Average Number of Calendar Days Between a Pothole Being Reported and Repaired

I am writing to request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to potholes and associated vehicle damage within your local authority area.



Please provide figures for the most recent full calendar year (or financial

year, if easier):



1) The number of potholes reported (monthly breakdown if possible).

2) The average number of calendar days between a pothole being reported and repaired.

3) The percentage of reported potholes repaired within:

a) 7 days

b) 14 days

c) 28 days

4) The number of vehicle damage claims submitted as a result of potholes.

5) The number of pothole-related claims accepted and the total amount of compensation paid.

6) If recorded, the types of vehicles (make/model or vehicle category) involved in these damage claims.

1. The figures below are potholes that have been reported and assessed and identified for repair as a "pothole" by an LCC Highways Officer. 

For info the number of public fault reports has been supplied too for the corresponding months. Potentially not all of these have required repair.

2. Mean average - 18.74 days

Median average - 12.02 days

Basis: The number of calendar days between the earliest date of receipt of a public fault report, or the date a defect was identified on inspection compared to the completion date of the associated repair.

As of 27/07/2025, 31967 out of the above (see Q1) 31976 jobs have been completed. The averages above relate to these 31967 jobs.

3a. completed within less than 7 days - 35.91%

b. completed within 7 and 14 days - 20.17%

c. completed within 14 and 28 days - 27.10%

Basis: Measured using the earliest date of receipt of a public fault report, or the date a defect was identified on inspection compared to the completion date of the associated repair.

Please note:

Potholes have different repair timescales depending on the hierarchy of road they are on, and these differ from those asked about in Q3.

Please see this link (page 105 onwards) for information on our pothole repair response times. Highways infrastructure asset management plan 2024

The following table indicates the percentage of repairs that have been completed within these policy response times.

4. Answer: 1547

5. 312 claims, totalling £56,380.64

6. Cars 1522

LGV 2

Motorcycle 5

Van 18

Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) do not record the make & model on our system so have broken it down by vehicle type.  LCC could manually interrogate each claim to see if it was provided, but with 1547 claims, at say minimum of 5 minutes per claim+ recording the information, it would take a minimum of 129 hours. 

Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information 2000 does not oblige a public authority
to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of
complying with the request would exceed the appropriate limit. The appropriate
limit is currently £450 or 18 hours at a cost of £25 per hour.
The exemption under section 12 is not subject to the public interest test
Any refined request will be treated as a new request under the Freedom of
Information Act