What sort of checks are made on public purchasing?

Many busy roads and motorways were unaffected by the winter weather while people had to pick their way through a dangerous maze of potholes on other busy roads.

Tests have been made on road surfaces in other parts of the country which show that most of the worst damage is where there has been very poor standards of work and depths of material in the surfaces initially.

I would like to know what local councils do to ensure that work such as this is carried out to required standards and what happens if it isn't.