Why it matters: The rating determines access to government funding and support. The council says the Department for Transport failed to include £10 million of highways funding it brought forward from 2025-26 and invested early in 2024-25, which would have resulted in an amber rating rather than red.
The details: Councillor Paul West, cabinet member for operational highways, has formally called on the department to change Suffolk's rating following a meeting with DfT officials on Monday.
The new system ranks highways authorities using a traffic-light system based on effectiveness in spending the government's highways maintenance funding.
Suffolk received amber ratings for road condition and following best practice, but a red rating for spending, placing it alongside just 12 other authorities including Cumberland and Derbyshire as the worst performers in the country.
Had the £10 million been included in the assessment, Suffolk County Council says it would have received an amber rating for highways expenditure, consistent with its ratings in the other two categories, resulting in an overall amber rating rather than red.
What they're saying: Councillor West said: "That £10 million delivered much welcomed resurfacing ahead of time, but we have now been unfairly penalised for it. We fully support transparency in the reporting of highway maintenance performance but transparency can only be meaningful if the data being published is accurate."
"We have demonstrated to the government where it has gone wrong and we want it to recognise its mistake and correct the rating to amber. Make no mistake, we ultimately want a green status, but it is important that we at least have a ranking that accurately records where we are."
Andrew Cook, executive director of growth, highways and infrastructure, said the council was unhappy it was not given the chance to comment on the ratings before publication, and that a request to delay publication to allow this had been rejected.
"Other government departments routinely undertake proper due diligence before publishing assessments of this nature," he said. "We feel it is unacceptable that this standard was not met on this occasion."
He added: "Other highways authorities have also voiced concerns about the accuracy of the ratings and there is growing consensus across the highway industry that the DfT mechanism is fundamentally flawed."
For context: The Department for Transport's traffic light system rates local highway authorities across three areas: local road conditions, spending on road repairs, and use of best practice. The ratings determine whether authorities are using funding efficiently to deliver long-term solutions following the government's £7.3bn investment in fixing potholes announced at the Budget.
Red-rated authorities are eligible for a dedicated support programme, including access to expert planning worth £300,000.
The bottom line: Suffolk County Council says it has been unfairly penalised for investing highways funding ahead of schedule, resulting in a red rating that misrepresents its performance and places it among England's worst performers despite data showing its roads outperform national averages. The council awaits a response to its formal request for the rating to be changed.
