LCC: Tories underspend on Lancashire potholes by £13.9m

It has been identified and confirmed by officers at Lancashire County Council that the Conservative administration has failed to spend £13.9 million on its highways this financial year.

In a "Highways Services – Briefing Note", prepared for the Labour Group on 1st March 2018 it identifies that:

In 2017/18 the service is forecast to underspend by £6.9m (as at Quarter 3), mainly due to a combination of borrowing to fund structural defects, traffic signal repairs, street lighting maintenance and drainage maintenance, rather than using a budgeted revenue contributions (£6.077m), and additional Highway Regulation and Inspection income (£0.839m).

(Highways Services – Briefing Note, page 3, Financial Position, Paragraph 2)

That there had been an underspend on ABC Roads across Lancashire of £4 million.

(Highways Services – Briefing Note, page 8, ABC Roads, Line 1)

The Conservative administration have already accepted that they failed to spend £3 million on estate roads, which they promised would be done last year.

Following Labour's proposals to spend an extra £5 million on potholes at February's Budget meeting, which the Conservative, Liberals and UKIP voted against. Lancashire County Council has now put into writing as part of a Cabinet Report, that they will spend an extra £5 million on potholes and verbally agreed to roll over the £4 million capital after been pressed by Cllr John Fillis to commit to spending it.

Cllr John Fillis, Deputy Labour Leader at LCC, said, "At a time when our roads are in desperate need of repairs right across Lancashire, this Council is unable or unwilling to carry out the work. This is not because of a lack of funds, they have £13.9 million available to spend. There are no excuses for this Conservative administration. This is a break down in political management in this chaotic Council."

"Their pothole policy was withdrawn only last month. We have offered today to help them prepare a policy that would repair the roads. The people of Lancashire deserve better than this."

"People are being asked to pay 6% more for a lesser service and now we have a situation where the Highways money is there and the Conservative are failing to spend it."