Rishi Sunak sets out how pothole funding from HS2 savings to be used

PM Rishi Sunak has set out how money saved from scrapping part of HS2 will tackle potholes around the country. 

£8.3bn of promised funding will go to England’s local councils over the next 11 years for road maintenance. 

Councils said the cost of repairing local roads was closer to £14bn. 

The Local Government Association (LGA) said the money was a boost but calls for longer term funding to tackle the repair backlog.

Its spokesman, Darren Rodwell, said: “Longer-term, the government should award council highways departments with five yearly funding allocations to give more certainty, bringing councils on a par with National Highways so they can develop resurfacing programmes and other highways improvements, tackling the scourge of potholes.”

The AA said call-outs to pothole-related breakdowns were at near-record levels, with more than 450,000 so far this year.