Pothole row between Doncaster mayor and MP as cabinet approves yearly funding

Don Valley MP Nick Fletcher claimed that Mayor Ros Jones was “shirking responsibility” after she accredited a backlog in pothole repairs to shrinking government funding.

It comes as Doncaster Council’s cabinet approved £7 million over five years to undertake a variety of highways improvements on Wednesday (17 April).

The funding has been annually awarded to councils by central government for several years, with a change in the formula this year to five-year settlements.

Ms Jones told the Local Democracy Reporting Service this week that councils are facing their “biggest ever” pothole backlog due to a real-terms reduction in this government funding.

In response, Mr Fletcher said: “Anyone with children will know the words “Not Me”. Dealing with this Mayor is becoming like that. This potholes fiasco is yet another example of her shirking responsibility.

“When this Labour Mayor is confronted with her failings, she has the same response. It’s the Conservative Government to blame. Not me. Always someone else.”

Mr Fletcher continued to list several settlements given to the authority for road repairs, including the yearly settlement and long-term funding given to Yorkshire and the North East due to the cancellation of HS2.

Ms Jones later shared: “Formerly an annual settlement the LNTCP is a now 5-year programme, at just over £1.391m per annum, which is comparable to the previous annual programme model, HOWEVER this funding does not take into account inflation so it will in fact be a REAL-TERMS CUT over the 5-year period.

“In Doncaster we have over £150m of highways works awaiting funding. For 2023/24 government gave us circa £5 million which is roughly the same we received back in 2010, meaning real-terms maintenance funding for local roads in the UK has HALVED since 2006.

“When Rishi Sunak cancelled HS2 Phase 2 he announced £8.3bn funding for highways repairs, this is of course welcome, however it must be noted that this funding is promised over a 11-year period, meaning no real improvement in roads across the country for many years to come.”