THE condition of the country’s roads is a ‘national scandal’ that ‘shows a dereliction of duty by successive governments and local councils,’ MPs have found.

The House of Commons’ Transport Select Committee found councils have paid £22.5m in compensation to people who have suffered because of poor road surfaces.

It said the current way councils and government fund road repairs is ‘not fit for purpose’.

But it said it supported a plan by the Department for Transport that would mean a five-year funding settlement for the local road network.

The committee said: “Evidence shows that over the past 20 years spending on maintenance has increased and councils are getting more for their money as the cost of repairing and maintaining roads has fallen.

“However, the ‘one time catch up’ cost of repairing local roads – now over £9bn – has seen a moderate increase and local authorities face a significant budgetary shortfall on the completion of the necessary works.”

Oxfordshire County Council said in 2018 that it would spend £10m more than it had planned in an effort to improve roads, ahead of an expected population surge.

Its total budget has been cut by about half over the last decade as a result of government cuts.