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Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) Chair, David Giles, was invited to give evidence to the Transport Committee in Scottish Parliament this week.

The committee’s inquiry forms part of Scottish Parliament’s pre-budget scrutiny, and this year the Transport Committee is focusing on road and rail development, including its efforts to improve local roads and tackle potholes.

David was joined by a panel of industry representatives from the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT), the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) Scotland, The Railway Engineering Institution and The Rail Industry Association.

In his evidence to the Committee, David used data from the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey report, gathered for England and Wales, to demonstrate the long-term impact of underfunded roads and how reactive repairs can cost more over time than planned, proactive maintenance.

The latest findings from ALARM 2026 show that local authorities in England and Wales now face a record £18.62 billion backlog of carriageway repairs that would take 12 years to clear. And, in 2026, 1.9 million potholes were filled – the equivalent of 5,200 potholes every day of the year.

“The survey draws on responses from local authorities in England, including London, and Wales. While it does not provide data specific to Scotland’s local roads, we believe its findings offer key insights for the Committee,” said David.

“Local authorities across the whole of the UK are managing the same pressures from more extreme weather events, increasing traffic volumes and long-term underfunding on an ageing network. And, what is clear from 30 years of ALARM data, is that investment needs to be sustained over the long-term, otherwise, any improvement in conditions gained will soon be lost.”

The AIA’s experience in England and Wales points to three clear priorities to tackle the condition of local roads:

• Longer term funding horizon for those responsible for maintaining local roads
• Front loading investment to halt further decline and reduce future costs
• Better use of data and transparency to track performance

Catch up on the full session on Scottish Parliament TV.

 Commenting on today’s Budget, AIA Chair David Giles said: “The Chancellor’s Budget speech today had little in terms of hope for local roads and was another lost opportunity to tackle the resilience issues that are all too evident to road users.

“The DfT reported last week that record funding produced record results with nearly 7,000 miles of road resurfacing taking place this year[1]. While any improvement is a step in the right direction, this only equates to 3% of the 204,000 miles of local roads in England and Wales, almost half of which our 2026 ALARM survey reports are classified to have less than 15 years structural life remaining[2].

“More still needs to be done – and quickly – if we are going to end the pothole patch and mend cycle that has been a fixture for far too long.

“Local roads are the lifeblood of our society. They carry the goods and services to support a thriving, modern economy and help keep communities connected. Yet, despite the vital role they play, local authorities in England and Wales are facing a record £18.62 billion[3] backlog of carriageway repairs.

“We understand that the challenges the Chancellor has but today’s Budget was another missed opportunity. Given the Government’s repeated public commitment to improving the condition of our local roads, we were hopeful that our calls for additional and sustained funding would be heard.

“In our submission to HM Treasury ahead of this Budget we set out the case for investing in our local roads to help tackle the repair backlog as well as the return on doing so, which the DfT identifies as being as much as £9.10 for each additional £1 invested[4].

“We suggested a re-phasing of the Government’s £7.3 billion allocation to 2030 to release more of the capital funding sooner, which would have provided noticeable benefits for road users while supporting the supply chain, securing jobs, driving the economy and saving taxpayers’ money in the long run.

“We also called for a commitment to ongoing, rolling five-year funding horizons to allow local authorities to plan ahead and deliver lasting improvements, while driving greater costs and environmental efficiencies.

“All of these measure would help put an end to the short-term patch and mend cycle that frustrates all road users, wastes public money and allows the condition of our local roads to deteriorate even further.”

 

[1] Record funding, record results: 7,000 miles of smoother journeys as government tackles potholes – GOV.UK

[2] https://www.asphaltuk.org/wp-content/uploads/ALARM-Survey-2026.pdf, pages 18-19

^[3] AIA ALARM survey 2026: https://www.asphaltuk.org/alarm-survey-page/

[4] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/economic-appraisal-for-investing-in-local-highways-maintenance page 37

 

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Better Roads has issued a report calling for central government to make it easier and more transparent for local authorities to invest funds from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) for improving roads.

The report was part-funded by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), which jointly supports the APPG with the Institute for Highway Engineers. It draws on research that shows that more than £2.2 billion in CIL contributions remains unspent by planning authorities in England and Wales – funds that could be used to help address the £18.62 billion backlog of carriageway repairs reported in the AIA’s 2026 Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey report.

The overall poor user-experienced condition of local roads has been driven by decades of inconsistent levels of funding, an ageing network and the increasing impact of more, heavier traffic along with more extreme weather events.

Local authorities have a legal obligation to maintain their road network in a ‘safe and suitable condition’ [1]. However, analysis for the APPG for Better Roads, informed by 2026 ALARM survey report, indicates that local authorities in England and Wales are facing an average in-year (2025-26) budget shortfall of £8.1 million per authority – a funding gap of more than £6,700 per mile of road.

In addition to funding from central government and local sources, additional sources are available to local authorities from developer contributions such as Section 278 highway agreements and Section 106 planning obligations. Another source is CIL, which was introduced through the Planning Act 2008 and is designed to help local authorities deliver the infrastructure needed to support development – including roads.

Yet analysis carried out for the APPG for Better Roads found that only 30 per cent of respondents to the ALARM survey reported they were using CIL funds for highway improvements and just 14 per cent stated that any of this was spent specifically on improving the road surface and structure.

Rebecca Paul MP, Chair of the APPG for Better Roads, said: “Poor road conditions can impact on our everyday lives, from the cost and inconvenience of damage to vehicles to potentially causing accidents and injury, particularly to vulnerable road users such as cyclists and motorcyclists. It’s an issue I am passionate about and I have campaigned for fairer funding for roads as both a local councillor and an MP for a number of years.

“For those planning authorities that charge the CIL, it provides an additional source of funding that may successfully be invested in addressing the backlog of repairs and delivering smoother, safer journeys for all roads users while boosting productivity and supporting economic growth.

“Importantly, better utilisation of both existing and future CIL could support the Government’s aims of improving local roads and addressing the backlog of repairs to tackle the ‘plague of potholes’, without the need to secure any additional funding.”

David Giles, AIA Chair, added: “The condition of local roads is a key issue with the voting public yet, despite this, data from our 2026 ALARM survey reports that the backlog of carriageway repairs in England and Wales has reached a record £18.62 billion.

“If charged, the CIL could unlock significant extra resources to help local authorities tackle the backlog of repairs and improve carriageway conditions for all users, as well as boosting local economies and connectivity.

“It makes sense that Government should support local authorities to invest unspent CIL funds in highway improvements by issuing enhanced guidance and broadening the scope of the current legislation to make this easier to achieve.”

In the report, the APPG for Better Roads calls on Government to:

1. Issue enhanced guidance to local authorities on how to lawfully charge and allocate CIL to make these funds available for improving the condition of local roads.
2. Consider amending current CIL legislation to broaden the scope for funding from this source to be used to supplement ongoing road maintenance budgets.
3. Encourage local authorities charging CIL to identify, publish and protect a defined proportion of strategic CIL for local improvements supported by greater collaboration between local highway and planning teams.
4. Act on the guidance in the NAO’s Improving local areas through developer funding recommendations to encourage more planning authorities to charge the CIL.

The full report ‘Working for better roads: Community Infrastructure Levy funding: an additional revenue stream for highway improvements’ is available to download from the APPG for Better Roads website: APPG Resources – The All Party Parliamentary Group for Better Roads

[1] Highways Act 1980

Dr Ian Lancaster, Technical Director, Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), explains what happens to asphalt when temperatures rise and why roads can appear to ‘melt’ in the heat.

The Met Office has reported that the UK recorded more days with temperatures of 30 degrees or above in 2026 than it did during the whole of 1976 – a year remembered for its record-breaking summer heatwave.

What was once regarded as extreme weather is increasingly being considered as normal. And, with more hot days comes an issue that is reported every summer: that under certain conditions, the surface of the road can appear to ‘melt’, raising the question of whether roads in the UK are built to withstand the heat.

Asphalt has been used for many decades to build the majority of roads in the UK, as well as footpaths, car parks and airport runways, but now has to be able to cope with road temperature extremes which can range from +60ºC to -20ºC. This is a significant shift in the challenge for design engineers more used to evaluating performance in a narrower range, and who also now have to take the impact of more extreme rainfall into consideration.

Why roads appear to ‘melt’

Roads absorb heat, particularly in direct sunlight, and reach higher temperatures than the air around it. In extremely high temperatures the road surface doesn’t ‘melt’ but the bitumen in it can tend to soften, leading to the road surface particles potentially becoming more ‘mobile’.

Bitumen is a complex material, and its viscoelastic properties mean it can show both elastic (spring like) and viscous (oil like) behaviour depending on the temperature and traffic loading. As temperature decreases it has a more brittle behaviour and as temperature increases it behaves more like a thick liquid. The same is true for traffic loading and speed. At high speed and low traffic load, bitumen behaves in a more elastic fashion, while under heavy, low speed loads it behaves more like a viscous liquid.

The effect is most exaggerated on south-facing gradients but is usually limited to the top surface and doesn’t generally affect the structural integrity of the road after heatwaves abate. However, in prolonged periods of hot weather where the road is exposed to slow moving or stationary heavy traffic, the risk of road particle migration and permanent deformation of the surface increases – especially on poorly maintained roads with existing defects.

Authorities have reactively treated ‘melting roads’ by applying fine crushed stone grit which acts to both reduce heat absorption of the surface (being a lighter colour) and to ‘stabilise’ the softened or mobile material.

Building resilience through material innovation

Ongoing research in modern road building materials is continuing to build both resilience and flexibility into the network, improving their performance across a wider temperature range. For example, the development of polymer modified bitumen (PMB) products that improve temperature resilience to increase durability and reduce the number of maintenance interventions. In addition, industry suppliers are conducting ongoing research into enhancing resilience per se to help futureproof the network.

But in a climate of increasing costs, as well as temperatures, and against a backdrop of constrained or reducing maintenance budgets, highway authorities face even more challenges to future-proof their assets. It is therefore essential that local authorities are given the resources they need to proactively ensure their roads are climate resilient.

“We hope that incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s time as Mayor of Greater Manchester has reinforced just how vital a well-maintained local road network is to supporting connectivity, economic growth and thriving communities.

“That’s why it is essential that, as his Government now resets its priorities, previous commitments to invest £7.3 billion[1] in local road maintenance over the next four years are not abandoned.

“Local roads across England and Wales are already in a disgraceful condition, with the backlog of repairs now standing at a staggering £18.62 billion[2]. With every public service depending on a well-maintained and reliable road network it’s vital that the funding promised through to 2030 is delivered in full and not diverted elsewhere.

“Investment in local road maintenance not only delivers smoother, safer journeys but also boosts productivity and economic growth[3]. Honouring the promised funding commitment to 2030 would help prevent the short-term, patch-and-mend approach to potholes that frustrates all road users, wastes public money and allows the condition of our local roads to deteriorate even further.”

[1] Highways maintenance block: formula allocations 2026 to 2030 – GOV.UK

[2] Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey report 2026

[3] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/economic-appraisal-for-investing-in-local-highways-maintenance page 37

 

“It is disappointing that capital funding for new road projects looks set to be cut, but it is vital that the Government honours the pledge made today to protect funding for local authorities to carry out much needed road maintenance and pothole repairs.

“We understand that in an increasingly challenging world tough public funding decisions must be made. However, local roads in England and Wales are already in a woeful condition and face a backlog of repairs that now stands at a whopping £18.62 billion^[1].

“All services depend on our local roads. That’s why the Government must ensure that its £7.3 billion commitment to 2030 to support repairs and prevent further decline is fully delivered and is not diverted elsewhere.”

[1] Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey report 2026

“Ensuring the right maintenance intervention is carried out at the right time is vital if local authorities are going to be able to make noticeable improvements to our local roads.

“This new guidance from the DfT, backed by the promise of increased investment, a longer-term funding horizon and greater accountability, will support highway teams in their efforts to do just that.

“It is another positive step towards supporting a long-term, pro-active approach to maintenance, which will allow authorities to shift the focus away from an endless cycle of pothole patch and repair and improve the condition and resilience of our local roads.”

Read the full guidance from the Department for Transport here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/completing-a-local-highways-maintenance-transparency-report

“Heidi Alexander’s experience is unfortunately one that is shared by many and highlights, yet again, the woeful condition of our local roads. Thankfully it was only the Transport Secretary’s car that was damaged. Had she been on two wheels, the consequences could have been far more serious.

“Just last month we published the findings of our Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey report which highlighted the scale of the problem, with the backlog of repairs in England and Wales now reported to stand at a whopping £18.62bn.

“However, while potholes may be a curse for road users up and down the country, they are not inevitable: they are the symptom of a network that has been underfunded for decades and has become increasingly fragile as a result.

“The Government has made a welcome step forward in addressing the situation with its commitment to increase funding to 2030 and its new measures to ensure it is spent on our local roads and not diverted elsewhere.

“But, this is not the silver bullet that will help local authority highway engineers clear the backlog of repairs any time soon and it will be some time before the public notices the impact.

“What we need now is for the Government’s to fully deliver the additional funding pledged in the years to 2030. This should help support a shift away from the seemingly endless cycle of pothole patch and repair and allow local authority highway teams to sooner deliver the necessary resurfacing and proactive programmes that prevent potholes forming in the first place.”

“Local authority highway engineers need sustained investment in highway maintenance, supported by a long-term funding horizon and greater transparency. This would allow them to carry out the most appropriate maintenance intervention at the right time.

“That’s why we welcomed the Government’s commitment to increase funding to 2030, and we support its new measures to ensure it is spent on our local roads and not diverted elsewhere.

“However, with this year’s Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey report highlighting that the backlog of repairs now stands at £18.62bn, it is not the silver bullet that will allow local highway engineers to fully deliver the necessary resurfacing and proactive programmes that will prevent potholes forming in the first place.”

“The Government’s commitment to another five-year funding package for the strategic road network (SRN) is great news for users of England’s motorways and major A roads.

“RIS3 continues to provide National Highways, which manages the SRN, with sustained and targeted investment supported by a long-term funding horizon, allowing it to implement a planned, proactive approach to the maintenance of this infrastructure – exactly what we’ve been calling for for local roads.

“In her Ministerial Foreword, Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt Hon Heidi Alexander MP, said: ‘By investing in the SRN, we will reduce regional inequalities, ensuring that all parts of the UK benefit from free running, safer and more reliable road travel.’ I think most road users would agree that achieving the same ambition on our local road network – which makes up more than 97% of roads in England – is a very, very long way off.

“RIS3 sets out a target of maintaining the SRN so that at least 96.2% is in good condition; a target that National Highways is able to meet, in part, due to structure of its funding. In contrast our recent Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey reported that only 52% of local roads in England are in good structural condition – the legacy of decades of underfunding and short-term cash injections.

“The Government’s pledge to allocate £7.3 billion over the next four years to local roads is an important step forward. However, it will be some time before the impact of increased funding levels, if fully delivered, will be noticed by the public. However, the dial could be moved quicker if the Government’s commitment to additional funding was frontloaded, rather than ramping up in the years to 2030.

“This would support a shift away from the seemingly endless cycle of pothole patch and repair and allow local authority highway teams to deliver necessary resurfacing and proactive programmes that prevent potholes forming in the first place to improve the experience of all road users.”

Further details of RIS3 can be found here.