of £10bln.” Document, 25 March 2026 ↗
2. Leicestershire's Highways and Transport Overview and Scrutiny Committee discussed the national road maintenance backlog when reviewing performance to June 2025, recording that an estimated £17bn total budget was needed to address the backlog across England, in the context of the council's own deteriorating road condition and reduced real-terms government funding.
“It was noted that to address the backlog in maintenance work across England, a total budget of £17bn had been estimated” Document, 6 November 2025 ↗
3. The council reallocated in-year efficiency savings from its highways contract tendering into additional pothole and road funding, feeding a new £3m member-led residential roads programme.
“This has resulted in works coming in underestimate and then reinvested - such as in our new £3m member led program. I am confident that these efficiencies have been achieved in this financial year, under this administration.” Minutes, 11 February 2026 ↗
4. On 23 April 2026 Nottinghamshire's Cabinet resolved (2026/013) to approve the Phase 2 Highways Capital and Revenue Programmes -- including an additional Council Capital Maintenance Programme -- and to vary the Transport and Environment Portfolio Capital Programme by £15m to fund additional investment in the Highways Improvement Programme, financed from borrowing.
“4. PHASE 2 – HIGHWAYS CAPITAL AND REVENUE PROGRAMMES RESOLVED 2026/013 1) That the following programmes be approved for delivery (subject to the provisions set out in paragraphs 63, 64 and 67 of the report): a. the proposed additional Council Capital Maintenance Programme” Document, 11 June 2026 ↗
“2) That, subject to the support of the Corporate Asset Management Group, the Transport and Environment Portfolio Capital Programme be varied by £15m to reflect the additional investment in the Highways Improvement Programme funded from borrowing.” Document, 11 June 2026 ↗
5. Lancashire County Council's cabinet on 5 March 2026 approved the apportionment of the £48.526 million Department for Transport highway maintenance grant for 2026/27 together with an additional £18.474 million provided in the council's own budget.
“The proposed apportionment of the 2026/27 Department for Transport Highway Maintenance funding grant of £48.526m and the additional £18.474m provided in the budget, as detailed in the report and at Appendices 'A' and 'B' of the report, be approved” Minutes, 5 March 2026 ↗
6. Highways maintenance is funded partly through Department for Transport allocations, including the local pothole plan, rather than any programme named 'Network North' in Kent's own minutes.
“These arrangements were supported by Department for Transport funding, including funding allocated through the local pothole plan.” Minutes, 26 March 2026 ↗
7. The Cabinet Member for Potholes, Highways and Transport contested the size of the inherited backlog, putting it at 17,000 potholes rather than the higher figure quoted by opposition members, and reported having since filled 45,000 potholes, 10,000 more than the year before.
“It's actually a backlog of 17,000 potholes. We've now filled in 45,000 potholes, which is 10,000 potholes more than the previous year-on-year comparison.” Minutes, 11 February 2026 ↗
8. The Cabinet Member also rebutted a circulated figure of a 100,000 pothole backlog, saying that number was actually potholes filled in a year, not the backlog.
“Labour members seem to extensively be quoting a 100,000 pothole backlog in their election literature. That is factually incorrect and, as I can only presume it’s based on the RAC report from 2021, I’m happy to highlight in that instance too, that 100,000 is the number of potholes we’d filled that year – not the backlog.” Minutes, 21 May 2025 ↗
9. Officers told the Committee an indicative annual investment of approximately £150 million would be needed to address the backlog, and separately confirmed the £1 billion headline had been rounded and was not a real improvement on a previously reported £1.3 billion total.
“an indicative annual investment of approximately £150 million would be required to address the backlog.” Minutes, 7 July 2026 ↗
“it was clarified that the £1 billion figure had been rounded for simplicity and did not indicate a significant improvement from the previously reported total of £1.3 billion.” Minutes, 7 July 2026 ↗
10. At Cabinet on 10 March 2026, members noted the performance report did not show how many reported potholes remained unallocated, and officers said repair times were measured only from when contractor KIER received the job — no quantified maintenance backlog figure was published.
“Pothole reporting was required. It was noted the report did not show how quickly potholes were reported or how many remain unallocated.” Minutes, 10 March 2026 ↗
“In response to how quickly potholes were fixed, it was explained that repair times were measured from when KIER received the job.” Minutes, 10 March 2026 ↗
11. The Audit and Governance Committee (11 March 2026) discussed whether potholes and general road condition should be added as a formal strategic risk; officers said the suggestion would be taken to the leadership team, indicating no such risk had yet been adopted.
“Could an infrastructure-related risk be added, covering areas such as potholes and the general condition of roads?” Minutes, 11 March 2026 ↗
“The suggestion of adding an infrastructure risk would be taken to the leadership team.” Minutes, 11 March 2026 ↗
12. The Cabinet Member for Potholes, Highways and Transport said the council had delivered nearly £52m of the capital programme in year, including A and B roads, plus a further £3m of additional funding found through Reform savings and put into residential roads.
“We've already delivered nearly £52m this year of that capital program and that does include A and B roads. We've also delivered £3m additional funding made through reform savings to residential roads as well.” Minutes, 11 February 2026 ↗
13. Lincolnshire County Council's Executive on 3 February 2026 proposed creating a £4 million Highway Improvement Fund in the 2026/27 budget to target drainage issues and potholes on the highway, alongside a £0.5 million Community Fund, and members welcomed the additional funding.
“It was also noted that paragraph 3.6 of the Update proposed the creation of two new reserves, to provide a £0.5m Community Fund to provide funding for local community projects and a £4m Highway Improvement Fund to focus additional funding to target drainage issues and potholes on the highway.” Minutes, 3 February 2026 ↗
“Members welcomed the £0.5m Community Fund which would enable local members to bring forward local projects and the additional £4m to tackle drainage issues and potholes.” Minutes, 3 February 2026 ↗
14. Staffordshire's Medium Term Financial Strategy and 2026/27 Budget, approved by County Council on 12 February 2026, named £15m into highways as one of its major investments, funded through service efficiencies and a new delivery model.
“£15m into highways, supported by service efficiencies and a new delivery model which has enabled timely repairs of all high-risk defects” Minutes, 12 February 2026 ↗
15. In a Cabinet update on 20 May 2026 the Acting Leader reported the council had filled an average of 845 potholes a week through April 2026, 5% more than the previous five-year average, and said an extra £15 million had been put into so-called low-priority defects to begin shifting the decades-old maintenance backlog.
“we have fixed 845 potholes a week on average” Minutes, 20 May 2026 ↗
“we’ve invested an extra £15 million to work on so-called ‘low priority’ defects” Minutes, 20 May 2026 ↗
“shift the decades backlog that was left for us” Minutes, 20 May 2026 ↗
16. In July 2025 Leicestershire's Cabinet approved reallocating highways capital funding from the Advanced Design Programme to the North and East Melton Mowbray Distributor Road, and noted an additional £22m of highways and transport funding awarded to the council since the February 2025 Medium Term Financial Strategy, including the Department for Transport's additional highways maintenance grant.
“An update was also provided on the additional £22m highways and transport related funding awarded to the County Council since the current Medium Term Financial Strategy was approved by the Council in February 2025.” Minutes, 15 July 2025 ↗
“Reallocation of funding from the advanced design programme to the North and East Melton Mowbray Distributor Road (NEMMDR)” Minutes, 15 July 2025 ↗
“the Department for Transport’s additional maintenance grant” Minutes, 15 July 2025 ↗
17. A Conservative amendment to transfer a further £10 million from the Volatility Reserve to the highways maintenance budget for 2026/27, focused on permanent repairs and preventative maintenance, was put to a recorded vote at the same meeting and fell.
“1. £10 million is to be transferred from the Volatility Reserve to the Highways Maintenance budget for 2026/27. 2. Expenditure focuses on permanent repairs and preventative maintenance.” Minutes, 20 February 2026 ↗
“a recorded vote was taken on the fifth amendment by the Conservative Group. Upon being put to the vote the amendment fell.” Minutes, 20 February 2026 ↗
18. In Leader's Announcements at Full Council on 19 January 2026, the Leader cited the Department for Transport's 'red' rating on West Northamptonshire's highways and said a significant share of highways funding was going to SEND transport, reducing the money available for road repairs.
“Department for Transport “red” rating on highways” Minutes, 19 January 2026 ↗
“a significant portion of highways funding was allocated to SEND transport, which limited the funds available for road repairs.” Minutes, 19 January 2026 ↗
19. A backbench amendment to the 2026/27 budget proposing an extra £180,000 for the Highways Asset Maintenance Fund for pothole repairs, funded by cutting Political Assistant posts and Member Allowances, was defeated at the February 2026 budget-setting County Council (29 for, 48 against, 1 abstention) -- so this proposed increase did not go ahead.
“This amendment proposes an increase to the Highways Asset Maintenance Fund, with the additional £180k specifically allocated for pothole repairs across the county.” Minutes, 12 February 2026 ↗
“Abstain (1) Mrs M Fothergill. Amendment lost.” Minutes, 12 February 2026 ↗
20. In the 5 February 2026 debate on the 2026/27 Budget and 2026-31 Medium Term Financial Strategy, a Reform councillor described continued commitment to resurfacing and pothole repairs rather than a quantified budget increase; no document found in Warwickshire's published minutes states a specific increase to the pothole or carriageway resurfacing budget for 2026/27.
“emphasised continued commitment to road safety, resurfacing and pothole repairs” Minutes, 5 February 2026 ↗
21. No council-approved figure for an increase to the 2026/27 pothole or carriageway resurfacing budget specifically appears in West Northamptonshire's published minutes; the Final Revenue and Capital Budget 2026-27 report (Cabinet 16 February, Council 26 February 2026) held the Capital Strategy and Capital Pipeline additions in unpublished appendices, and Cabinet members pressed for clarity on how highways maintenance money already allocated would be spent.
“Significant funding allocated to highways maintenance; clarity was requested about how this money would be spent and whether it represented effective use of resources.” Minutes, 16 February 2026 ↗