What it means: councils survey their roads each year and report the share in poor enough condition that maintenance should be considered, a measure of cracking, rutting and potholes. Unclassified roads are the residential and side streets that make up most of the network. Motorways and major trunk roads are run by National Highways and are not included. Survey methods differ between councils, so local comparisons are a guide. A change of one point or more counts.

Source: DfT, road condition statistics, tables RDC0120 and RDC0130.