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’
Keir Starmer has warned councils they must show progress on fixing potholes – or face losing road cash.
From next month local authorities will begin to receive their share of £1.6billion in highway maintenance funding. This will include an extra £500million, which the Department for Transport (DfT) says will be enough to fill seven million potholes a year.
But the department said in order to receive the full amount, all councils in England must publish annual progress reports on their websites. This must include how many potholes they have filled and the condition of roads.
The DfT added: “Local authorities who fail to meet these strict conditions will see 25% of the uplift (£125m in total) withheld.”
Mr Starmer said: “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.”
The PM added: “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.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander added: “After years of neglect we’re tackling the pothole plague, building vital roads and ensuring every penny is delivering results for the taxpayer. 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 £500m funding boost.”
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.”
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