FOI request detail

FOI request on potholes

Request ID: FOI-2878-2425
Date published: 07 January 2025

You asked

To whom this may concern, I’m writing to request you release data under the Freedom of Information Act. 1) How many potholes were reported to TFL in the financial year 2021/2022? 2) How many potholes were reported to TFL in 2022/2023? 3) How many potholes were reported to TFL in 2023/2024? 4) How many potholes were repaired by TFL in the financial year 2021/2022? 5) How many potholes were repaired by TFL in 2022/2023? 6) How many potholes were repaired by TFL in 2023/2024? 7) How many potholes compensation claims were received by TFL in the financial year 2021/2022? 8) How many potholes compensation claims were received by TFL in 2022/2023? 9) How many potholes compensation claims were received by TFL in 2023/2024? 10) How many pothole compensation claims were paid out by TFL in the financial year 2021/2022? Can you also please reveal the total sum paid by the council? 11) How many pothole compensation claims were paid out by TFL in the financial year 2022/2023? Can you please reveal the total sum paid by the council? 12) How many pothole compensation claims were paid out by TFL in the financial year 2023/2024? Can you please reveal the total sum paid by the council? 13) What was the budget for repairing potholes in the financial year 2021/2022? 14) What was the budget for repairing potholes in the financial year 2022/2023? 15) What was the budget for repairing potholes in the financial year 2023/2024? 16) How many potholes did TFL record in the financial year 2021/2022? 17) How many potholes did TFL record in the financial year 2022/2023? 18) How many potholes did TFL record in the financial year 2023/2024? 19)What was the largest pothole, both in diameter and depth, TFL recorded in the financial year 2021/2022? 20) What was the largest, both in diameter and depth, pothole TFL recorded in the financial year 2022/2023? 21) What was the largest, both in diameter and depth, pothole TFL recorded in the financial year 2023/2024?

We answered

Our ref: FOI-2878-2425/GH

 

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 6 December 2024 asking for information about potholes.

 

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold some of the information you require.

 

1) How many potholes were reported to TFL in the financial year 2021/2022?
2) How many potholes were reported to TFL in 2022/2023?

3) How many potholes were reported to TFL in 2023/2024?

 

Members of the public can report a pothole by either contacting our Customer Services team or by completing an online ‘Streetcare’ report. The information below may contain duplicate reports if a customer chose to report via both methods. A report may also have been made by several people regarding the same pothole.

 

Please see the table below for pothole reports received by Customer Services. (Data for FY21-22 will be slightly less than more recent Financial Years because our data retention policy requires us to delete records after three years.)

 

Please note that this data refers to the number of complaints submitted about potholes and not the actual number of potholes on the network. Safety is our top priority and we work hard to ensure our road network is safe and fit for purpose. Our rigorous inspection and repair programme prevents thousands of injuries each year and any pothole reported that could cause injury is made safe within one, four or 24 hours of it being reported depending on its risk.

 

 

Financial Year

Number of Cases

2021-22

119

Complaint

29

Enquiry

78

Information

1

Safety issues and incidents

11

2022-23

402

Complaint

105

Enquiry

237

Information

2

Safety issues and incidents

58

2023-24

463

Complaint

152

Enquiry

249

Information

4

Safety issues and incidents

58

Total

984

 

Please see below the number of Streetcare reports. Due to the way these are recorded, we can only provide this information in calendar years.

 

Streetcare Reports

 

2021

358

2022

462

2023

894

2024

402

Total

2116

 

4) How many potholes were repaired by TFL in the financial year 2021/2022?

5) How many potholes were repaired by TFL in 2022/2023?

6) How many potholes were repaired by TFL in 2023/2024?

The repair of potholes is included in TfL’s Highways Maintenance and Projects Framework (HMPF) contract and therefore there is no recorded information specifically recording the number of potholes repaired.

 

7) How many potholes compensation claims were received by TFL in the financial year 2021/2022?  - 166

8) How many potholes compensation claims were received by TFL in 2022/2023? - 161

9) How many potholes compensation claims were received by TFL in 2023/2024? – 229

 

The below figures are not linked to the claims reported above. The sums shown are based upon the date of the compensation payment. The sums also include any amounts paid out by our insurers above any policy deductible.

 

10) How many pothole compensation claims were paid out by TFL in the financial year 2021/2022? Can you also please reveal the total sum paid by the council?  TfL has paid £305,291.40 across 13 claims

11) How many pothole compensation claims were paid out by TFL in the financial year 2022/2023? Can you please reveal the total sum paid by the council?

TfL has paid £1,681,538.45 across 12 claims

12) How many pothole compensation claims were paid out by TFL in the financial year 2023/2024? Can you please reveal the total sum paid by the council?

TfL has paid £84,793.23 across 10 claims

 

13) What was the budget for repairing potholes in the financial year 2021/2022?

14) What was the budget for repairing potholes in the financial year 2022/2023?

15) What was the budget for repairing potholes in the financial year 2023/2024?

The repair of potholes falls under the core services budget as a lump sum item included in TfL’s HMPF contract and therefore we do not hold a specific budget for the repair of potholes.

 

16) How many potholes did TFL record in the financial year 2021/2022? – 804

17) How many potholes did TFL record in the financial year 2022/2023? – 945

18) How many potholes did TFL record in the financial year 2023/2024?

Due to a cyber incident which has affected our systems, we are currently unable to access this information for 2023/2024.

 

19)What was the largest pothole, both in diameter and depth, TFL recorded in the financial year 2021/2022?

20) What was the largest, both in diameter and depth, pothole TFL recorded in the financial year 2022/2023?

21) What was the largest, both in diameter and depth, pothole TFL recorded in the financial year 2023/2024?

We do not record this information.

 

Please let me know if this is not the information you are looking for. If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Graham Hurt

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

 

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