One of the biggest issues that residents across South Northamptonshire have raised with me in recent weeks is the need for more money to repair potholes and carriageway defects in the local roads that we all use.

We’re all aware of the impact that the recent spell of bad weather has had on the roads, and I know that Northants Highways have been working round the clock to repair as many as they can as quickly as they can. There is still much more work to be done.

I was therefore delighted that my colleague Chris Grayling, the Secretary of State for Transport, announced this week that he is providing a further £100m for local councils to carry out repairs. This is in addition to the £75m that the Government has already provided this year through the Pothole Action Fund and the £46m boost announced just before Christmas.

Northamptonshire should benefit from around £1.6m in additional funding from this recently announced £100m, and I will be pressing for a fair proportion of that to be spent on our roads here in South Northants.

Residents have already been in touch with me to highlight potholes that are in need of repair in their area, but I would encourage as many people as possible to report issues through the County Council's Street Doctor online portal. I will be speaking with Cllr Ian Morris, Transport Cabinet Member at Northants County Council, about the need in our area, and I know he is committed to doing all that he can.