National Roads Maintenance Review - Phase 2 Report

1 Introduction

1.1 Context

Scotland's road network, at over 55,000 km, is one of the country's largest community assets, encompassing all roads, footways, cycleways, bridges, street lighting and road signage. It plays a vital role in supporting Scotland's economy by facilitating the movement of people, goods and services and connecting people with economic opportunities, often providing a focal point and sense of place. On a local level, the road network is essential for the long-term sustainability and development of Scotland's communities and the well-being of its residents.

In the last 15 years, total road usage has increased by almost 30%; trunk roads usage has risen almost 40%, whilst the increase in the use of Scotland's local authority roads rose by around 20%[4]. This continued growth in usage, together with a forecast traffic growth of 25% between 2005 and 2022[5], has an impact on the level of maintenance required on the Scottish road network. The higher the volume and weight of traffic, particularly HGVs, the more frequently maintenance is required to sustain the road's lifespan.

As highlighted in Phase 1, there has been deterioration in the condition of the network[6]. In 2005, 70% of Scotland's local authority roads were viewed as being in an acceptable condition but, by 2010, this has fallen to 66%. The current condition on trunk roads is marginally better, but deteriorating faster. In 2006 the percentage of trunk roads in acceptable condition stood at 84% whereas, by 2010, this had fallen to 78%. These results are indicative of the change in purchasing power of roads authorities' budgets over that period as identified by Audit Scotland.

Recent severe winters have also damaged the network. Whilst these may not be related to climate change, there is no doubt that its consequences will add to the cost of maintaining our roads.

Scottish public spending in 2011/12 has been reduced by £1.3 billion, with capital reduced by 22.9%. Based on UK Government spending plans, it could take until 2025/26 for the Scottish Government budget to return to 2009/10 levels, a cumulative loss of £40 billion[7].

Given the present financial climate, and with pressures on all public sector budgets, it is unlikely that significant additional funding will be made available for road maintenance to help address the backlog issue and further deterioration is therefore inevitable.

The Scottish Government's recent budget publication also notes "We will implement the bold and imaginative programme of renewal and reform necessary to maintain the quality of public services that the people of Scotland expect and want. In doing so, we will focus all of Scotland's public bodies on transforming their operations to deliver radical service improvements, targeted to secure better outcomes for individuals and their communities".

This clearly signals an expectation on all public services to be bold and creative in delivering value in a challenging climate.

The recent Christie Commission Report[8] highlights the benefits of longer term strategic planning and early interventions to achieve better outcomes. The principles put forward by Christie are:

  • Reforms must aim to empower individuals and communities receiving public services, by involving them in the design and delivery of the services they use;
  • Public service providers must be required to work much more closely in partnership, to integrate service provision and thus improve the outcomes they achieve;
  • Prioritise expenditure on public services which prevent negative outcomes from arising.

Although the Christie Commission Report covers a wide remit, encompassing the public sector as a whole and a variety of policy subjects, some of its recommendations have a direct relevance to this Review.

In particular, Christie recommends, among other things:

  • The preparation of long-term asset management plans;
  • The whole system of public services - public, third and private sectors - must become more efficient by reducing duplication and sharing services wherever possible.

Audit Scotland estimated the cost of the backlog across the whole of the Scottish roads network to amount to around some £2.25 billion[9]; £1.54 billion for local authority roads (excluding bridges and other assets such as lighting) and, £0.713 billion for trunk roads (including bridges).

However, this is only a partial assessment of the cost. It does not include the backlog costs for local authority bridges and other assets, nor does it include additional costs to comply with equalities legislation, to ensure resilience or, the costs of adapting the network to meet climate change, sustainability and other challenges.

As with all of Scotland's public services, securing funding to maintain roads at even their 2008 levels of service will require strong, compelling evidence. It is likely that a combination of productivity improvements and efficiency savings, changes in standards or levels of service can deliver some efficiencies. Significant additional investment will, however, be required to deal with the backlog and deliver a sustainable road asset for future generations.

The Scottish Government has signalled it expects the public sector to "support maintenance of assets in our key public services and encourage a collaborative approach to asset management"[10].

This suggests the sector should consider both short-term efficiencies, alongside radical steps to deliver an effective, well-maintained road network.

1.2 Purpose of the National Roads Maintenance Review

A deteriorating road network impacts on sustainable economic growth. It adds to business costs, personal travel costs and has the potential to reduce safety, environmental amenity and social cohesion.

The Audit Scotland report made a number of recommendations that were accepted by the then Minister for Transport and Infrastructure. In response, this Review aimed to identify how those responsible for, and working in, Scotland's roads maintenance sector can deliver efficiently managed roads for all within the budgets available, and identify opportunities for innovation, collaborative working and the sharing of services.

The Review covers the whole of the road asset including the road carriageway (all the layers that make up a road) and adjoining footways, cycleways, bridges, verges, signing and lighting.

1.3 Approach and methodology

In identifying options that would enable effective changes to maintenance delivery, a steering group was established to take forward the Review in partnership. The steering group members are senior officer representatives from Transport Scotland, COSLA, SOLACE, SCOTS, the Scottish Road Works Commissioner and Halcrow, as listed in Appendix A.

The steering group considered the following:

  • what economic, social and environmental impacts need to be considered to help prioritise future actions and resources;
  • options for change to help address Phase 1 recommendations including, more collaboration and sharing of services, better use of technology and innovative methods and more effective communications;
  • what next steps need to be taken, both to select the final options for change, as well as to reach a politically agreed implementation plan.

Section 2 outlines the main conclusions arising from the assessment of the economic, social and environmental impacts of not maintaining current spending levels on Scotland's road assets.

Section 3 outlines a strategic framework that all roads authorities then need to consider in determining just how much change they can or will embrace, given the likely on-going budget constraints.

Section 4 details the Phase 1 recommendations and the option selection process.

Finally, Section 5 details the various options for change that the steering group felt were worthy either to take forward immediately, or which merited further research or further economic appraisal. This Section also outlines the way ahead.