Public deserves breakdown of roadworks costs

COUNCILS across Scotland will have to spend an extra £45 million every year to keep the nation's roads in their current condition, according to a survey commissioned by the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS).

That the figure is as small as this will surprise many motorists and cyclists who endure the dangers of the country's potholed highways every day, but it turns out that this sum does not take into account the damage wreaked to our roads by this winter's big freeze.

SCOTS is to be commended for drawing this problem to our attention as it might prompt the Scottish Government into further action and local authorities which had not already done so into finding money to begin to repair the ice-induced damage.

However, it is ridiculous that SCOTS will not publish the figures for individual council areas to allow citizens to make comparisons and decide whether their authority is doing as much as it might. The claim that individual councils will soon publish their figures may be technically true, but the delay smacks of the worst of pettifogging local government pedantry.

We need this information now to give us an idea of how bad the problem is across Scotland, to allow us to see which councils are tackling the issue and to begin the process of repairing the roads that are the vital for both business and personal travel.