THE number of claims Argyll and Bute Council has received for pothole-damaged vehicles has more than halved since 2019.

According to new figures, Argyll and Bute is below the national average over the past three years for the number of claims it has received from drivers who have hit a pothole - but is well above the national average for the number of claims it pays out.

The research was obtained by the Scottish Conservatives, following a freedom of information (FOI) request.

In the past three years, the council received 110 claims, with 43 resulting in a pay out (39 per cent).

The percentage of claims Argyll and Bute has received has steadily declined year-on-year from 52 in 2019-20 to 34 in 2020-21 and 24 in 2021-22.

The number of claims that are paid out has declined since 2019, but there was a small rise in the number last year. In 2019-20, 42 per cent of claims made to the council were paid out, decreasing to 35 per cent between 2020-21 before rising slightly to 37.5 per cent in 2021-22.

The national average of claims paid out during 2021-22 was 15.76 per cent.

The total compensation paid out over the past three years totals over £10,000, higher than in neighbouring Stirling and over five times the total in West Dunbartonshire.

Last year (2021-22) nine out of 24 claims were approved with pay outs totalling £2884.18 made to drivers.

In 2020-21, 12 claims out of a total of 34 were accepted with the same total of £2884.18 paid out.

The year before, 2019-20, there were 22 claims approved from 52 and payments made totalling £4307.72.

Across Scotland over the three-year period, there were 13,269 claims to councils and 2057 ended up in payouts, 15.5 percent of the total.

The Scottish Conservatives said local government was being underfunded and councils were unable to maintain roads properly.

Scottish Conservative shadow transport minister Graham Simpson MSP said: “The dire condition of our roads is an extremely serious issue. Far too many local routes across Scotland are scarred with potholes which damage vehicles and can lead to crashes.

“But by imposing years of systematic and continued budget cuts, Nicola Sturgeon’s government are starving councils of the cash needed either to carry out essentials repairs or to compensate drivers affected by their failure to do so.“Scotland’s pock-marked roads require urgent attention, and the SNP ought to commit to establishing the Pothole Action Funds that the Scottish Conservatives have called for.

“Sadly, though, as John Swinney’s recent budget reaffirmed, local government services are not a priority for ministers, who continue to impose unsustainable funding cuts on councils.”

A spokesperson for deputy first minister John Swinney said: “Despite UK Government cuts to our budget, we have protected councils in the most challenging budget since devolution to provide more than £13.2 billion in the 2023-24 Local Government Settlement.

“This represents a cash increase of over £570 million or 4.5 per cent, which is a real terms increase of £160.6 million or 1.3 per cent.

“Maintenance of the local road network is the responsibility of local authorities and it is up to individual councils to manage their own budgets and allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities.“If other parties wish to see more funding allocated for purposes of this type, they must identify which other budgets must be reduced to provide the funding. This has not been done on this - and many other - occasions.”

Argyll and Bute Council has been contacted for comment.