To ask the Scottish Government how it will work with local authorities to address road improvements. (S6O-04210)

We all recognise that it is important for there to be a safe and resilient road network throughout Scotland. However, as local roads are the responsibility of local authorities, it is for individual councils to allocate resources based on their local needs. The Scottish Government will provide over £15 billion in the 2025-26 local government settlement, increasing the resources that are available to local government by £1 billion, which represents a real-terms increase of 4.7 per cent. At the same time, in the budget for 2025-26, we propose to increase expenditure on trunk road maintenance to £714 million.

Since 2022, there have been more than 26,000 reported potholes on Fife’s roads, including 224 on the six roads that lead in and out of the village of Saline in west Fife alone. The cost of fixing the backlog of repairs in Fife has increased by more than £23 million and now sits at £100 million. Despite the slight uplift in councils’ budgets this year, which the minister mentioned, they have been struggling with underfunding for almost two decades, and the higher bills for repairs mean simply that they have less resources for other priorities.

Does the minister accept that the money that local authorities spend on filling the thousands of road defects would be better spent on long-term road surface improvements? How will the Scottish Government work with local authorities to establish a fairer funding process that will allow our councils to fix the backlog?

As I said in my previous answer, the Scottish Government is increasing local authority funding by more than £1 billion. I fully accept the frustration that Roz McCall expresses, but decisions about how local authorities are going to repair the roads are really for them to take.

From 1 January to 12 November last year, North Ayrshire motorists endured 2,457 days of closed roads. The minister will understand the frustration of many road users about the duration of the closures, especially when no visible work is being carried out or there is no one on site. What more can the Scottish Government do to work with local authorities and, indeed, on its own network, to diminish the negative impacts of lengthy closures and minimise their occurrence?

I absolutely understand the frustration about road closures in the same way as I understand the frustration about potholes, especially when sites appear to be empty. However, there are, generally, good engineering and safety reasons for closures. They are used only when they are unavoidable, and they are implemented to protect either Scotland’s road workers or the public.

Local authorities have powers to direct that unreasonably prolonged works be completed by a given date and they have inspectorate powers in relation to utilities works. When I and the Cabinet Secretary for Transport met the Scottish Road Works Commissioner recently, we raised the issue of co-ordination of works. Since April 2024, the commissioner has also had inspectorate powers, use of which will be reported on in the next annual report. I and the cabinet secretary emphasised to him that the frustration is causing real concern.