West Sussex welcomes new pothole transparency rules as government threatens funding cuts

Councils across England have been warned they could lose a significant portion of their highways funding if they fail to meet new reporting requirements.

Under guidance published by the Department for Transport, local authorities will be required to publicly demonstrate how they are repairing roads and preventing potholes from reappearing. Councils that fail to publish the required reports by September risk having almost a third of this year's highways maintenance funding withheld.

A spokesperson for West Sussex County Council said the authority supported the new approach.

"We recognise how important it is to give residents clear, accessible information about how we are performing in maintaining the county's highways,” a spokesperson said.

"We welcome the government's approach, which enables people to see not only how we are doing but also how our performance compares with neighbouring authorities.

"Similar reporting requirements were introduced last year, and the council's previous transparency report can be found on our website.

"Improving the county's roads continues to be a top priority for the council. In the 2025/2026 financial year we received 23,882 pothole reports and repaired almost 25,000 potholes. This year, the council will invest £60.7 million in maintaining and upgrading the highway network. More than 70% of the budget is for work designed to limit the number of potholes forming in the first place, such as resurfacing, large-scale patching and drainage improvements.

"We encourage residents to use our website to view data relating to the reports received and repairs made by our highways team and to report any potholes."

Research released by Confused.com found that more than 3.4 million potholes have been reported across the UK over the past four years, while councils have paid out more than £11 million in compensation for pothole-related vehicle damage.

However, the proportion of successful compensation claims reportedly fell from 29 per cent in 2024 to 19 per cent in 2025.

The insurance comparison website also found that 18 per cent of drivers believe the council claims process is too complicated, while 36 per cent said it should be made clearer.

To help motorists understand how their local authority is performing, Confused.com has launched an online pothole reporting tool showing local repair, compensation and reporting data.

The government says the new rules are aimed at ending short-term ‘patch-up’ repairs and encouraging councils to focus on long-term preventative maintenance, including full resurfacing projects.

For the first time, local authorities will be required to publish details showing how many roads are being resurfaced, how effectively potholes are being repaired and what measures are being taken to prevent repeat defects.

Roads and buses minister Simon Lightwood said motorists had become frustrated by temporary repairs that fail after a short period.

"For too long motorists have been left incensed by short-term work being prioritised over genuine long-term repairs," he said.

"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."

Simon Williams, the head of policy for breakdown company RAC, said that, ‘aside from potholes themselves’, there is ‘nothing that annoys drivers more than ones that have been poorly repaired’ and ‘become potholes again in a matter of weeks or months’.

He added: “Bad repairs are a waste of time and money, so it's positive the government is prioritising long-term fixes over short-term patching and dashing.

"Potholes need to be fixed promptly and permanently as they are a serious road safety danger to those on two wheels, along with causing expensive damage to vehicles.

"The poor state of Britain's roads is drivers' biggest gripe, so it's good to see a new approach being taken. Fixing potholes once and carrying out preventative maintenance that stops them forming in the first place is a big step towards improving our roads for the future."

The government said councils have been allocated a record £7.3 billion in long-term road funding, while authorities that fail to comply with the new transparency requirements could lose access to part of this year's funding allocation.