Drivers made more than 400 pothole damage claims last year, according to the Liberal Democrats.
The party called for a full restoration of the government’s road maintenance budget and accused the Conservatives of overseeing a “pothole pandemic” on England’s roads.
Data from 85 local authorities in England obtained through Freedom of Information requests shows compensation paid to motorists was £1.77 million in 2022/23, up slightly on the previous year.
The Liberal Democrats said damage from potholes increased significantly last year, to 23,042 in 2022/23 (an average of just over 63 per day), up from 13,579 the previous year.
Last month, Rishi Sunak pledged to tackle the “scourge of potholes” by committing £8.3 billion to maintain local roads in England.
The Prime Minister described the investment, which will be available to local authorities over 11 years, as “unprecedented” and “will pave the way for better and safer travel for millions of people across the country and end the scourge of oppression”. Potholes.”
The funding was part of the government’s Network North plan, published in October, which aimed to spend money saved by demolishing HS2 north of Birmingham. It is split between £3.3 billion for the North West, North East, Yorkshire and Humber, £2.2 billion for the West Midlands and East Midlands and £2.8 billion for the East of England, South East , South West and London.
Ministers have stepped up action as pothole problems hit record levels. The AA’s latest figures show there have been more than 450,000 calls about similar incidents this year.
Housing and Communities spokeswoman Helen Morgan said: “This Conservative government has overseen a pandemic of potholes on our roads. It has now become almost impossible to drive in some parts of the country without avoiding potholes.
“This has resulted in thousands of motorists having to claim damage to their vehicles or even personal injuries as a result of road accidents. The government is responsible for failing to properly maintain our roads after cutting back on local maintenance work.
“Cash-strapped local authorities lack the resources to properly maintain roads while having to spend thousands of pounds on pothole repairs. Local governments must urgently restore their road maintenance budgets so we can end this vicious cycle of potholes and poorly maintained roads.”
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “We are investing an extra £8.3 billion in road repairs across the country, the largest ever increase in funding for local roads.” to the more than £5.5 billion we have already invested in road maintenance.”
Source: I News
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