Starmer: Councils must prove they are fixing potholes or lose cash

Sir Keir Starmer is telling councils to prove they are tackling potholes or face losing the cash to fix them.

The Prime Minister said councils need to “get on with the job” of fixing potholes as he announced an additional £4.8 billion of funding to carry out work on motorways and major A-roads.

Local authorities will start to get their share of £1.6 billion in highway maintenance funding confirmed last year, up £500 million from the previous year, in mid-April.

But from Monday, they will be required to publish annual progress reports or face having funding withheld.

“The public deserves to know how their councils are improving their local roads, which is why they will have to show progress or risk losing 25% of their £500 million funding boost,” Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said.

Councils will have to detail how much they spend and how many potholes they have filled in reports published on their websites by June 30.

Sir Keir Starmer said: “British people are bored of seeing their politicians aimlessly pointing at potholes with no real plan to fix them. That ends with us.

“We’ve done our part by handing councils the cash and certainty they need – now it’s up to them to get on with the job, put that money to use and prove they’re delivering for their communities.”

The reports will also have to detail what percentage of roads are in what condition, show their spending on pothole prevention and outline plans looking ahead to wetter winters that make potholes worse.

They must show by the end of October that their communities are able to have their say on where work is needed.

The Local Government Association said the cost of the local road repairs backlog is nearly £17 billion.

Councillor Adam Hug, the LGA’s transport spokesperson, said: “Councils already spend more than they receive from central government on tackling potholes and repairing our roads.

“However, it’s in everyone’s interests to ensure that public money is well spent.

“This includes the Government playing its full part by using the Spending Review to ensure that councils receive sufficient, long-term funding certainty, so they can focus their efforts on much more cost-effective, preventative measures rather than reactively fixing potholes, which is more expensive.”

The £4.8 billion funding for National Highways will go to projects already under way, including the A428 Black Cat scheme in Cambridgeshire, as well as to starting improvements to the A47 around Norwich and M3 J9 scheme in Hampshire.

“The broken roads we inherited are not only risking lives but also cost working families, drivers and businesses hundreds – if not thousands of pounds – in avoidable vehicle repairs,” Sir Keir said.

“Fixing the basic infrastructure this country relies on is central to delivering national renewal, improving living standards and securing Britain’s future through our Plan for Change.”

The Liberal Democrats said there is a huge challenge to fix the country’s roads and tackle the repair backlog.

“We must ensure that the right amount of money is going where it is needed. The Government must empower our local councillors who are best placed to make decisions about what needs fixing in their communities,” the party’s transport spokesperson Paul Kohler said.

“We also need to see more ambition towards a more sustainable approach to fixing our decaying road network through a road resurfacing programme – fixing individual potholes, although welcome, does little more than apply a plaster to the gaping wound of our crumbling road infrastructure.”

The Conservatives said Labour is “steering Britain into a ditch” and want credit for “handing councils a pothole sticking plaster”.

“Labour like to talk a big game on fixing roads but they are more interested in chasing headlines than laying tarmac,” Gareth Bacon, shadow transport secretary, said.

“Meanwhile, it is Conservative councils that are actually getting on with the job. Last year, Conservative-run councils repaired five times more road miles on average than Labour-run councils.

“Labour are running on empty. They’ve got no plan for motorists, no grip on the problem, and no credibility. Voters shouldn’t be fooled – Labour aren’t fixing the roads, they’re steering Britain into a ditch.”