Increase fuel duty to repair potholes - councils

Fuel work should beryllium accrued to money pothole repairs, the radical representing councils successful England and Wales has said.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said cuts to spending connected tackling potholes are among the astir terrible retired of 13 large nations - with the UK's spending halving successful 13 years.

It puts the UK down the US, Japan and New Zealand, which person upped spending.

The authorities said it was spending implicit £5bn successful the 5 years to 2025 - capable to hole "millions of potholes".

But the LGA said acold much - £14bn - was needed to bring the UK roadworthy web up to scratch.

The radical said section roads attraction successful the UK fell from £4bn successful 2006 to £2bn successful 2019, according to investigation of figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Only Italy and Ireland had seen akin levels of cuts successful the aforesaid period, it added.

The US, Japan, New Zealand, Austria and Sweden person each accrued spending by astir fractional implicit the aforesaid period, portion France, Canada and Finland person protected their pothole repair budgets much than the UK.

The LGA is calling connected each governmental parties to perpetrate to a 10-year programme to boost backing for section roads by devolving the equivalent of 2p per litre of existing substance work to assistance councils reverse the "decline" successful roadworthy conditions.

"Decades of reductions successful backing from cardinal authorities to section roadworthy repair budgets person near councils facing the biggest ever yearly pothole repair backlog," LGA seat Shaun Davies said.

"Positive other backing successful the caller Budget volition help, but councils inactive look sizeable challenges erstwhile trying to get connected apical of this pothole blight."

The AA has said wintertime harm to main roads is fixed rapidly successful the spring, but residential and agrarian roads stay "blighted by potholes".

The authorities accrued its Potholes Fund - which provides wealth to councils successful England to tackle the contented - by £200m to £700m for the existent fiscal year.

But shadiness transport caput Louise Haigh said: "The premier curate posed arsenic a person of the motorist - but his breached promises person near millions of potholes connected our roads."

The authorities said it had brought successful caller rules to clamp down connected inferior companies which permission potholes down aft carrying retired thoroughfare works.

"This twelvemonth we've made £58.7bn disposable to section councils, a £5.1bn summation connected past year, the bulk of which is unringfenced and tin beryllium utilized connected section priorities specified arsenic roadworthy maintenance," a authorities spokesperson said.