Labour slammed over 'flawed' ratings system branding major roads as failures - 'Unfortunate inaccuracies'

The new system, unveiled by the Department for Transport at the weekend, ranked 154 local highway authorities across England as green, amber or red based on road conditions, spending and whether councils follow best practice. But Suffolk has warned that the scheme unfairly painted it as a failure.

Under the new system, Suffolk received an overall red rating, even though it was rated amber for road condition and amber for following best practice.

The red mark came solely from the spending category, something the council strongly disputes. A spokesperson for Suffolk Highways said: "This new traffic light assessment system rates Suffolk as amber on road condition and following best practice, but red on spending money – resulting in an overall red rating."

The council has now demanded urgent talks with the Department for Transport, with a meeting scheduled to raise serious concerns about how the figures were calculated.

Suffolk Highways also criticised Labour for rolling out the scheme without warning, saying councils were only informed the day before publication, leaving no chance to challenge the data.

The spokesperson added: "However, councils weren't told about the new system until Friday, and we believe there are unfortunate inaccuracies in the data, so we will be raising this with the DfT."

The council has also firmly rejected any suggestion that it is failing to invest taxpayers' money in road maintenance. "All highway maintenance funding received from the Government is fully invested in Suffolk's highways network, including fixing potholes and resurfacing roads," the spokesperson said.

Suffolk also pointed out it has received its full funding allocation, including performance-based incentive payments – something it says proves it is meeting Government expectations. Official Government statistics appear to back up the council's defence.

Data showed just three per cent of Suffolk's A-roads are in poor condition, which was better than the England average. The proportion of roads rated as "good" broadly matches national levels.

The council's B and C roads also perform above average, with more roads in good condition and significantly fewer in poor repair than elsewhere.

But Suffolk said its road network has been consistently improving since 2011, thanks to a long-term asset management approach that focuses on preventative maintenance rather than short-term fixes.

Despite the backlash, Labour is standing by the scheme. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said drivers had suffered for too long with crumbling roads and insisted the Government was delivering change.

She shared: "Now it's over to them to spend the money wisely, and for the first time, we are making sure the public can see how well councils are doing in delivering the improvements they want to see in their local area."

Labour announced a record £7.3billion funding package for road maintenance, which it claims will allow councils to resurface tens of thousands of miles of roads.

Councils that receive a red rating will be offered a £300,000 support package, including peer reviews from industry experts.

However, future funding will also be linked to performance, raising fears that councils hit by disputed data could lose out.

Motoring groups have broadly welcomed greater transparency, with AA president Edmund King praising the move to hold councils accountable, though councils like Suffolk argue the system must be accurate and fair if it is to work.

"The top transport demand for 96 per cent of AA members is fixing potholes with increased investment in repairing and upgrading roads," Mr King said.