The local roads maintenance backlog for England and Wales has hit a new record high of nearly £19bn, despite an increase in council spending, according to the latest edition of the Asphalt Industry Alliance's (AIAs) state of the nation ALARM survey.

The latest results from the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey, released today, show a 10.7% increase in the backlog from £16.8bn in 2025 to £18.62bn.

While the increase in the backlog has become a regular occurrence, this year's survey did throw up a few more surprising results. For instance, the annual carriageway budget shortfall ( the amount needed to maintain the network to target conditions) increasing from £1.25bn to £1.37bn (9.6%) despite English and Welsh local authorities seeing their average highway maintenance budgets increase by 17% over the last year to £30.5m.

This has been put down to inflation, the scope of the work getting larger due to harsh weather and general continued deterioration of the roads.

And despite the backlog increasing, there were signs of slight improvements on the local networks, with the percentage of roads rated green or in good condition increasing by 3% since 2025 and the percentage rated red for poor condition decreasing by 2%.

In total, 51% of local roads are now rated good, however there is still almost 16% (32,500 miles) of local roads reported to have less than five years' structural life remaining.

Speaking to Highways, AIA chair David Giles labelled the condition of England and Wales's roads ‘a national disgrace'.

‘We haven't been able to stop the increase in the backlog of maintenance that there is to bring our local authority roads back into a decent condition. For me, that's the headline. Regardless of the numbers, that's the trend that we're seeing, and it really is a dreadful indictment of the underspending that we're seeing.'

To counter this, he argued that future funding planned for the next five years should be front-loaded. When asked how much of the money from the last few years of the allocation he would like to see moved to the first few years, Mr Giles said that ‘any front loading that you do will be more advantageous than the money you are spending'.

‘We've seen from data from the DfT that you spend £1 on your local highways, you will save a minimum of £2, with a possible return of up to £9. So, it's not just that front-loading reduces that cost in terms of maintenance. It is also better to spend that pound earlier and get that return now than it is to wait.'

When discussing the reason for the lack of reduction in the backlog despite the increase in funding, Mr Giles put this down to a ‘lag' which has meant we are yet to see the benefits of this additional cash, despite a 20% increase in funding allocated to carriageway repairs seen last year.

‘There is a change there,' he explained, ‘but it's a tiny amount. We've spent more money, but not seen a significant increase in the condition of the pavements.

‘With 49% of roads stated to have less than 15 years structural life, this is a very concerning picture that continues to get worse.'

Falling short

One area where the AIA expected improvement was the size of the shortfall. However, local authorities reported that they would have needed an extra £8.1m each last year to maintain their network to their own targets, making a total shortfall of £1.37bn.

Malcolm Simms, director of MPA Asphalt at the Mineral Products Association, explained: ‘When we saw the announcement of the 2025/26 budget, allocation and the £500m incentive element of that, we, foolishly perhaps, predicted that we would see the short for produce. That was our anticipation. It's natural to say that more money in the system than is needed should reduce a shortfall, but from the data the authorities have given us, that has proven not to be the case.'

Mr Simms put this discrepancy down to two things: inflation, but crucially, a particularly harsh winter. He said: 'You will naturally continue to have deterioration on the network in the time you're planning your works. It might be when local authorities came to deliver and execute the works that the scope had to be extended.

‘With one of the wettest winters on record, the impacts of that are going to have an influence. Even the authorities, when the survey was done at the end of last year, had more optimism than there has been for a long time. I don't know if that optimism remains.'

Others in the industry also share the concern over the increase in the backlog and shortfall.

Kevin Maw, REA consultant and secretary, commented: ‘As the findings of the AIA's ALARM 2026 report show, local authorities have not received sufficient funds to maintain local roads to their target conditions by providing the required level of preventative maintenance needed so, although there may be signs of improvements in some areas, the rest of the network continues to decline adding to the overall repair cost.

‘That's why we agree with the AIA's call for the Government to bring forward the planned increases in funding pledged to 2030.'

Forward thinking

When looking at the future of the survey, Mr Giles made it clear that the focal point would remain on calling for more funding to clear the backlog of maintenance work before it continues to grow.

When asked if the survey could benefit from including data about the materials used in road maintenance and repairs, he stated that with every local authority having ‘its own solution' for the specific road types in its network, the ALARM survey is there to ‘shine a light on the road conditions'.

Mr Giles also argued the ongoing war in the Middle East could undo the benefits of increased funding. With the Strait of Hormuz currently blockaded, he argued that the industry will likely see some short-term impacts with energy and raw material costs increasing, having a knock-on effect on local authorities.

‘The problem that this will create', he states, ‘is that the money that is allocated won't go as far'.

'I really hope that doesn't happen, but it really points to the fact that it's not always possible to control these issues. It's something that's way outside of the control of those who influence the amount of money that's spent on the ground.'

Mike Hansford, chief executive officer of the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA) commented: 'The increase in the percentage of roads in green condition, and reduction in percentage of roads in red condition in the AIA ALARM survey report for 2026, is perhaps an indication of what can be achieved by local highway authorities, with the £500m increase in Government highway maintenance funding in 2025/26.  

'The increase in the maintenance backlog from £16.8bn in 2025 to £18.6bn for 2026 emphasises the challenges this industry faces, and could possibly be explained by increasing material costs in recent years, as local highway authorities recalculate their maintenance backlogs.'