SCOTTISH Borders Council must get better value for the money it spends repairing and maintaining its ailing roads network.

That will be the task of an internal review announced last week by Councillor Gordon Edgar, executive member for roads and infrastructure.

And he admitted that the current programme of works - worth £4.2m in revenue spending this financial year - had been unable to arrest the overall decline in the state of the region’s roads.

He was alluding to the recent Audit Scotland report which revealed that the network in the Borders had deteriorated by 9 per cent in the three years to 2015 – faster than in any of Scotland’s other 31 local authorities.

At Thursday’s full council meeting, Councillor Michelle Ballantyne, leader of the Conservative opposition group, cited that report and asked Mr Edgar for an explanation.

“It’s a decision for this council to allocate appropriate levels of funding to the often competing demands place upon it,” he stated.

“In the context of ever diminishing and finite financial resources, the deteriorating condition of SBC’s adopted road network can partially be attributed to the current planned surface treatment works programme not being able to arrest the overall decline in road condition which is further exacerbated by inclement weather, the expansive rural nature of our network and its use by vehicles serving the agricultural, forestry and wind farm industries.

“The review being undertaken within the Place department will seek to deliver improved efficiencies in relation to planned, reactive and cyclical works affecting the roads network, ensuring that a better return on investment is achieved and the maximum benefits derived from that investment are made.”

Asked if he believed elected members had been adequately informed on road deterioration when setting past budgets, Mr Edgar said he believed they had.

But throwing down the gauntlet to other spending departments, he said he hoped, notwithstanding the findings of the review, that roads spending would be increased next February when the council sets its budget for 2017/18.