Scotland's ongoing pothole epidemic has cost local councils more than £2 million in compensation payouts over the past five years, according to newly released figures. Since the 2020/21 financial year, over 18,600 motorists have submitted claims for vehicle damage caused by the country's deteriorating roads.
Critics Blame SNP Cuts for 'Eye Watering Spend'
Critics have attributed the substantial expenditure to what they describe as 'savage SNP cuts to council budgets,' which have left local authorities unable to repair what they term 'crumbling roads.' This comes just weeks after claims that potholes had made parts of Scotland resemble a 'third world country.'
Highland Council Hit Hardest
Among the 25 councils that provided data, Highland Council paid out the highest amount—£579,160—accounting for more than a quarter of Scotland's total compensation. This sum was for nearly 1,500 claims. The region, which attracts thousands of domestic and international visitors annually, received over 2,000 claims in total over the five-year period, though not all were successful.
Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Craig Hoy MSP stated: 'Savage SNP cuts to council budgets are to blame for this eyewatering spend on pothole compensation claims. Cash-strapped councils just don’t have the cash to properly repair Scotland’s crumbling roads.' He added: 'Hard-pressed motorists should be compensated when their car is damaged by a pothole, but this could be avoided if the SNP adopted our common-sense plan for kerb-to-kerb resurfacing. Alongside our National Pothole Action Fund this would help to properly repair local roads, rather than them being ignored or cheap patch-up jobs being carried out.'
Data Likely Underestimates Total Payouts
The figures, obtained by the BBC through freedom of information requests, revealed that councils paid out over £2 million. However, this amount is likely much higher, as complete data was only provided by 25 of Scotland's 32 councils. Dumfries and Galloway Council also paid out more than half a million pounds—£514,187—for 1,482 of the 3,158 claims received. Aberdeenshire Council paid out nearly £140,000, while Edinburgh City Council paid £47,921 for 154 claims out of over 2,600 received. Orkney Islands Council had the lowest total compensation bill at £727.
Councils Face Financial Pressures
The figures come as Scottish councils face increasing pressure to balance their budgets, with some introducing inflation-busting tax hikes for the new financial year. Cosla, the umbrella body representing all of Scotland's local authorities, stated that councils are 'committed to keeping roads for which they are responsible safe and carry out critical maintenance where necessary.' However, a spokesperson added: 'After another year of flat cash capital settlement, council finances are under intense pressure which has an impact on local authorities’ capital programmes and revenue spend. This means that the funding needed to meet the high standards and efficiency for essential services, including road maintenance, must go even further and councils need to juggle competing priorities. This will inevitably have consequences which councils do their best to minimise for their communities.'
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'The Scottish Budget 2026/27 provides record funding of £15.7 billion to local authorities, including £250 million of unrestricted general revenue grant. It is for individual local authorities to allocate the total resources that are available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities.'
