UK near bottom globally for pothole repair spending

The United Kingdom was compared to 13 other developed economies with the report finding that annual expenditure had fallen by £2 billion since 2006.

The Local Government Association (LGA), which analysed figures produced by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation (OECD), said that only Italy and Ireland had made bigger cuts in this area.

The United States, New Zealand, Austria and Sweden all increased their spending by around half from 2006 to 2019.

Only Ireland and Italy had cut their pothole repair budgets more than the UK (Getty) (Image: Getty)

It was also found that France, Canada and Finland had protected their pothole repair budgets more than the UK.

'UK has fallen from the top to almost the bottom' when it comes to pothole repair funding

LGA chair Shaun Davies said of the findings: “The UK has fallen from the top to almost the bottom of the league when it comes to the amount we spend on repairing our local roads.

“Decades of reductions in funding from central Government to local road repair budgets have left councils facing the biggest ever annual pothole repair backlog.

“Positive extra funding in the recent Budget will help, but councils still face considerable challenges when trying to get on top of this pothole blight.”

The LGA is now calling for all UK political parties to commit to a 10-year programme where local government funding for roads is boosted.

📣 At the LGA, we're always looking at ways to amplify our voice on behalf of #LocalGov through different channels... We're pleased to say you can now follow us on #ThreadsApp too!

If you’re on there, why not give us a follow? You'll find us by searching for @localgovassoc. 📲

— Local Government Association (LGA) (@LGAcomms) August 9, 2023

This would be done by devolving the equivalent of 2p per litre of existing fuel duty to councils, allowing them to reverse the "decline" in road conditions.

This comes after the Government increased its Pothole Fund - which provides funds to local authorities in England - to £700 million.

A Government spokesperson said: “We’re spending more than £5 billion from 2020 to 2025, with an extra £200 million announced at the Budget in March, to resurface roads up and down the country – enough to fix millions of potholes.

“This year we’ve made £58.7 billion available to local councils, a £5.1 billion increase on last year, the majority of which is unringfenced and can be used on local priorities such as road maintenance.

“We’ve also brought in new rules to clamp down on utility companies leaving potholes behind after carrying out street works.”