DORSET County Council is under “significant pressure” when it comes to finances but should use its resources efficiently and prioritise its spending, according to one councillor.

Today Chancellor George Osborne will set out budgets for local authority funding in the Autumn Spending Review.

Cllr Mike Byatt, a member of Dorset County Council and briefholder for economic development at Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, said he was worried funding would be cut to the county.

He urged the government to provide more funding and said that the county council should make funding for roads a priority to help realise the area’s economic growth potential, and to make the roads safer.

He said: “For our major roads, our government has got to realise that to make them safer and to ensure we get economic growth in Dorset, that there needs to be more investment into our infrastructure.

“It is a significant problem in Dorset.

“We can’t deliver any of our aspirations for economic growth and maintain our roads and keep them safe without investment from the government.

“The county council has got to ensure that it uses its resources efficiently, but that is also dependent on the level of funding we get.

“The pressure is on the council to see how it delivers that road safety, in partnership with the police and fire service.

“We have had 21 deaths on the roads in Dorset this year, and that’s far too high.

“The county council needs to do everything to improve road safety, but it needs the appropriate level of funding to do it.”

Cllr Byatt’s comments come as a charity urges Dorset County Council to commit to road safety schemes as the authority faces further funding cuts.

The number of people who have died on the county’s roads this year is 21.

Last year, 19 people died. In 2013, 28 people were killed.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is asking those responsible for road safety to protect communities and make decreasing funds as cost-effective as possible.

Nationally the number of people who died in road crashes increased by four per cent in 2014 and the charity warned that this figure could continue to rise as there is more traffic on the roads.

Most collisions are due to 'human error'

A SPOKESMAN for Dorset County Council said: “Our road safety team is already largely following the recommendations put forward in the new guidance. Dorset County Council monitor trends in road traffic collisions and casualties closely and while there has been a recent increase in the number of people killed or seriously injured remains notably lower than in previous years.

“Analysis has shown that the majority of all road traffic collision are the result of human error.

"It is extremely rare for the road to be the main reason for a collision occurring. The way we behave when using the road is the main factor for improving road safety.

“We identify and target key high risk groups such as older drivers and motorcyclists. The ‘No excuse’ campaign, delivered in partnership with Dorset Road Safe, cracked down on antisocial and illegal driving behaviour. And our Dorset Driver Gold programme to keep older people driving safely for longer continues to provide an opportunity to update skills and boost confidence. We also support the national campaign by THINK road safety that targets young male drivers.

“We will continue to work with partners, Dorset Police, Dorset Fire and Rescue, and local communities to keep our roads safe.”