Murdo Fraser MSP has expressed his concern at the “staggering” amount spent by Perth and Kinross Council on repairing potholes and paying out compensation to motorists.
Data supplied to the Scottish Conservatives through Freedom of Information has revealed that the local authority spent a total of £2,191,469 repairing potholes during the 2023/24 financial year and also spent £30,604 in compensation to motorists who had suffered damage to their vehicles after going over a pothole.
These figures had increased from the 2022/23 financial year when Perth and Kinross Council spent £1,615,866 on repairing potholes along with £9,331 in compensation to motorists. The number of potholes reported had also risen during this period from 2,048 in 2022/23 to 2,209 in 2023/24.
Commenting, Mr Fraser said: “I am sure that this data on potholes will shock many residents and I find it very concerning to see the staggering amount of money Perth and Kinross Council have had to pay repairing potholes and paying in compensation to motorists during the last financial year. Potholes are a huge issue over large parts of Scotland, not just in Perth and Kinross, yet many local authorities are hell bent on pushing out the Low Emission Zones (LEZ) agenda, which will actually punish motorists in many cases.
“During a Scottish Conservative Business debate on Transport held last week at Holyrood, several MSPs raised the issue of potholes. I highlighted a story on the BBC Scotland website which claims that people are leaving Caithness due to the situation with potholes, because their cars are being damaged on a regular basis, and some people are leaving their jobs in the care sector.
“They have to use their cars to travel around and so much damage is being done to their vehicles that they cannot afford the cost of repairs on their relatively low salaries. People in Caithness were actually holding up signs saying, ‘Welcome to the moon’ because of the size of the craters that they were encountering – it is a very serious issue. I’m certain many residents in Perth and Kinross will appreciate how people in Caithness feel on this issue.”
Mr Fraser continued: “Although these costs are considerable, we still have many potholes on our roads and it appears not to be a main priority for many councils. A large part of the problem here is that local authorities across Scotland have had their budgets squeezed by the SNP Government, who are distracted by their obsession on independence. Issues like potholes are more important to residents in Perth and Kinross than thinking about breaking up the United Kingdom.”
*Perth and Kinross Council have stated that the compensation paid to motorists relates to the value of claims paid out in the financial year and that not all payments relate to potholes during the financial year of payment.
