Cllr Martin Tett, the Local Government Association’s Transport spokesman, responds to a report by the RAC which claims that potholes are causing twice as many breakdowns as they did 12 years ago.
“Keeping roads safe for all users is one of the most important jobs councils do and is reflected in the fact that local authorities are fixing a pothole every 21 seconds.
“However, only long-term, consistent and fairer government investment in local road maintenance can allow councils to embark on the widespread improvement of our roads that is desperately needed. Spending 52 times more on maintaining our national roads when very few journeys begin and end on a motorway or trunk road will only serve to help motorists reach increased delays and congestion on local roads more quickly.
“The LGA has been calling on the Government to annually reinvest a portion of existing fuel duty into local road maintenance which would generate much needed funding for councils to spend on addressing the £9.3 billion roads repair backlog which would give all road users better roads that are safer and more resilient to potholes.”