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Select committee inquiry

Better roads

Closed

Transport Committee · Opened 17 September 2013 · Closed 10 March 2016

2 recommendations · 7 conclusions
Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗

What the inquiry looked at

“Further information: Following the Spending Review and the publication of the Government's "Action for Roads" command paper, the Transport Committee called for evidence on the strategic road network. Report: Better roads: improving England's strategic road network (PDF 479 KB) Inquiry into the strategic road network announced Terms reference The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) have produced a briefing paper for the Transport Committee on peak car use in Britain: POST: Peak car use in Britain The hashtag for this inquiry was #betterroads”

The committee's words, from the inquiry page on parliament.uk ↗.

What it found

In the committee's words, from the summary of 15th Report - Better roads: Improving England's Strategic Road Network ↗

The Strategic Road Network (SRN) is a crucial part of our national transport system. The DfT predicts traffic levels on the SRN to rise by 46% by 2040. The network has suffered from inconsistent funding and changes in Government policy over the past two decades.

Road users deserve clarity on how the network can be part of a high quality integrated transport system.

If the traffic forecasts are correct, the Government will need to increase investment in the road network substantially during the next decade. This requires new long-term funding streams. A consensus would be required to introduce any road user charging scheme across the SRN and the many issues involved would have to be resolved.

The DfT must develop a transparent system of road planning as part of a wider national transport strategy. The DfT’s National Transport Model (NTM) should be subject to wider scrutiny. The DfT should commission integrated passenger and freight plans for strategic transport routes, rather looking at one mode of transport in isolation.

We are not convinced by the case for establishing the Highways Agency as a Government-owned company (GoCo). The benefits seem achievable through better management of the current agency and its relationship with the DfT. We strongly support the five-year funding plans being introduced for the agency, but do not believe that a change in the agency’s status is required for their delivery.

If the Highways Agency becomes a GoCo, it will need a strong system of scrutiny. The current proposals for this are inadequate. The new scrutiny body will need the power of a full regulatory authority. The GoCo must view road users as customers and other organisations as partners in the delivery of an integrated transport network.

What the government said

The government responded on 24 October 2014.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response.

The government responds that it does not consider a variant of the status quo sufficient and is proceeding with reforms to set up the Highways Agency as a government-owned strategic highways company.

  • On opening the National Transport Model to wider scrutiny, it says direct public access would be "a complicated and very resource-intensive undertaking", and prefers to engage stakeholders and experts, using a Transport Modelling and Appraisal Panel "initially".
  • On integrated transport planning, it says it "supports a holistic and multi-modal approach" but wants a "pragmatic approach". On aligning road and rail investment cycles, it "will give further consideration to this", and says alignment would add delay for the first Road Investment Strategy.
  • It "agree[s] on the importance of post-implementation reviews" and is "considering how best to ensure" evaluation continues and improves. It also says the Road User Focus unit within Passenger Focus will cover all categories of road users.
  • It plans legislation to set up the new company, "with the aim of" it going live in spring 2015, and says the first Road Investment Strategy will be published in autumn 2014.

Read the government's response ↗ Read the report ↗ Report an error

How the inquiry ran

Each dot is a dated item listed on this page, from the inquiry's opening on 17 September 2013 to its close on 10 March 2016.

  1. Oral evidence 4 sessions
  2. Report 7 May 2014
  3. Government response 24 Oct 2014
  4. Correspondence 14 May 2014

What it recommended 2 recommendations · 7 conclusions

1The DfT must immediately open the NTM to wider scrutiny, as the Treasury and the...
Concluded (the committee's words)
The DfT must immediately open the NTM to wider scrutiny, as the Treasury and the OBR have done with their macroeconomic model, to ensure that it accords due weight to all factors affecting transport demand, including economic growth, industrial development, fuel prices, vehicle ownership and demographic shifts.
2The DfT must develop a transparent system of road planning as part of a wider...
Concluded (the committee's words)
The DfT must develop a transparent system of road planning as part of a wider national transport strategy. This system should take into account demographic, economic and land use changes, including changes in the location of homes and parking policy. This will allow the DfT to select the most resilient options for reducing congestion or improving connectivity and to promote them across Government Departments and local authorities.
3The DfT should commission integrated passenger and freight plans for strategic transport routes or regions,...
Recommended (the committee's words)
The DfT should commission integrated passenger and freight plans for strategic transport routes or regions, rather than looking at one mode of transport in isolation. Such integrated plans, which should be developed in consultation with local authorities, local enterprise partnerships and community and road user groups, must take into account how different options for the use of infrastructure and technology will impact on transport movements and on economic development. The DfT must then identify projects—including maintenance schemes—within the chosen plan for implementation within the five-year funding cycle. Every project should be subject to a post-implementation review to assess the effectiveness of the investment. We recommend that this process be set out in the forthcoming Roads Investment Strategy.
4We are not convinced by the case for establishing the Highways Agency as a GoCo.
Concluded (the committee's words)
We are not convinced by the case for establishing the Highways Agency as a GoCo. Its remit will not be extended; it will not have new funding streams; and it will still be subject to changes in Government policy, while incurring ongoing oversight costs. We are not persuaded that increasing salaries will be a value-for-money way of increasing skills in the company. In that context, we note that the agency’s current chief executive has worked in both the private and public sectors. The proposed benefits, including the implementation of the five-year funding plans, seem achievable through better management of the existing Highways Agency.
5An advisory or oversight body reporting to the Secretary of State would not be sufficient...
Concluded (the committee's words)
An advisory or oversight body reporting to the Secretary of State would not be sufficient to scrutinise the performance of the proposed Highways Agency GoCo, because the GoCo would not be accountable to it. The same argument applies to establishing a panel of experts. Any such panel or body would lack the credibility of an independent regulator. The new scrutiny body must have the power of a full regulatory authority. An expanded ORR could undertake this role.
6We note that Passenger Focus has a record of successfully expanding to take on additional...
Concluded (the committee's words)
We note that Passenger Focus has a record of successfully expanding to take on additional duties and therefore recommend extending the remit of Passenger Focus to include scrutiny of the proposed GoCo. It must be subject to a duty to represent the concerns of all SRN users to the DfT and should set up a panel of road user stakeholders to monitor its work.
7The proposed new Highways Agency GoCo must have a realistic performance specification for engagement with...
Concluded (the committee's words)
The proposed new Highways Agency GoCo must have a realistic performance specification for engagement with its stakeholders. This must instil in the GoCo a view of road users as customers and other organisations as partners in developing roads for freight and passengers, as part of an integrated transport network. This specification must be agreed with local authorities, LEPs and road user groups before the GoCo is set up.
8The Minister was very clear about the DfT’s decision not to introduce charging to the...
Concluded (the committee's words)
The Minister was very clear about the DfT’s decision not to introduce charging to the road network, apart from the Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) user charging scheme that was recently implemented. However, if the traffic forecasts are correct, the Government will need to increase investment in the road network substantially during the next decade. Simultaneously, income from fuel duty is likely to decline as use of fuel-efficient low-emission vehicles increases. Investment in the road network will require new funding streams. This is a challenge that must be addressed. However, a consensus would be required to introduce any road user charging scheme across the SRN as an alternative to road taxation, and the many issues involved would have to be resolved.
9The Government must demonstrate an integrated transport approach in developing and assessing improvements to strategic...
Recommended (the committee's words)
The Government must demonstrate an integrated transport approach in developing and assessing improvements to strategic routes. It must always consider how road and rail improvements for passengers and freight can play a role together in solving problems on the SRN and its feeder roads. This should be alongside the trial of simple measures such as ride-sharing and off-peak deliveries to reduce congestion on parts of the SRN most used for local journeys.

Evidence

Oral evidence sessions 4

Correspondence 1 letter