Extra £10 million for road maintenance following extreme weather
Local authorities are set to benefit from extra funding to cover the cost of roads maintenance and make additional repairs to road surfaces, following the extended wintry weather.
Finance Secretary Derek Mackay has taken the decision to allocate an additional £10 million for all 32 councils, with the details of the distribution to be agreed with COSLA.
Mr Mackay said: “Scotland experienced unprecedented levels of extreme weather in recent months, culminating in the issuing of our first-ever Red Alert for snow by the Met Office in late February.
“The severe weather led to local authorities incurring unexpected additional costs to their maintenance budgets, and simultaneously caused more damage to Scotland’s road network.
“By assisting councils to keep our road networks safe and efficient, we’re not only improving conditions for road users, we’re also extending the life span of that network – benefiting the wider economy.
“We have agreed a local government finance settlement of £10.7 billion, which will provide a real terms boost in both revenue and capital spending to support local services, including winter maintenance.”