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Guidance

Accessing local highway maintenance incentive funding

Understanding the incentive funding framework for local highway maintenance in England.

Applies to England

Documents

Details

Letters setting out what local highway authorities need to do to access highways maintenance funding, including meeting incentive funding and transparency requirements.

The Department for Transport provides local highway authorities in England with an element of highways maintenance funding known as incentive funding.

This funding is intended to encourage authorities to adopt and demonstrate good practice in highways asset management. Authorities that do not meet the requirements have their incentive funding reduced or withheld.

This approach is designed to support continuous improvement across the sector and to ensure that public funding is used effectively to maintain and improve the condition of local road networks.

Read guidance for local highway authorities on completing a local highways transparency report.

Updates to this page

Published 24 March 2025
Last updated 14 April 2026 show all updates
  1. Letter to local authorities about local highway maintenance funding in 2026 to 2027 added.

  2. First published.

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