Fewer than 11 per cent of claims to Stirling Council for compensation for damage caused to vehicles by potholes have been successful in the last three years, according to latest statistics.
Since 2020, the council has received 157 claims for expenses incurred as a result of damaged vehicles on the region’s crumbling roads. Of the number of claims received since then, just 17 have been successful, with a total of £4,369.75 paid out from the public purse.
Stirling Council publishes its figures for claims received and settlements paid out for each financial year, dating back to 2014/15.
Since then, a total of more than £22,750 has been shelled out to motorists, with 99 claims being settled out of 564 received.
So far in the 2022/23 financial year to date, 17 claims have been received, with just two successfully settled. A total of £637.37 has been paid to drivers.
In the 2016/17 financial year, the council received 20 claims, all of which were rejected.
Payouts peaked in 2017/18, when £8670.26 coughed up for 37 successful claims. A further 84 claims were rejected.
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A Stirling Council spokesperson this week told the Observer: “Each claim the council receives is considered on an individual basis and goes through the appropriate channels, with liability assessed in accordance with appropriate legislation.
“Stirling Council has responsibility for maintaining more than 1000km of roads, with more than £4.5million allocated to road and footway infrastructure in the 2022/23 financial year.
“We would ask members of the public who spot a road defect to report it via our website.”
The Scottish Conservatives had submitted Freedom of Information (FoI) requests to all of Scotland’s councils.
Scottish Conservative Mid-Scotland & Fife MSP, Alexander Stewart said: “The horrific condition of the great majority of our roads is an extremely serious issue. Far too many local routes across Scotland are scarred with potholes which can seriously damage vehicles and often lead to accidents.
“By imposing years of systematic and continued budget cuts, the SNP Scottish government is starving councils of the cash needed either to carry out essential repairs or to compensate drivers affected. As always, it is Scottish councils who were forced to truly bear the brunt of the SNP’s cuts.
“Finance Secretary John Swinney proudly boasted that this budget gives local government an additional £550 million in funding compared to last year. Sadly, however, the reality is somewhat different as I highlighted recently in a direct question to him during his previously leaked ministerial statement.
“Analysis by COSLA showed that local government would need a funding increase of around £1 billion just to deal with the additional pressures they are currently facing, which is nearly double what they are receiving. Indeed, the independent Fraser of Allander Institute has said that this budget amounts to a real-terms funding cut to councils of 3.7 per cent, so I asked Mr Swinney to highlight what else he would like to further cut in response to his party’s deliberate and conscious starving of local authorities.
“As a past councillor myself of some 18 years, I wholeheartedly support my party’s laser-focus on a fair funding deal for Scotland’s councils. During May’s local authority elections, we called for the introduction of Pothole Action Funds, giving communities the right to demand repairs to local roads, but these calls fell on deaf ears.
“Under the SNP, local government has now faced well over a decade of continuous cuts and judging from this budget, this isn’t about to change any time soon, as ministers continue to impose unsustainable funding cuts on our councils and in this case, it is our motorists and road users who are suffering.”
Stirling SNP MSP Evelyn Tweed fired back, accusing Mr Stewart of hypocrisy over his complaints about a lack of funding for pothole repairs. She said: “The real reason Scottish council’s funding is limited is because of the inadequate settlement Scotland gets from being part of a broken United Kingdom, which as we now know is not a voluntary partnership.
“We also need to remember that the money Westminster returns to Scotland has been further reduced by the Tory party crashing the UK economy with a disastrous Brexit and the catastrophic Truss budget. They have caused rampant inflation, resulting in a real terms cut of £1.2 billion from the Scottish Government’s budget this year.
“Mr Stewart also needs to remember that councils are responsible for their budget allocations in response to local priorities. The Tory party props up their Labour allies in the Stirling Council administration, so he may wish to have a word with his colleagues if potholes are the Tory party’s top priority.”
