Claims pothole repair funding ‘cut by a fifth’

FUNDING to repair potholes in the North East has been cut by a fifth, it has been claimed.

To mark National Pothole Day, the Labour Party carried out analysis of Government figures and, according to their analysis, funding to pay specifically for potholes in the North East dropped from £36,672,000 in 2020/21 to £28,492,000 in 2021/22 - a reduction of 22%.

And total spending on roads maintenance, which includes potholes, went down from £105,283,000 to £82,946,000 - a drop of 21%. Meanwhile, separate figures show that pothole-related breakdowns have reached a three-year high across the country.

The RAC said it received a “ridiculous” 10,123 call outs for problems caused by damaged road surfaces last year.

That is 19% more than in 2020 (8,524 breakdowns) and a 10% increase on the 2019 total (9,198 breakdowns).

Some 1.5% of all call-outs attended by RAC patrols in 2021 were for pothole-related issues such as distorted wheels, broken suspension springs or damaged shock absorbers.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “The rot appears to have well and truly set in when it comes to the country’s roads, with our patrols going out to vast numbers of drivers who, through no fault of their own, are breaking down because of the wear and tear caused by potholes. This is ridiculous because it is almost entirely avoidable if roads were maintained properly.”

A Department for Transport spokeswoman said: “The Government is providing over £5bn of investment over 2020-2025 for highways maintenance to local highways authorities across England. This is enough to fill millions of potholes a year, repair dozens of bridges, and resurface roads up and down the country.”