The highways budget has been significantly reduced over the last few years which means we can't do everything and all works have to be prioritised. We do this by using the Codes of Practice. We also use asset data including information from AI software and reports from the public, to help plan long-term improvements.
Government Grants
Most of the funding for highway maintenance comes from annual grants awarded from Central Government through the Department for Transport. We also bid for additional funds for specific projects.
Council Budget
The Council budget 2025/2026 for Highways and Transport funding can be viewed here
Parking revenue is also ringfenced to fund specific works including highways maintenance. This is a legal obligation set out in Section 55(d) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. The only areas parking revenue can fund are: off street parking provision, public transport, highways and road improvements and environment improvements.
Green Claims
Vehicles regularly damage our infrastructure and so we look to recover those repair costs from them and their insurance companies if possible. This is called Green Claims. It can be a lengthy process but it means that we can recover the costs of the damage without having to use up valuable council budgets.
Section 106 (S106) and MK Tariff
S106 funding is a legal agreement paid by developers to the council to cover the cost of the impact of growth. For highways, more development means more impact on our roads, redways and footways so S106 may be used to help with this such and could fund all or part of a scheme. There are strict rules around S106 and what it can be spent on. You can find out more about Section 106 planning obligations on gov.uk
There are several large expansion areas of development across Milton Keynes so a unique 'umbrella' S106 fund was created called the MK Tariff. The overall total of developer contributions to the Tariff will be around £310m. This money is re-invested into a programme of strategic and local infrastructure projects mainly led by the council.
Local Highways Maintenance Transparency Report 2025
In 2025, for the first time, the Department for Transport (DfT) is asking all local highway authorities to publish a report setting out a range of information about how they organise, fund and carry out maintenance work.
This is part of an initiative to help central and local government understand the condition of the road network, arising from a report by the National Audit Office published in 2024.
This new process will provide a greater level of transparency on highways management for the city as we'll be compared to other local authorities across the country and there will be a national benchmark for us to be measured against. It also helps to promote best practice to improve standards, encourage innovation and boost efficiency.
The full report may be viewed here and includes details on:
- the extent of our highway network
- how much we spend on maintenance, and how it is funded
- how we balance preventative and reactive maintenance, including pothole repairs
- overall condition of local roads
- future plans, both this year and in future
- innovation, efficiency and best practice, including climate change adaptation
We will submit a further, more technical report to DfT later in the year, and we expect to update this report every year as the network grows.