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Road and Vehicle FAQs

Who is responsible for roads?

Who is responsible for managing and maintaining a public road depends on a road’s location, and whether it is a motorway or strategic ‘trunk’ road, or a local road.

• The Strategic Road Network (SRN), comprising all motorways and trunk roads in England, is managed by National Highways (a government-owned company), formerly known as Highways England.
• Motorways and trunk roads in Scotland roads are managed by Transport Scotland.
• Motorways and trunk roads in Wales are managed by the Welsh Government.
• Local roads in England, Wales and Scotland are managed by the relevant local authority.
• Major roads in London (the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN) or ‘Red Route’) are managed by Transport for London. Other roads in London are managed by London borough councils.
• All roads in Northern Ireland are managed by the Department for Infrastructure.

What are unadopted roads, and who is responsible for them?

Unadopted roads are roads that do not belong to the public road network. They are not considered “highways maintainable at public expense” under Section 36 of the Highways Act 1980.

The question as to what a local highway authority can do with regards to private or ‘unadopted’ roads is a very complex one and depends on the legal status of the road in question (that is, whether it is a road or a highway, whether there is a public right of way or a private right of way, etc) and depending on which of these apply, the answer will be different.

The general principle is that local highway authorities have no duties regarding private roads, though they do have some powers, which they can use at their discretion. The duty to maintain the road lies with the ‘frontagers’ (that is, the people who own property ‘fronting’ the road).

Local authorities can adopt roads under the Highways Act 1980, but as this makes them financially liable for their maintenance there is a general reluctance to do so unless the road is made up to an acceptable condition.

Local highway authorities are required to keep a list of the streets within their area which are maintained using public money. Residents can use this to determine the highway authority for the road. Section 36 of the Highways Act 1980, as amended, requires every local highway authority in England and Wales to “cause to be made, and shall keep corrected up to date, a list of the streets within their area which are highways maintainable at the public expense.”

Further information on the complex legal framework surrounding unadopted roads can be found in Commons Library briefing paper, Private, or ‘unadopted’ roads in England and Wales. Further information on unfinished roads can be found in section 4 of the Commons Library briefing paper, Unfinished housing developments.

What funding is available to tackle potholes?

In England, funding for fixing potholes on local roads comes out of generic Highways Maintenance funds, which the DfT allocates by formula to highway authorities. In strategic authority areas, rather than allocating to highway authorities, funding is provided to either the mayoral strategic authority or the combined authority through City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS). 

The Highway Maintenance block grant is the only capital grant that authorities receive for maintenance. The DfT allows highway authorities to spend this funding as they see fit in line with their statutory duty for highway maintenance. The funding can be used for all parts of the highway network, such as bridges, cycleways, and lighting columns – as well as fixing potholes.

Highway maintenance funding allocations are available on gov.uk.

There have been occasions when the government has announced specific ‘pothole’ funds. Recent examples include:

• £8.3 billion for highways maintenance funding from Network North (money “reinvested” from the cancelled phases of HS2). This was announced on 4 October 2023 and covers the years up to and including 2033 to 2034.
• £200 million for local road maintenance in England, including potholes, allocated in the 2023 budget for 2023-24.
• A £2.5 billion Pothole Fund, announced in the March 2020 Budget. The then Chancellor Rishi Sunak said this would be “enough to fill, by the end of the Parliament, 50 million potholes.” This was to provide £500 million in yearly instalments between 2020/21 and 2024/25.
• In April 2025, local authorities in England began receiving their share of the £1.6 billion highway maintenance funding for 2025/26, which the government said represented a £500 million uplift on the previous total. However, all local authorities in England had to publish annual progress reports with those who failed to meet certain conditions potentially seeing 25% of the uplift withheld.
• The December 2025 Budget allocated £7.3 billion of capital funding for local highway maintenance for the financial years 2026/27 to 2029/30.

In January 2026, the DfT published an interactive map which displays how well each local authority is repairing potholes. The new ratings grade all local authorities as red, amber or green based on current road condition and how effectively they are spending the funding allocated to them.

Further information can be found in the Commons Library research briefing Potholes and local road maintenance funding.

Can electric bikes (e-bikes) be used on the road?

E-bikes can be used on the road just like a pedal bicycle in the UK, providing the user is aged over 14 and the bike meets the definition of an Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle (EAPC). This means:

• the bike must be fitted with pedals that are capable of propelling it
• the maximum continuous rated power of the electric motor must not exceed 250 watts
• The electrical assistance must cut-off when the vehicle reaches 15.5 mph (25 kmph).

No driving licence or helmet is required. Registration, insurance and tax are not required either.

E-bikes which do not meet the EAPC classification are regarded as motor vehicles and therefore must meet the same regulations as motorbikes or mopeds to be used on the road. This includes needing to be taxed and registered.

Other topics addressed in this paper

This paper also answers FAQs on the following topics:

Responsibilities

Central, devolved and local government responsibilities for roads; the Strategic Road Network; speed limits; moving traffic offences.

Road use and maintenance

Compensation for loss of business due to road works; restricting lorries from roads; street lighting.

Safety

Smart motorways; vehicle safety around schools; speed camera revenues; quad bikes and off-road bikes.

Air Quality and Climate Change

Clean Air Zones; engine idling; ban on petrol and diesel vehicles.

Vehicles

Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA); silent vehicles; noisy vehicles; dazzling headlights; potential changes to MOT rules.

Micromobility

E-scooters; e-bike safety; e-scooter safety. 

Further reading

You may also be interested in the Library briefing papers on:

• Road traffic offences and licensing FAQs
• Electric vehicles and infrastructure
• Active Travel FAQs
• Private, or ‘unadopted’ roads in England and Wales

More resources are available on the Transport page of the Commons Library website.