Question reference: S6W-14310
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 25 January 2023
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Current status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 7 February 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many potholes there are on the road network.
Answer
Transport Scotland, through its Trunk Road Operating Companies and Design Build Finance Operate (DBFO) Concessionaires, is responsible for the management and maintenance of the strategic trunk road network, including motorways. Repair of potholes on all other roads is the responsibility of the local authorities.
The Scottish Government fully funds the inspection and repair of all potholes that present, or could present, an immediate hazard to trunk road users. These are defined as Category 1 defects within the term maintenance contract, which also sets out strict timescales for their repair. Following identification of Category 1 pothole defects, the Operating Companies are required to make the defect safe by 6am the following morning, preferably by completing a permanent repair. Where this is not possible then a temporary repair is required within the same timescale with permanent repairs required 28 days. The number of Category 1 potholes identified and awaiting repair changes daily in response to ongoing inspections and repair work.
The following table shows the number of Category 1 potholes identified and repaired in each of the last five whole years.
Financial Year | Number of Potholes |
2017-2018 | 13,354 |
2018-2019 | 11,989 |
2019-2020 | 12,660 |
2020-2021 | 12,949 |
2021-2022 | 9,679 |