Bedford Borough Council’s red pothole rating will remain in place until the next annual review, the Department for Transport has indicated, after refusing to confirm whether corrected data submitted by the council has been processed or would change the result.
The Bedford Independent asked the DfT whether the authority’s revised figures had been updated in its system and whether they would make any difference to Bedford’s rating.
The department declined to clarify either point, saying only that “ratings are based on the data provided and other factors” and that they would be “review[ed] annually”.
In emails with the Bedford Independent, the DfT said it would not comment further and would not confirm whether Bedford’s corrected figures had been processed.
A DfT spokesperson said: “Ratings are based on the data provided and other factors. That was their score. Councils should be providing us with accurate data, but we will review ratings annually.”
The department also reiterated its position that it had not mishandled data.
Red rating
Bedford Borough Council is among the 13 lowest-rated local authorities in a government system that measures how councils tackle potholes.The DfT did not answer whether Bedford’s corrected figures had been updated in its systems or if they would affect the published rating, even if the changes would not appear for another 11 months.
Read: Bedford among 13 worst authorities for fixing potholes
The red, amber and green ratings let members of the public see which authorities are fixing potholes effectively. Those rated red, including Bedford Borough, are not meeting the expected standards in one or several areas measured by the ratings.
The ratings consider factors such as the current state of the roads, councils’ plans to prevent potholes, and investment in maintaining local roads more broadly
The government published the ratings ahead of National Pothole Day on 15 January.
When the ratings were launched, Bedford Borough Council was told to improve its road maintenance or risk losing out on government support.
The government also said Bedford would be among the poorly performing authorities receiving dedicated support, backed by £300,000 worth of expert planning and capability assistance, with future funding linked to performance.
The DfT has previously said Bedford’s red rating was based on data the council provided in its highways maintenance transparency report as at 30 June 2025, alongside official statistics and a published methodology.
Explaining this further to the Bedford Independent, the DfT stated that Bedford’s rating reflected several factors, including stated levels of planned capital investment in highway maintenance for 2025/26 and plans to resurface only 3.5 miles of carriageway.
“Which is a low percentage compared to the circa 120 miles of their red-rated road network,” added the spokesperson.
The plans to resurface only 3.5 miles of Bedford’s roads were confirmed by council officers in August 2025, according to the DfT.
The spokespeople added, “having stated in their transparency report that they [Bedford Borough Council] will only invest £3.2 million of capital into maintaining their highways in 2025/26, [this is] much less than the £6.3 million they have been allocated by DfT for the same year.”
Adding, “The DfT expects all local highway authorities to make full use of the DfT’s funding. The vast majority of LHAs invest additional capital funding into maintaining their roads.“
Council data error
Days after the red rating was announced, the Bedford Independent learned that Bedford Borough Council had sent incorrect data to the DfT, which they believe contributed to the authority receiving a red rating.
Bedford Borough Council sent wrong data to DfT which led to ‘red’ pothole ranking
Following up on this revelation, we have repeatedly asked the DfT whether Bedford’s corrected figures have been processed and, if so, whether they would change the rating.
The DfT has refused to answer either question clearly, indicating that the ratings are only reviewed annually.
The council’s ruling Bedford Borough Conservative group said it has been working to tackle what it described as “a decade-long maintenance backlog”.
They added that they are backing this with a highways programme worth more than £9.5 million, combining government funding with council investment.
It said this includes more pothole repairs and preventative maintenance, and pointed to major works, including A6 repairs in Wilstead and Wixams, and resurfacing and wider improvements on Paula Radcliffe Way.
The group also cited figures it said show that unclassified roads in the worst condition category fell from 38 per cent in 2023 to 18 per cent in 2025, and that pothole repairs increased from 3,841 in 2022/23 to 6,308 in 2024/25.
Rank uncertainty
Their spokesperson added, “On the DfT map, we have already provided the corrected figures, and we expect the Department to update its published information in line with its own processes.”
However, even if the corrected data makes a difference, the council could be waiting for some time for the rating to change.
The DfT did not answer whether Bedford’s corrected figures had been updated in its systems or if they would affect the published rating, even if the changes would not appear for another 11 months.
“Ratings are based on the data provided and other factors. That was their score. Councils should be providing us with accurate data, but we will review ratings annually,” said their spokesperson.
The department also robustly denied that it had mishandled data and cited guidance issued to councils on the importance of providing accurate information.
