A two-part roads funding model.
The answer is simple: give local highways authorities a fair annual roads budget from ring-fenced VED, then borrow £10bn now to tackle the resurfacing backlog already caused by decades of underfunding.
Ring-fence VED to local authorities every year.
Vehicle Excise Duty should be returned to local highways authorities as a yearly roads payout, using a fair weighted formula.
- 50% based on licensed vehicle numbers
- 30% based on local road length
- 20% based on freight weighting
Borrow £10bn now to deal with the worst roads.
Ring-fencing VED fixes the future, but it does not instantly repair the backlog. A one-off recovery fund is needed now.
- £10bn borrowed centrally
- Distributed by local authority road miles
- £27,948.34 per road mile
- Paid down by reducing each authority’s annual VED-model payout by 10% until repaid
What does this mean for your authority?
Select a local authority to compare the current highways funding picture with the proposed Restore Our Roads model. This shows the present budget, the central government contribution, the local council-funded balance, and what the annual ring-fenced VED model plus the one-off recovery fund could mean.
With this funding, highways could be planned properly.
The proposed model gives authorities a predictable annual highways allocation, plus a one-off recovery fund to tackle the worst resurfacing backlog.
Better highways funding means better local results.
Better roads
More money for proper resurfacing, reconstruction and long-life repairs instead of endless patching.
Better walking and cycling
Safer surfaces, better drainage, clearer markings and more reliable everyday routes.
Local infrastructure
A ring-fenced budget lets councils build up a nest egg for junctions, parking, safety schemes and long-needed projects.
Less council tax pressure
When highways money is handled properly, other council budgets are not forced to carry the strain.
Annual formula
The yearly local highways payout is based on 50% vehicle numbers, 30% road length and 20% freight weighting.
Recovery formula
The £10bn recovery fund is distributed at £27,948.34 per recorded road mile to deal with the worst resurfacing backlog first.
Repayment
Each authority pays down its recovery share through a 10% annual reduction from its VED-model payout until repaid.
Council tax should fund real public services, not patch a national roads failure.
Once highways funding is properly ring-fenced, council tax can be focused on education support, libraries, social care, trading standards, local enforcement, community programmes and frontline services.
Drivers already pay enough through motoring taxes. Local services should not be weakened because central government refuses to return a fair share to the roads.
Highways money must stay highways money.
Ring-fenced highways funding should be used for proper maintenance, resurfacing, drainage, signs, markings, junction improvements, safety schemes, new local road infrastructure and parking facilities where they reduce pressure on local roads.
When councils make sensible highways savings, they should be rewarded by keeping those savings in a local highways reserve — a nest egg for future local infrastructure instead of waiting every year for a funding miracle.
The solution is fair annual funding and a serious recovery fund.
Ring-fence VED for local roads every year. Borrow £10bn to start clearing the resurfacing backlog now. Pay it down through a 10% annual reduction from each authority’s VED-model allocation until repaid.
Stop using council tax and local services as the shock absorber for a broken national funding model.
Drivers pay enough. Local roads need their fair share.