Dudley Council has been singled out for criticism in a new government assessment of how local authorities are handling the UK's pothole problem. The Department for Transport's latest scorecard has handed the West Midlands council a red rating for its 'Best Practice' in roads maintenance.
How the Road Maintenance Scorecard Works
The report, published in January 2026, is designed to give drivers a transparent view of how their council is performing. It rates councils on several key areas of road maintenance policy and spending. While Dudley Council received an overall amber rating, indicating a mixed performance, its score in the crucial Best Practice category dropped to red.
This poor performance stands in stark contrast to two of its neighbours. Both Sandwell and Worcestershire councils achieved an overall green rating, setting a standard that Dudley failed to meet.
Where Dudley's Road Strategy Fell Short
The report highlighted specific areas where Dudley's plans were deemed insufficient. A major factor was the scale of its resurfacing programme. The council planned to resurface only 25km of road in the current financial year. This compares poorly with Worcestershire's planned 80km.
Perhaps more critically, the council's commitment to preventative treatments was found lacking. These treatments, such as surface dressing and sealing, protect roads from bad weather and stop potholes from forming in the first place. Dudley earmarked just 4km for such preventative work. In contrast, Sandwell Council, despite planning less resurfacing (15km), allocated a much more robust 55km for preventative measures.
Other Best Practice criteria included plans for innovative technology, minimising roadworks disruption, combating climate change, and maintaining footways and cycleways.
Spending Praised, But Practice Questioned
It was not all bad news for the authority. The same report scored Dudley in the green for its spending plans. The council was praised for the amount it intends to invest in roads compared to the funding it received from Westminster.
The government stated the ratings were released so motorists can see how effectively councils are tackling what Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander termed the 'pothole plague'. Alexander emphasised the government's increased funding, stating: "We've put our money where our mouth is, increasing the funding for councils with £7.3 billion to fix roads and given them the long-term certainty they have been asking for."
She added that the public now has a right to see how well councils are delivering local improvements. For drivers in Dudley, the latest scorecard suggests that while money may be allocated, the strategy for using it effectively requires significant improvement to match the standards set nearby.
