Infrastructure · The national record
Road condition across the UK
How well maintained are the roads in every part of the UK, from the official government condition surveys. In England, 17 per cent of unclassified (local) roads were assessed as red, meaning maintenance should have been considered, in the financial year ending March 2025. In Scotland, 35 per cent of all roads were rated red or amber, meaning they needed repair, in 2024. The two systems measure different things and are not directly comparable, but both reveal pockets of serious under maintenance in the places that depend on local roads most.
Two surveys, two systems
England measures roads where maintenance should have been considered (red band only). Scotland measures roads needing repair (red and amber combined). These are not directly comparable. England and Scotland are shown in separate sections throughout this page.
How to read this
England: Road Condition Statistics from the Department for Transport (DfT), financial year ending 2025. Local highway authorities survey their roads using the SCANNER machine survey method; results are expressed as the percentage of each road class that is red (where maintenance should have been considered). Scotland: Road Condition Indicator from the Scottish Trunk Road and Strategic Network (SCOTS) survey, 2024 calendar year. The Scottish figure combines red and amber bands, meaning the road needs repair. The two systems use different classifications: the England figure (red only) and the Scotland figure (red and amber combined) are not directly comparable and are presented separately.
Computed from DfT Road Condition Statistics (FYE 2025), tables RDC0120 and RDC0130, published 2025; and from the SCOTS Road Condition Indicator (2024) via statistics.gov.scot. England: SCANNER machine survey. Scotland: red and amber classification combined.
The national picture
Two surveys, two systems, one shared pattern of local neglect
England and Scotland each survey their roads, but with different yardsticks. In England, the Department for Transport measures the share of each road class where maintenance should have been considered, calling that band red. For unclassified local roads, the figure is 17 per cent nationally. Motorways and A roads are in much better shape at 5 per cent, reflecting the heavier investment they receive. In Scotland, the SCOTS survey combines red and amber roads into a single needs repair figure; the national rate in 2024 was 35 per cent. Because Scotland counts both red and amber, while England counts red only, a higher Scotland figure does not mean Scottish roads are worse overall, it means a wider net is cast. Both surveys agree that local and rural roads face the greatest maintenance pressure.
England by road class
Local roads carry the biggest backlog
Across England, the maintenance gap varies dramatically by road class. Motorways and A roads are assessed at 5 per cent red, reflecting sustained investment in strategic routes. B and C roads sit at 7 per cent. Unclassified local roads, the back streets, rural lanes and estate roads that most people use every day, are at 17 per cent red. These roads carry less traffic by volume but are the most numerous, most expensive per kilometre to bring back to standard, and most likely to be used by pedestrians and cyclists who have no alternative route.
Percentage of road length assessed as red (maintenance should have been considered). England only. Financial year ending March 2025. Source: DfT RDC0120 and RDC0130.
England, local roads · council breakdown
Worst and best local authorities on unclassified roads
Among English local authorities, the rate on unclassified local roads ranges from 36 per cent in Derbyshire at the top to 1 per cent in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole UA at the bottom. The worst performers include large county councils responsible for extensive rural road networks, where maintenance backlogs accumulate over years of constrained local authority budgets. The best performers are often unitary authorities with smaller, more manageable networks. Derbyshire also tops the A road table at 29 per cent red, suggesting a systemwide maintenance shortfall rather than a category specific one.
Highest red rates, local roads
Lowest red rates, local roads
Worst local authorities, A roads and motorways
England FYE 2025. Red band = maintenance should have been considered. Source: DfT RDC0120 (A roads and motorways) and RDC0130 (unclassified local roads).
Scotland · council breakdown
A third of Scottish roads need repair, but wide variation by council
Across Scotland, 35 per cent of roads were rated red or amber, meaning they needed repair, in 2024. The worst maintained council area is Argyll and Bute at 51 per cent, followed by Dumfries and Galloway at 50 per cent. These are predominantly rural councils with long road networks relative to their populations and budgets. At the other end, Aberdeenshire at 22 per cent and Orkney Islands at 26 per cent are the best maintained, helped by oil related investment and a more compact road network. The Scotland total includes all roads (trunk and local); the England figure covers only roads maintained by local highway authorities.
Highest needs repair rates
Lowest needs repair rates
Scotland 2024. Red and amber combined = roads needing repair. Scotland total: 35%. Source: SCOTS Road Condition Indicator, statistics.gov.scot.
Close to home
West Lothian
West Lothian sits at 32 per cent, just below the Scottish average of 35 per cent, ranking 20 out of 32 councils from worst to best in 2024. The rate has crept up from 29 per cent in 2022 to 31 per cent in 2023 and 32 per cent in 2024, a modest but consistent rise suggesting the maintenance backlog is slowly growing rather than being resolved. As a mixed urban and rural council, West Lothian has both the dense suburban road network of commuter towns and rural B roads connecting smaller settlements, with maintenance pressures across both types.
West Lothian trend (2019 to 2024)
Red bar = latest year. Red and amber combined. Source: SCOTS Road Condition Indicator.
Questions this raises
For road maintenance policy
- 1.
England unclassified local roads are in far worse condition than A roads and motorways. Should road funding be rebalanced away from strategic routes toward the back streets most people actually walk, cycle and drive on daily?
- 2.
In England, Derbyshire has a local road red rate of 36 per cent, nearly ten times the best performing authority. What explains such wide variation, and is it fair that your road quality depends so heavily on which council you happen to live in?
- 3.
Scotland and England use different classification systems. A genuinely comparable UK wide road condition measure does not currently exist. Should transport statistics be harmonised so the public can see the full picture?
- 4.
Local authority road maintenance budgets have faced sustained pressure for over a decade. At what point does deferring maintenance become more expensive than simply funding it?
- 5.
West Lothian's road condition rate has risen each year since 2022. What would it take to reverse that trend before the backlog reaches the point of requiring full reconstruction rather than surface treatment?
Sources & method
Data provenance
- DfT Road Condition Statistics: data tables (RDC), tables RDC0120 and RDC0130 ↗· Open Government Licence v3.0
- SCOTS Road Condition Indicator, statistics.gov.scot ↗· Open Government Licence v3.0
Caveats & data notes
- England and Scotland use different road condition classification systems. England reports the share of roads where maintenance should have been considered (red only, SCANNER machine survey). Scotland reports the share of roads needing repair (red and amber combined, SCOTS survey). The figures are not directly comparable and are presented in separate sections.
- England figures are for financial year ending March 2025 and cover roads maintained by local highway authorities; trunk roads and motorways maintained by National Highways are excluded from local authority tables.
- Scotland figures are for calendar year 2024 and include all roads (trunk and local). The SCOTS indicator covers Scotland only; Wales and Northern Ireland have separate condition surveys not included here.
- Local authority values are rounded to the nearest whole percentage point in the source data. Small differences between councils may not be statistically meaningful.
- West Lothian is identified by its official area code S12000040. Its SCOTS indicator value covers all roads in the council area.
- The England unclassified road survey (RDC0130) covers roads not classified as A, B, or C, including residential streets, rural lanes, and estate roads. These are the most numerous roads by length.
- Source data is published by the Department for Transport and Statistics Scotland under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Every figure on this page traces to its official source. Share it as it stands.
Keep going
Related deep dives
Full fibre, gigabit and mobile availability across the UK, the premises still without a decent connection, and how it varies by nation and local area.
Punctuality and cancellations by train operator, who is most and least reliable, from the Office of Rail and Road.
The public charging network growing fast but unevenly, by nation and local area, with Scotland ahead and Northern Ireland far behind.
The monthly reading
Get the next one by email
One email a month: the national resilience score, what moved, and the newest analyses like this one, plus The Quarterly Record four times a year. Every figure traced to its official source.