Highways cut to meet claims

The Conservative administration at County Hall has mismanaged Surrey's Highways to such an extent that Highways claims against the Council for damage and injury in respect of Highways are expected to reach £1.3m this year. This is not surprising given the large number of potholes on Surrey's roads, the delay in repairing them and the many poor quality repairs which did not last.

To make matters worse, the Conservative administration has decided to pay for this £1.3m shortfall in the budget by cutting Highways staff to the tune of £0.8m. The result is drastic cuts in front line Highways officers and a further decline in the responsiveness of the Highways service - the very opposite of what is required.

Instead of accepting responsibility for such mismanagement of Highways, the Conservative administration at County Hall has rather pathetically blamed last Winter's weather for their poor performance.