Don’t blame us for potholes, says SNP, blame the councils
SNP ministers yesterday blamed councils for the pothole crisis on Scotland’s roads as they rejected a Tory bid for an extra £100million to solve the problem.
Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said local authorities had to decide how to prioritise spending.
He failed to commit to any more cash being provided – claiming the Conservatives had no right to demand a £100million ‘pothole action fund’ while asking for taxes to be cut.
During a Holyrood debate yesterday, Mr Yousaf said the Scottish Government had ‘put our money where our mouth is’ when it comes to investing in the trunk road system, such as motorways and dual carriageways, for which it is responsible.
On council investment on roads for which they are responsible, he said: ‘I don’t take away from the fact these have been challenging times for local authorities the last few years but clearly this is an issue of priority, of where you choose to spend your budget.
‘No party at local authority level necessarily has clean hands on this. All have to reflect hard on where they have chosen to spend their money over the years.
‘I don’t think any political party here can claim to have given it the priority it should have been given at a local level.’
Referring to the Tory demand for extra funds, Mr Yousaf said: ‘That is clearly something they can take forward at the next Budget negotiations with Derek Mackay. He will, I am sure, give the challenge back that you cannot ask for a tax cut and then ask for £100million unless you are going to tell us where that £100million is going to come from.’
The Tories had argued for an extra £100million to deal with the soaring number of potholes. The cash would be provided to councils over the next three years to help tackle the backlog of repairs.
It is estimated it costs an average of £52 to repair each pothole, meaning that the Tory funding proposal could fix nearly two million.
During yesterday’s debate, Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire Tory MSP Rachael Hamilton said roads had suffered ‘chronic underfunding’ – leaving them ‘resembling the surface of a moon’.
She added: ‘Potholes are our nemesis, causing misery to our constituents and costing our local authorities millions.
‘Scotland needs action now to stop this troubling situation from exacerbating further. A good road network would benefit us all. It would benefit motorists to drive in comfort and safety; it will help cyclists to ride in safety; and it would help local transport, bus journeys being made safer and smoother and with less chance of something going wrong.
‘I have people in my constituency in such despair they are starting to fill in their own potholes. Roads so bad they can’t drive to their own front door.
‘It is not right that the situation has got so bad that members of the public are taking action into their own hands.’
Scottish Lib Dem transport spokesman Mike Rumbles said: ‘Our roads are in the worst condition I have ever seen. No wonder transport bosses have estimated the cost of repairing them all at £1.6billion.
‘The Scottish Government must explain how it is going to bring our roads up to the standards people expect.’