Suffolk County Council has written to the Department for Transport (DfT) requesting a correction to its recently published Local Highway Maintenance Ratings, arguing that the county’s Red status for capital spending is based on inaccurate figures.
Councillor Paul West, Cabinet Member for Operational Highways, explained in a letter to Simon Lightwood MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Transport, that Suffolk’s highways spending has consistently met or exceeded its allocation, and that the published Red rating does not reflect the facts.
The letter follows a meeting between council officers and DfT officials, where the council highlighted errors in the Department’s methodology that contributed to Suffolk being assessed as Red.
Councillor West noted that two main factors led to the incorrect rating. Firstly, the council did not include a 25% incentive uplift in its June 2025 submission because confirmation of this funding had not yet been received. The Department confirmed the availability of the uplift in December 2025, and plans are in place for the funds to be fully spent within the current financial year.
Secondly, £10 million of the 2025/26 allocation was brought forward and invested in 2024/25, a decision taken in line with longer-term planning under the DfT’s Network North mechanism. This investment was fully reflected in the council’s Transparency Report submitted in June 2025.
Councillor West’s letter states that Suffolk’s capital expenditure on highways was £36.398 million in 2025/26 and £47.885 million in 2024/25, compared with DfT allocations of £40.833 million and £34.428 million respectively. Taking into account the brought-forward investment and the incentive uplift, total spending across the two years would amount to £87.038 million against an allocated total of £78.196 million. Using the Department’s own scoring system, this would place Suffolk in the Amber band rather than Red.
The council emphasised that transparency in highway maintenance reporting is vital, but only meaningful if the published data is accurate. Councillor West requested that the factual correction be reflected as soon as possible in the Department’s assessment.
In his letter, Councillor West wrote:
“Suffolk has been rated Red for capital spend. This assessment is based on factually incorrect figures. Over the last two financial years, and consistently over the past five years, every pound received by Suffolk County Council through the Highway Maintenance Grant has been fully invested in the highway service.”
The council is now awaiting a response from the Department for Transport regarding the requested correction, which would amend the published highway rating for Suffolk and reflect the county’s actual investment in road maintenance.
