Exclusive: The Scottish Government was previously handed millions in funding earmarked for pothole fillings – but this cash was spent elsewhere instead.
Scotland’s roads are costing huge amounts of money. (Image: Danny Lawson/PA Wire)
The Scottish Conservatives have vowed to fix Scotland’s “surface of the moon” pothole crisis as it hit out at the SNP’s lack of action on the issue. Cash-strapped councils are forced to fork out millions each year patching up well-driven roads, but these repair jobs don’t last long.
Hard-pressed motorists report on average of 277 fresh road defects a day, according to figures from 2024/25, and with their funding being reduced every year local authorities struggle to keep up with repairs. Unlike in England, where the previous Tory UK Government created a pothole fund, the Scottish Government abdicate responsibility to councils.
Now, the Scottish Tories want to fight back for drivers and have outlined plans to create a National Pothole Action fund for Scotland which would allow local authorities to dip into it to fix roads properly. It comes with the caveats that the work undertaken must be kerb-to-kerb resurfacing rather than patch-up jobs. It would be worth an estimated £90m a year – although depend on how many applications are made.
The party insist that this would lead to safer roads for motorists and save money for councils as they won’t need to repeatedly fix the same potholes. These costs can range between £50-£100 per mile, depending on the type of surfacing material (asphalt, concrete, etc), plus the extent of damage, and the complexity of the project.
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And it would also purchase advanced pothole repair machines such as the Pothole Pro which could be borrowed by local authorities to fix stricken roads. The SNP Government was blamed for the current state of Scotland’s motoring routes in towns, cities and on trunk roads.
Scottish Conservative shadow transport secretary Sue Webber MSP told the Scottish Daily Express: “Scotland’s roads are riddled with potholes after years of chronic SNP cuts to council budgets Hard-pressed motorists are fed up driving on roads that look like the surface of the moon – because local authorities don’t have the resources to fix them. It’s damaging their cars and hitting them in the pocket.
Sue Webber MSP
“Right now, too many councils are stuck making crude patch repairs that last a few weeks before drivers are dodging the same potholes all over again. That’s why the Scottish Conservatives have set out a bold plan for a National Pothole Action Fund — giving councils the resources they need to properly fix roads with comprehensive kerb-to-kerb resurfacing.
“This common-sense proposal would end the reliance on sticking-plaster repairs, make roads safer, and save councils and taxpayers money in the long run.”
The motion will be debated at the Scottish Conservatives conference this week. Overall, more than £452million has been forked out on mending pot holes between 2022 and 2025, with some councils having permanent teams out and about daily patching the craters in the road.
Data showed more than 580,000 potholes have been repaired over those years, with more than 300,000 being reported to local authorities between 2022 and 2024, with Edinburgh receiving 58,589 alerts, followed by Glasgow with 48,523.
When it comes to funding, the Scottish Government have been accused of raiding £150m from Scotland’s roads budgets. Spending on Scotland’s roads dropped by £150m in real terms last year, with this reduction from 2022/23 and 2023/24 amounting to a tenth of the overall roads budget.
Potholes present a problem all over Scotland(Image: Getty)
As part of the Budget last year, the UK Government allocated £1.6bn to fixing potholes in England, which equalled an estimated £160m of Barnett Consequential funding for Scotland but this hasn’t been passed on, with the SNP Executive insisting it is up to struggling councils to spend their budget on the issue.
Direct spending by the Scottish Government on roads fell by £70m in real terms, while road spending by local authorities dropped by £80m, according to Scottish Labour research from last year. Councils have complained about cutting public services due to yet another bad Budget settlement.
A spokesperson for Finance Secretary Shona Robison said: “Our draft Budget provides Scotland’s councils with record funding of almost £15.7billion – and if the Tories vote against the Budget, they would be seeking to deny councils that additional revenue.
“It is up to individual local authorities to manage their day-to-day decision-making and allocate the total financial resources available to them.”
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