DfT Road Maintenance Ratings 2025-2026All 154 English Highway Authorities
The DfT rated 154 English highway authorities for 2025-2026: 13 RED, 125 AMBER and 16 GREEN. These are network-level bands and do not establish notice or liability for a specific pothole.
Last reviewed: 19 July 2026
Why This Matters For Your Claim
When councils reject pothole damage claims, their most common defence is:"We had no prior knowledge of this defect."
Ratings provide context, not proof of liability, and do not automatically defeat a Section 58 defence. A RED or AMBER rating is a network-level assessment; it does not establish notice of the pothole or whether a reasonable inspection and repair system operated at the incident location.
Mac can include the source rating in your claim pack as background context for you to review alongside defect-specific evidence.
📊 How Ratings Are Calculated
- 1Road Condition
Current state of A, B/C and unclassified roads
- 2Spend Score
How much councils invest in maintenance vs their allocation
- 3Best Practice
Adoption of innovation, decarbonisation, and footway maintenance
Source: Department for Transport
The Full Breakdown
Every local highway authority in England, grouped by their overall DfT rating. Find your council and see how they're performing.
Red-rated councils
13 councilsThese authorities received the lower DfT network-level rating. The rating alone does not establish a breach of duty or liability for a specific incident.
| Council | Overall |
|---|---|
| BedfordEast of England | |
| BoltonGreater Manchester | |
| CumberlandNorth West | |
| DerbyshireEast Midlands | |
| GreenwichLondon | |
| Kensington and ChelseaLondon | |
| LeicestershireEast Midlands | |
| North LincolnshireYorkshire and the Humber | |
| SloughSouth East | |
| SuffolkEast of England | |
| Waltham ForestLondon | |
| West NorthamptonshireEast Midlands | |
| Westmorland and FurnessNorth West |
⚠️ Room for Improvement
125 councilsThe majority of councils fall into this middle network-level category. Check defect-specific inspection, report and repair records when assessing an individual incident.
| Council | Overall |
|---|---|
| Barking and DagenhamLondon | |
| BarnetLondon | |
| BarnsleySouth Yorkshire | |
| Bath and North East SomersetSouth West | |
| BexleyLondon | |
| BirminghamWest Midlands | |
| Blackburn with DarwenNorth West | |
| BlackpoolNorth West | |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and PooleSouth West | |
| Bracknell ForestSouth East | |
| BradfordWest Yorkshire | |
| BrentLondon | |
| Brighton and HoveSouth East | |
| BristolSouth West | |
| BromleyLondon | |
| BuckinghamshireSouth East | |
| BuryGreater Manchester | |
| CalderdaleWest Yorkshire | |
| CambridgeshireEast of England | |
| CamdenLondon | |
| Central BedfordshireEast of England | |
| Cheshire EastNorth West | |
| Cheshire West and ChesterNorth West | |
| City of LondonLondon | |
| YorkYorkshire and the Humber | |
| CornwallSouth West | |
| CroydonLondon | |
| DerbyEast Midlands | |
| DevonSouth West | |
| DoncasterSouth Yorkshire | |
| DorsetSouth West | |
| DudleyWest Midlands | |
| DurhamNorth East | |
| EalingLondon | |
| East Riding of YorkshireYorkshire and the Humber | |
| East SussexSouth East | |
| EnfieldLondon | |
| GatesheadTyne and Wear | |
| HackneyLondon | |
| HaltonNorth West | |
| Hammersmith and FulhamLondon | |
| HampshireSouth East | |
| HaringeyLondon | |
| HarrowLondon | |
| HartlepoolNorth East | |
| HaveringLondon | |
| HerefordshireWest Midlands | |
| HertfordshireEast of England | |
| HounslowLondon | |
| Isle of WightSouth East | |
| Isles of ScillySouth West | |
| IslingtonLondon | |
| KentSouth East | |
| HullYorkshire and the Humber | |
| Kingston upon ThamesLondon | |
| KirkleesWest Yorkshire | |
| KnowsleyMerseyside | |
| LambethLondon | |
| LancashireNorth West | |
| LeicesterEast Midlands | |
| LincolnshireEast Midlands | |
| LiverpoolMerseyside | |
| LutonEast of England | |
| MedwaySouth East | |
| MertonLondon | |
| Milton KeynesSouth East | |
| NewcastleTyne and Wear | |
| NewhamLondon | |
| NorfolkEast of England | |
| North East LincolnshireYorkshire and the Humber | |
| North NorthamptonshireEast Midlands | |
| North SomersetSouth West | |
| North TynesideTyne and Wear | |
| North YorkshireYorkshire and the Humber | |
| NorthumberlandNorth East | |
| NottinghamEast Midlands | |
| NottinghamshireEast Midlands | |
| OldhamGreater Manchester | |
| OxfordshireSouth East | |
| PeterboroughEast of England | |
| PlymouthSouth West | |
| ReadingSouth East | |
| RedbridgeLondon | |
| Redcar and ClevelandNorth East | |
| Richmond upon ThamesLondon | |
| RochdaleGreater Manchester | |
| RutlandEast Midlands | |
| SalfordGreater Manchester | |
| SeftonMerseyside | |
| SheffieldSouth Yorkshire | |
| ShropshireWest Midlands | |
| SolihullWest Midlands | |
| SomersetSouth West | |
| South GloucestershireSouth West | |
| South TynesideTyne and Wear | |
| SouthamptonSouth East | |
| Southend-on-SeaEast of England | |
| SouthwarkLondon | |
| St HelensMerseyside | |
| StaffordshireWest Midlands | |
| StockportGreater Manchester | |
| Stockton-on-TeesNorth East | |
| Stoke-on-TrentWest Midlands | |
| SunderlandTyne and Wear | |
| SurreySouth East | |
| SuttonLondon | |
| SwindonSouth West | |
| TamesideGreater Manchester | |
| Telford and WrekinWest Midlands | |
| ThurrockEast of England | |
| TorbaySouth West | |
| Tower HamletsLondon | |
| TraffordGreater Manchester | |
| Transport for LondonLondon | |
| WakefieldWest Yorkshire | |
| WalsallWest Midlands | |
| WandsworthLondon | |
| WarringtonNorth West | |
| WarwickshireWest Midlands | |
| West SussexSouth East | |
| WestminsterLondon | |
| Windsor and MaidenheadSouth East | |
| WirralMerseyside | |
| WokinghamSouth East | |
| WolverhamptonWest Midlands |
Higher DfT rating band
16 councilsThese authorities received the higher DfT network-level rating. It does not establish how a specific defect was inspected, reported or repaired.
| Council | Overall |
|---|---|
| CoventryWest Midlands | |
| DarlingtonNorth East | |
| EssexEast of England | |
| GloucestershireSouth West | |
| HillingdonLondon | |
| LeedsWest Yorkshire | |
| LewishamLondon | |
| ManchesterGreater Manchester | |
| MiddlesbroughNorth East | |
| PortsmouthSouth East | |
| RotherhamSouth Yorkshire | |
| SandwellWest Midlands | |
| West BerkshireSouth East | |
| WiganGreater Manchester | |
| WiltshireSouth West | |
| WorcestershireWest Midlands |
Understanding the Scorecards
Combined score across all metrics
Current state of local roads
Investment in maintenance
Innovation & efficiency
£7.3 Billion at Stake
To access their full share of the government's £7.3 billion highways maintenance funding (2026/27 to 2029/30), councils must continue publishing transparency reports and demonstrate compliance with best practice.
Red-rated councils will receive dedicated government support to improve their processes. That programme is useful policy context, but does not establish what an authority knew about a particular road defect.
Read the full DfT guidanceHit a pothole? Check your council's rating.
Mac can include the source data in your claim pack as background context for you to review.
Data source: Department for Transport — Local Road Maintenance Ratings 2025 to 2026. DfT source published: 11 January 2026. Fixtyer dataset published: 19 July 2026. Last reviewed: 19 July 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.