“Pothole pandemic:” Drivers made 63 compensation claims a day for pothole damage last year

EMBARGO: 22.30 Monday 25th December 

• Over 23,000 compensation claims for damage or injury from potholes made in past year - equivalent to 63 day

• The number of claims rises by 70% compared to previous year while compensation paid out rises by 6%

• One council paid out almost £40,000 for a single claim

• Lib Dems call for local authority highways maintenance budgets to be fully restored 

63 pothole compensation claims were made every day last year as thousands of drivers saw their cars damaged by crater-filled roads, data uncovered by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

Pothole compensation claims have risen to 23,042 in 2022/23, almost double the 13,579 claims the previous year. Meanwhile compensation paid out to motorists has risen slightly to £1.77m in 2022/23, up 6% from £1.66m the previous year.

The data was obtained through Freedom of Information requests to councils in England, with data provided by 85 local authorities.

Surrey County Council had the highest number of pothole payout claims with 2,351 in 2022/23, more than triple the previous year. This was followed by Essex County Council with 1,701, and West Sussex with 1,639.

Surrey County Council also paid out the most last year for compensation due to potholes with almost £237,000 given to successful claimants. Since 2018, the council has paid out more than £1.2 million in pothole compensation. National Highways paid out £116,000 and Staffordshire County Council £105,000.

Some councils are also paying staggeringly high individual payouts for pothole damage. Last year, Stoke-on-Trent City Council had one payout for pothole damage of almost £40,000, more than any other council. Leeds City Council had a single pothole payout of £36,000, Kensington and Chelsea had a payout of £26,000 and Surrey County Council of £31,000.

The Liberal Democrats want to see local authority highways maintenance budgets fully restored, so local authorities have the necessary funds to repair their pothole backlogs. Recent research from the Local Government Association has found councils face a record £14bn road repair backlog, while spending on local road repairs in the UK has been reduced by more than nearly all other OECD countries.

Liberal Democrat Local Government, Housing and Communities spokesperson, Helen Morgan MP said:

“This Conservative government has overseen a pothole pandemic on our roads. It’s now become almost impossible to drive in some parts of the country without having to swerve to avoid potholes.

“This has led to thousands of drivers having to claim for damage to their vehicles or even personal injury caused by crater-filled roads.

“The government is firmly to blame for this failure to maintain our roads properly after having slashed funding for local road repairs.

“Cash-strapped councils are being left without the funding to maintain roads properly while having to shell out thousands of pounds in pothole payouts.

“Local authorities need to have their highway maintenance budgets urgently restored so that we can end this vicious cycle of pothole payouts and poorly maintained roads.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

The FOI data can be found here.