Councils across England, including Ealing Council, will soon have to publicly reveal more detail about how they repair roads under new government rules designed to crack down on repeated pothole patch-ups.
Local authorities that fail to publish the information, or cannot demonstrate they are following the new guidance, risk having almost a third of their highways maintenance funding withheld.
The new reporting requirements will form part of the government’s red, amber and green (RAG) rating system, which compares how effectively councils are maintaining roads and investing in longer-term repairs rather than relying on short-term fixes.
The move follows the publication of the first ratings earlier this year, which showed Ealing was rated amber overall. The borough’s transparency report highlighted improvements on major routes, with the proportion of A roads in the worst condition category falling from 7% in 2020 to 3% in 2024. However, 9% of unclassified roads, including many residential streets, remained in the red category.
Under the latest guidance, councils will have to publish detailed reports showing how they maintain roads, how many potholes they repair and what action they are taking to stop defects repeatedly returning to the same stretches of road.
Residents will be able to compare how effectively their council is performing when the reports are published in September 2026.
Roads and Buses Minister Simon Lightwood said: “For too long motorists have been left incensed by short-term work being prioritised over genuine long-term repairs.
“For the first time not only will councils need to show just how many potholes they are filling in, but what they are doing to avoid going back to fix the same pothole time and again – something which understandably infuriates drivers.”
Ealing’s previous submission to the ratings scheme showed the council repaired an estimated 4,241 potholes in 2023-24 before the figure fell to 3,027 in 2024-25.
The council also warned that long-term funding remains a major challenge. In its report, it said: “Based on modelling carried out in 2021 by an independent consultant, it was calculated that a minimum annual budget of £8.5m is required to maintain the network in a steady state at its current condition.
“Without this level of budget, the road network will continue to decline. We have not received any funding for Principal Road renewal from TfL in two years, therefore the additional DfT pothole funding is vital as we tend to use it to resurface our busiest roads and junctions.”
The government says councils now have access to a record £7.3 billion of long-term highways funding, while authorities that fail to meet transparency requirements could lose part of their allocation.
Kerry Winstantley, managing director of the Local Council Roads Innovation Group, said: “This guidance represents a significant step forward in how local road maintenance performance is measured and reported.
“That means road users, taxpayers and decision makers will have a clearer understanding of how local road networks are being managed and where improvements are being made. Better, more consistent data will also help ensure investment and funding decisions are targeted where they can have the greatest impact.”
