RAC asked 207 councils about pothole compensation claims. Of the 177 that responded, Derbyshire County Council saw the biggest increase in claims over the three-year period, from 224 to 3,307.
However, Derbyshire councillor Charlotte Hill, the council’s cabinet member for potholes, highways and transport, said claims had fallen by 72% since May 2025.
“Going forward, Derbyshire highways can become more proactive rather than reactive, and work to make repairs before they become an issue for residents,” she told the BBC.
Glasgow City Council and Oxfordshire County Council saw the next biggest increases between 2021 and 2024.
In a statement, Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for transport management, said the emphasis “should be on maintenance work to prevent potholes forming in the first place, which is much more cost-effective than repairing them afterwards”.
“That is why we have invested nearly £14.5m since 2024 on the largest surface dressing programmes we have carried out for at least 20 years.”
Surface dressing is a preservation treatment aimed at avoiding potholes forming.
The BBC has contacted Glasgow City Council for comment.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said the government was investing £7.3bn over the next four years to help councils resurface roads.
“This will turn the tide on years of underinvestment in our road network, allowing local authorities to move away from expensive, short-term repairs and invest in proactive maintenance and prevent potholes from forming in the first place,” they said.
A Local Government Association spokesperson said that “ever-increasing pressure on budgets has impacted their ability to do so as much as they’d like” regarding road maintenance.
“New funding for roads will help turn the tide on the gradual decline of local roads, but this will take time to shift from simply filling potholes reactively – which pothole compensation laws require – towards a more proactive, sustainable approach.”.
