The government has pledged a “record” £7.3bn in funding for local roads after the chancellor doubled annual roads cash in the Budget.

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 £500m. Councils can only unlock the funding if they publish clear pothole and maintenance data and follow best practice.

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 £7.3bn 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: £800m
• Yorkshire and the Humber: £500m
• East Midlands: £700m
• West Midlands: £800m
• East of England: £1.2bn
• South-east: £1.5bn
• South-west: £1.5bn
• London: £300m
• North-east: £30m

This is on top of record investment of almost £1.6bn for local road maintenance this year, a £500m 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, £891m 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.