More than 26,000 road defects have been repaired in Staffordshire since the county council launched a two-year "pothole blitz", it has been revealed.

The Reform UK administration set out its "Roadmap to a Better Network" earlier this year, which included an aim to fix 40,000 potholes by the end of March 2027.

An extra £15m has been invested in highways over two years, specifically concentrating on lower-level potholes.

Money is also being used to fund more innovative ways of fixing potholes.

Members of the Economy, Infrastructure and Committees Overview and Scrutiny Committee were given an update on the progress of the Roadmap to a Better Network at their meeting on Thursday (24 September).

This followed the approval of the authority's Highway Asset Management Policy and Strategy by cabinet members at their latest meeting (16 September).

Cllr Peter Mason, Cabinet Member for Strategic Highways, said: "The very latest data shows 26,396 potholes repaired between April 2026 and yesterday (23 September), with evidence indicating a low level of validated repair failure.

"The overall position is positive."

Velocity patching is one method being used in repairs, which enables crews to repair suitable defects quickly by cleaning the area, sealing it and applying stone and bitumen in one operation.

They are also using JCB's Pothole Pro to prepare larger defects more efficiently before permanent repairs are made, while screeding involves the application of a thinner layer of material to create a smoother surface.

Katie Painter, Head of Highways Business Support and Improvement, said: "It's good news regarding the repair rate – 0.1% of our repairs are classed as a failure.

"We're focusing on backlog reduction, structures and innovation and improvement.

"We're slightly over the target for delivery.

"But we do anticipate we've got a couple of rough months of weather ahead, so we must bear that in mind in terms of delivery.

"In terms of failure rates, from January 2026 1,953 of all the repairs were only temporary – and of those 15 were validated failures following the audit.

"It's a really low percentage of validated failures, but we recognise there is more work to do and we want to continue to feed in any learning that we've got.

"In terms of velocity patching, we've delivered 2,987 jobs – significantly more in terms of individual pothole repairs.

"And in terms of screeding, we have got eight schemes that have been done, with quite a significant number in terms of potholes that we've completed.

"It's really good progress in terms of trialling different methodologies.

"But we can see that needs to continue going forward and we anticipate that we will be looking more towards screeding as well, and trialling that in other areas."

But Cllr Richard Holland said: "If there was going to be a failure in the repairs, it's not going to happen when we've had one of the hottest summers on record.

"It's going to happen during the autumn and winter.

"I think it's a bit early to be quoting what would otherwise look like an impressive low number of failures.

"Whilst you may wish to blind us with figures, the residents of Staffordshire are not blind and they can see the state of the roads is not getting any better."

Cllr Mason responded: "It is early and there can be failures.

"But let's remember we can't compare it to last year or the year before that because there is no data – it wasn't measured and it wasn't considered necessary.

"I accept those numbers can change and that was outlined originally. But we will be measuring it, we will be reporting it on a regular basis, so you will see those movements should any failures occur.

"Going forward, we will compare it on a year by year basis.

"I think that's probably the best comparison to be fair – a month by month is too variable, given weather conditions, ability to deliver, bank holidays and everything else.

"The figures are low and I would like to see it stay low.

"I'm not suggesting it won't go up or won't change."

Committee chair Cllr Andrew Clissett said: "We're here to scrutinise numbers.

"It's a breath of fresh air we're now in September 2026 and we can see the numbers, we're talking about the numbers and we don't need to rely on transparency reports that do headline numbers – well done on bringing this to the committee."

Cllr Philip White, Conservative opposition group leader, branded the Reform UK's action to repair potholes a "sticking plaster approach" however.

He added: "This is typical of Reform's approach to running Staffordshire's services; setting a target for yourselves so you can declare it 'achieved' through quick fixes does little to improve the long-term condition of our roads.

"More and more potholes have the letter T painted on them meaning they are temporary repairs, but our experience is that these repairs are left without a permanent fix and quickly fall into disrepair.

"Residents are telling us that they are already seeing repairs completed this summer that are deteriorating.

"In a world where there is never enough money for road repairs, it is really worrying that Reform may be wasting £15m of taxpayers' money on fixes that will only last a couple of years instead of full road resurfacing and other long-term solutions.

"We will be closely monitoring the repairs completed this summer and would encourage members of the public to share their experiences of repairs around the county."