SRWR (Prescribed Fees) Regulations 2022

As in previous years, we intend to create a new Scottish Statutory Instrument accounting for the target cost of operating the Scottish Road Works Register in the 2021-22 financial year. The intention is to revoke the 2021 instrument, and replace with a new instrument for 2022 which will cover a two year period. This consultation seeks your views on making this change.  

Why We Are Consulting

The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 enables Scottish Ministers to provide, by regulation, that a fee be payable to the Scottish Road Works Commissioner for access to the register.

The Register is an electronic database, supplied under contract to the Scottish Road Works Commissioner. It has varying operating costs in different financial years. This requires new regulations where the overall target fee for the year increases or decreases to ensure that the operating costs of running the register are met through the statutory process.

The projected running cost of the register for 2022/23 has decreased to £882,933 from £915,000, a 4% decrease compared to the current figure. The projected running cost for 2023/24 will increase to £950,387, a 4% increase compared to the current figure.

The increase in 2023/24 is largely to accommodate an anticipated increase in concurrent users, resulting from the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021. As such the actual fee payable by each organisation may not be affected, as the overall costs are split between a greater number of organisations.

The increase also covers retendering costs as the contract for the Register with the current supplier comes to its appointed end date. In either case, if the estimated amount exceeds the actual spend in that financial year, any excess will be used to offset the 2024/25 fees, back to the community, as was done following the conclusion of the previous tender exercise.

It is therefore necessary to replace the existing Regulation to decrease and then increase the target cost used to calculate the fees paid by users of the register in each financial year of the two year period (2022/23 and 2023/24).

No other changes are proposed.