Budget brings biggest ever boost for better roads

Millions of drivers will enjoy smoother, safer road journeys as the Chancellor ensures every region in England feels the benefit of the government’s record £7.3 billion local roads boost.

Councils from Blackpool to Milton Keynes will benefit from the record roads funding, enough to fill millions of potholes each year, after the Chancellor doubled annual roads cash at the Budget. This follows Wednesday’s Budget which took the fair and necessary choices to strengthen the economy and chose investment over austerity, because growth is our number one mission to create good jobs, raise living standards and improve public services. 

Despite a decade of damage and historic underinvestment under the previous government, the Chancellor was clear she was determined to defy the forecasts and break Britain out of its cycle of decline through stability, investment and reform. Rachel Reeves is also turning up the pressure on local authorities by more than tripling the share of local roads funding that is tied to transparency – from 8% to over 30% of the budget, worth more than £500 million.

Councils can only unlock the funding if they publish clear pothole and maintenance data and follow best practice. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said: “We promised to fix an extra million potholes a year by the end of this Parliament – we’re doing exactly that.

“We are doubling the funding promised by the previous government, making sure well maintained roads keep businesses moving, communities connected and growth reaching every part of the country.” Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander said: “We’re delivering the biggest-ever investment in road maintenance to fix Britain’s broken roads.

“We’re putting our money where our mouth is, giving councils the long-term investment they need to plan properly and get things right first time, saving you money on costly repairs and making a visible difference in our communities. This isn’t patchwork politics, we are starting the hard work of fixing Britain's roads for good."

Each local authority will be able to use its share of the £7.3 billion to identify the roads most in need of repair and deliver immediate improvements for communities and residents. Councils will still get their core funding, but a much bigger slice of extra cash will now depend on publishing this information.

Those that do so will be able to unlock their full share; those that don’t will miss out.

Regional allocations for the next four years are as follows:

• North West: £800 million
• Yorkshire and the Humber: £500 million
• East Midlands: £700 million
• West Midlands: £800 million
• East of England: £1.2 billion
• South East: £1.5 billion
• South West: £1.5 billion
• London: £300 million
• North East: £30 million

This is on top of record investment of almost £1.6 billion for local road maintenance this year, a £500 million increase compared to 2024/25.

The Budget delivered a package of transport measures including the first national freeze on regulated rail fares in 30 years, £891 million for the Lower Thames Crossing, a project delayed since 2009, and an extension of the landmark electric car grant to help drivers make the switch. This comes as the Chancellor delivered the Budget on Wednesday that eases the cost of living, reduces our national debt, and brings down NHS waiting lists.

Millions of families will see £150 off their energy bills, prescriptions frozen at £9.90, and our actions will lift around 550,000 children out of poverty. Edmund King, AA president, said: "Potholes are the number one transport concern for drivers and continue to blight too many roads, so this funding should help smooth out the road ahead.

"Providing councils with long-term funding, coupled with the requirement to publish repair data and strategies, is a pragmatic solution. That will enable residents to see how their council is progressing and hold them to account."

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “This investment is an extremely welcome move.

“We’ve long called for councils to be given certainty of funding over an extended period so they can properly plan maintenance of their road networks as we believe this will lead to a better, safer driving experience for motorists. We also welcome the Government linking additional funding to councils who commit to carrying out preventative maintenance, as this stops potholes forming in the first place and extends the life of roads.

“It’s also far cheaper than continuously patching pothole-ridden roads only to have to pay far more to resurface them."