The government has promised to fix the UK’s roads and fill potholes with an extra £1.6bn investment that will be distributed to local councils.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said the money represents an increase of nearly 50% on local road maintenance funding from last year and goes beyond Labour’s manifesto pledge to fix the equivalent of over 7 million extra potholes in 2025 to 2026.

Recent data from the AA found that the number of vehicles damaged by potholes reached a five-year high. In November 2023, the Conservatives announced that £8.3bn in redirected HS2 funds would be spent to try and remedy the issue, but while the funding represented an increase, the Asphalt Industry Alliance said that more than £14bn in central government funding would be needed to fix the backlog of repairs.

The DfT called on the public to start reporting potholes in their area to their local council. The £1.6bn is being roughly apportioned out across the country, with the East and West Midlands getting...