Written evidence submitted by the Department for Transport
and National Highways (SRI0039)
 

Introduction and summary

1.       This is a joint Department for Transport (‘Department’) and National Highways response to the Transport Select Committee’s inquiry.

England’s Strategic Road Network

2.       Within England’s highway network, there are some 4,500 miles of nationally important roads (c.2% of the network by length) – most motorways and main ‘A’ roads, known as the Strategic Road Network (SRN) – that are operated, maintained, renewed and enhanced by National Highways.  The principal purpose of the SRN is to connect England’s main centres of population, major ports, airports and rail terminals, geographically peripheral regions; and chief cross-border routes to Scotland and Wales.  On average, around four times as many vehicles use a typical stretch of the SRN than major local roads, and around twenty times as many as local roads. The SRN carries the majority of England’s road-freight, two-thirds of heavy goods vehicle journeys by distance.
 

Executive Summary

3.       The Road Investment Strategy for the second road period 2020-2025, referred to as RIS2, was identified as challenging and complex from the outset.  It includes the operation and maintenance of the SRN and had a planned project enhancement portfolio of 69 schemes at the beginning, including two of the most complex road projects in recent decades; the A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down (Stonehenge Tunnel) and Lower Thames Crossing. Overall good progress has been made on the delivery of many projects to realise their strategic benefits. Lessons from RIS1 were considered in the development of RIS2 and the Department and National Highways improved their processes, capability and capacity to manage the greater and more complex workload, introducing the portfolio contingency risk reserve.  Fifteen schemes have started construction or opened for traffic ahead of schedule, including the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon which opened eight months early.  Five schemes have been completed below budget.

4.       However, there have also been challenges with the delivery of RIS2, notably in three areas; securing planning consents, smart motorways and now inflationary impacts. These have had a significant impact on the overall delivery of RIS2, both in terms of cost and schedule.

5.       Action has been taken by the Department and National Highways to address and respond to planning delays and criticism of smart motorways, however this, with other specific project challenges, has resulted in the need to replan delivery of 22 projects.  Overall governance of RIS2 has been strengthened both in planning and management of the portfolio, with enhanced change control mechanisms and risk management, overseen by independent assurance.

6.       The NAO reported that we could have done more to have foreseen and managed the potential risks to the portfolio of enhancement works in RIS2 which has led to less work being completed, at a higher cost than planned. Plans for RIS2 were reviewed externally by ORR and IPA and the recommendations built into the final settlement. Where unexpected changes have occurred, we understand the reasons and have taken action to develop plans to mitigate remaining risks.  We also share the NAO view that inflationary cost pressures in particular will require difficult decisions to be made to prioritise future road enhancement projects.

7.       The Government is also developing the third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) (2025-2030), applying current learning and predicting future challenges to efficiently and effectively meet Government’s priorities for future investment in the SRN. Therefore, planning for RIS3 includes consideration of how it can support the broader Transport Decarbonisation Plan set by the Department, and agreeing the digital vision for the SRN.

8.       Our written evidence set out below responds to the eight points in the call for evidence, in conjunction with oral evidence submitted on the 1 February. 

Points 1 & 2: How effectively the RIS2 enhancements portfolio has been managed to date and whether risks to the enhancements portfolio for the remainder of the RIS2 period are being well managed
 

RIS2 enhancements – facts and figures
 

9.       Since the start of RIS2 of the 69 schemes identified, 17 schemes have been completed and are open for traffic and construction work has started on 11 schemes, and 23 schemes are being progressed towards construction, of which eight are currently in the planning consent process and another five currently subject to legal challenge. Fifteen schemes have been started or completed ahead of schedule.

10.  There are 22 RIS2 schemes that have had, or will now need to have, their Start of Works or Open for Traffic dates formally rescheduled to later dates within the RIS2 period. The overriding drivers of these changes were:

1. those related to the timing of DCO decisions and associated legal challenges, which impacted 13 schemes; and
2. the changes to the Smart Motorway Programme in response to the Transport Select Committee’s recommendations, which impacted the Open for Traffic dates of four schemes.

11.  Two further schemes originally scheduled to start in RIS2 will now fall outside it (A5036 Princess Way and A46 Newark Bypass), 11 smart motorways schemes have been paused, leaving a total of 56 schemes in, or starting construction in the RIS2 period (before April 2025).

12.  Considering the revised schedule commitments for projects in line with National Highways’ current Delivery Plan[1], and despite ongoing planning challenges and other risks, good progress is being made towards delivery of RIS2 enhancements.  A complete list of the enhancements that have started works or opened for traffic in RIS2 to date is in the Annex, Table 1. 

Legislative and governance context

13.  Management of the RIS portfolio and effective oversight is supported by the established governance framework and underpinning structures and processes.  National Highways was established as a wholly-owned Government company to deliver the RIS.  The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) monitors National Highways’ delivery of the RIS and Transport Focus ensures that transport users' interests are represented.  Tier 1[2] enhancement schemes are additionally scrutinised by HM Treasury and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA).

The Department’s role

14.  The Department acts as both client for National Highways and shareholder, dual roles that are undertaken by separate teams.  The primary client and shareholder mechanisms to hold National Highways to account on delivery are set out in the Annex, Table 2.

15.  The Department’s client team advises and, as appropriate, acts on behalf of the Secretary of State, setting road investment strategies, scrutinising ‘Tier 1’ schemes directly, reviewing and challenging delivery performance, and helping to identify and manage portfolio risk so that potential problems requiring Government input can be resolved before they have an impact on delivery.

16.  Monthly client meetings with National Highways are chaired where performance, risks and issues are discussed, areas of concern explored, actions identified, and implementation monitored.  The Department’s client team chairs change control committees to review proposed changes in the scope and schedule of specific enhancement schemes. Part of the approach between the Department and National Highways includes lessons learned activities with proposals for improvements shared.  Through these channels, National Highways’ overall performance is monitored, with Ministerial oversight.
 

National Highways’ role

17.  National Highways’ role is to operate, maintain, renew and improve the SRN in accordance with its Licence[3]. National Highways sets out how it intends to deliver each RIS in its Strategic Business Plan[4], which in turn, is supported by its Delivery Plan[5], which details specific funding, activities and projects that it will deliver.  Enhancement projects are managed through good practice project management principals as defined by the Project Control Framework.  This breaks down the life of the project into distinct control stages with progress from one stage to the next dependent on successfully demonstrating assurance, by completing a defined set of products. Progress is controlled by an assessment of readiness from outside the project team.  Each scheme is overseen by an appropriate senior responsible owner (SRO), whose responsibilities align with the IPA requirements depending on the value and complexity of the scheme.  Internal sponsors support the SRO to ensure appropriate governance is applied with advice provided by a range of subject matter experts.   

18.  Business cases for enhancement schemes are scrutinised by National Highways’ internal investment committees, prior to investment requests being approved within National Highways’ delegated authority. Decisions are supported by its range of subject matter experts that cover all areas of HM Treasury’s Green Book.  Each scheme undergoes regular independent assurance. Dependent on the complexity or value of the scheme, this is either provided internally, via National Highways’ corporate assurance function, or, for Tier 1 schemes, through the IPA. These reviews are arranged at key project stage gates to provide a level of confidence in the scheme’s delivery and supports the decision to progress.  National Highways has delegated authority set by HM Treasury to make business case and investment decisions (ultimate decision on Tier 1 schemes rests with Government).

19.  The framework and governance arrangement are there to realise the benefits and ensure delivery of the Government's strategic roads priorities for RIS2 and beyond, and protect taxpayer's money.

RIS2

20.  RIS2 was published on 11 March 2020 and covers the period April 2020 to March 2025. The strategy comprises the day-to-day operation, maintenance, and renewal of the SRN in England, as well as capital enhancements.  RIS2 set a budget of £27.4 billion, including £14.1 billion (52%) for road enhancements.

21.  Funding was reduced to £24 billion, including £10.5 billion for enhancements, in Spending Review 2021 (SR21) to take account of forecast lower spending, on schemes that after the start of RIS2 had been subject to planning related delays, such as Lower Thames Crossing (application withdrawn in 2020 and resubmitted in 2022) and A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down (Stonehenge) (subject to redetermination following the High Court quashing planning consent in 2021).  Despite the reduction, capital enhancement spending in RIS2 remains higher than in RIS1 (£10.5bn vs £7.7bn) and the Department and National Highways improved their processes, capability and capacity to manage the greater and more complex workload, introducing the portfolio contingency risk reserve.

22.  National Highways published its RIS2 Delivery Plan in August 2020[6] including schedule commitments for the Start of Works and Open for Traffic dates of all major enhancement schemes.  Revised schedule commitments were incorporated in Delivery Plan Updates published by National Highways in 2021[7] and 2022[8].  The 2022 update includes the latest funding table, repeated in the Annex to this document, Table 3.

Portfolio risk management

23.  During the RIS2 planning stage and in its delivery, the Department and National Highways worked together to ensure that portfolio-level risks were monitored, managed, reported, and discussed at senior levels in both organisations.  As part of establishing its portfolio risk approach, National Highways sought an external view. The ORR undertook an independent efficiency review of the RIS, and the IPA undertook a deliverability review. Neither the ORR nor the IPA suggested fundamental changes in the proposed approach and the balance of risk versus deliverability. 

24.  An enhanced approach to portfolio risk management of RIS2 has been made and we are working to implement the NAO's recommendations, strengthening policies, processes and procedures combined with enhanced monitoring of benefit and outcome impacts.

25.  The most significant risks to delivery of the portfolio, for the remainder of RIS2, are the impact of legal challenges to DCO decisions and the impact of inflation on the affordability of the programme.  We agree with the ORR and the NAO that strong action will be needed to mitigate these. 

Action on DCOs and legal challenges

26.  Until December 2019 all National Highways’ DCO applications had been approved within the statutory timescales with a positive recommendation from the Planning Inspectorate and no legal challenges. The DCO process was therefore not considered a significant risk by the Department, nor by ORR and the IPA who assessed RIS2 for deliverability.

27.  Since the start of RIS2 a significant number of issues have arisen related to the DCO process, including extended deadlines for decisions, legal challenges to some schemes and, in light of these challenges, some additional assessments and consultations have been undertaken before submission of subsequent DCOs to the Planning Inspectorate.  The majority of legal challenges have centred around environmental concerns.
 

28.  When DCO risks materialised as a portfolio issue, in 2021, the Department and National Highways agreed and began implementing an action plan, to understand fully and to mitigate the risks to successful DCO consent.

29.  At the time of writing, challenges have been made to the courts on five RIS schemes’ DCO decisions. Further progression of these schemes will be subject to the outcome and timing of the legal process.

Inflation and Autumn Statement 2022

30.  The RIS2 funding settlement provided for inflation of circa 4% averaged across RIS2. These inflation provisions were independently reviewed as part of ORR’s efficiency review[9] of RIS2 and considered appropriate given information available at that point. Up to December 2021, both National Highways’ actual and forecast capital inflation were within the assumptions. During 2022, the Department and National Highways have worked together to understand the impacts of significantly rising inflation and the potential options to address this.

31.  The inflation assumptions included as part of RIS2 funding are insufficient for the much higher levels which have subsequently materialised. National Highways is undertaking work to incorporate initial portfolio-level forecasts of current inflationary impacts into individual scheme forecasts, providing a more accurate ‘most likely’ forecast at an individual project or programme level.
 

32.  The Autumn Statement on 17 November 2022 confirmed that Departments will need to absorb pressures, including from inflation, within Spending Review 2021 cash settlements for capital spending, and that, following the Spending Review period, Departments should plan on capital funding being at the same level in cash terms to 2027/28.
 

33.  The Department and National Highways are clear on the challenges, as the NAO reported, of delivering the RIS2 enhancement portfolio in its current form in the face of these pressures.  This could involve removing or deferring schemes. To inform those decisions, we will consider value for money (benefits compared with costs), deliverability and contribution to Government priorities.  Ministers have not yet made final decisions, but the Department is working with HM Treasury and hopes to report conclusions in the spring.
 

External assessments

34.  In summer 2019, the ORR and IPA reviewed National Highways’ draft strategic business plan for RIS2. They concluded that it was a challenging programme with larger and more complex schemes. The assessments identified that National Highways had improved its cost estimation approach and introduced a contingency budget to help it manage any portfolio-level risks.
 

35.  The NAO in its most recent report noted, “for the second Road Strategy, National Highways had taken steps to improve its processes and capabilities. This included introducing a contingency budget for enhancements and developing corporate capacity and capability to match the size of its capital portfolio.”
 

36.  The ORR recognised in its most recent assessment[10] that, despite the challenges faced by National Highways in 2021-22, it had met its in-year revised delivery commitments to start work on four schemes and open for traffic seven schemes.

Point 3: What the impacts of delays and cost overruns are on the overall programme, and whether the revised programme can be delivered to schedule and on budget;

37.  The NAO’s report noted a headline £3.3bn increase in outturn capital cost forecasts for schemes in the RIS2 enhancement programme (13% of the total).  Seven (10%) of the RIS2 enhancement schemes account for around 80% of this overall increase. The Lower Thames Crossing accounts for the largest increase, where the primary driver was accommodating the development plans of the Port of Tilbury and its designation as a Freeport and a DCO withdrawal to allow for improved stakeholder and public consultation.
 

38.  While each enhancement project has its specific risks, there are some common factors, often outside National Highways control, for example higher inflation, delays to the approval of DCO applications, legal challenges, new and emerging concerns from local stakeholders, and meeting new environmental compliance requirements.  The Department and National Highways (and HMT Treasury and IPA for Tier 1 schemes) continue to monitor and review these impacts.
 

39.  The RIS is a portfolio with built-in flexibilities to enable National Highways to reprioritise within the available funding, in response to circumstances. Changes are made in a structured and transparent way.  There will be changes in the number of schemes delivered in RIS2, and we will continue to ensure that RIS2 is delivered to budget. It is accepted that cost increases will mean that the ‘tail’ of RIS2 spend into RIS3 is higher than was forecast at the beginning of RIS2.

Point 4: What progress is being made on planning for the next Road Investment Strategy;
 

40.  The four phases for developing and delivering a RIS are:

1. Research – This includes three significant processes for gathering evidence and concludes with the publication by National Highways of its Initial Report on the state of the network and its suggested priorities, and the Department’s public consultation on the report.:
1. Route Strategies: The strategies explore the current performance and future pressures on the SRN at a corridor level.
2. Strategic Studies: These consider complex problems facing the road network that may need to be addressed over multiple road periods.
3. The pipeline of schemes: RIS2 identified 32 projects that National Highways develops so they can be considered for funding in RIS3.
1. Decision – Using the evidence gathered, government determines an affordable, deliverable strategy that best meets the strategic objectives. Following publication of the draft RIS, National Highways will respond with its draft Strategic Business Plan detailing its plans for delivering the requirements set out in the RIS. This starts a period of further engagement with stakeholders which concludes with the publication of the final RIS.
2. Mobilisation – National Highways will publish its Delivery Plan, prepare its teams and supply chain, and produces a final Strategic Business Plan.
3. Delivery – Implementation of commitments for the road period.

41.  Progress to date:

1. the Department published Planning Ahead for the Strategic Road Network in December 2021, proposing strategic objectives for RIS3;
2. the ORR consulted on its role and approach to setting RIS3 in December 2021 and published its aims for its role in the RIS3 development process in May 2022;
3. Transport Focus published its recommendations for putting road users first in developing RIS3 in October 2022; and
4. National Highways has completed work on its Route Strategies. The Interim Route Strategies will shortly be published with National Highways’ long-term vision to 2050, Connecting the Country.

42.  To support RIS development work, the Department carries out stakeholder engagement by: 

1. hosting six-monthly national stakeholder events, which provide an opportunity for partner organisations to share emerging thinking on RIS3, and for stakeholders to provide early input;
2. regularly engaging with sub-national transport bodies, devolved administrations and other government departments; and
3. convening Minister-led conversations with Members of Parliament (MPs).

43.  National Highways’ evidence gathering for the Route Strategies has involved extensive engagement:

1. two national and 19 regional stakeholder workshops;
2. four roundtable discussions with Members of Parliament;
3. approximately 100 hours of workshops with specific stakeholders; and
4. 1700 online contributions via an online tool given face-to-face access constraints for people during the pandemic.

44.  National Highways’ proposals for the SRN will be set out in its Initial Report, which is due to be published for consultation shortly. The Initial Report is National Highways’ assessment of the current state of the network and what users need from it; potential maintenance and enhancement priorities; and future developmental needs. The Department also plans to consult on the Department’s analytical approach for developing RIS3 alongside this.
 

45.  The response to the Initial Report consultation will feed into the next stages of the process for setting RIS3. These include:

1. the Draft RIS3 (Department-led), which summarises the evidence gathered to date. It will also confirm the statement of funds available;
2. Draft Strategic Business Plan (National Highways-led) – responds to the draft RIS. The Draft Strategic Business Plan details National Highways’ plans for delivering the requirements set out in the RIS.
3. Efficiency Review (led by the ORR) – advice on the extent to which the Draft SBP is challenging and deliverable, including efficiency target;
4. final RIS (Department-led) – the multi-year investment plan covering costs of operating, maintaining, renewing and enhancing the SRN;
5. Delivery Plan (National Highways-led) – sets out the specific plan for delivering the RIS; and
6. Strategic Business Plan (National Highways-led) – sets out National Highways’ overall response to the final RIS.

Point 5: What lessons from RIS2 need to be incorporated into RIS3 to ensure it is achievable and delivers on policy objectives;

46.  The Department has already incorporated lessons learned from RIS2 from a range of different sources in its development of RIS3 and will continue to do so.  The Department carried out a programme-level lessons-learned exercise for RIS2 immediately after the publication of RIS2 in March 2020, which identified opportunities to change and improve the approach for developing RIS3.  The key lessons were:

1. identifying early, and regularly revisiting, the challenges RIS3 needs to tackle, and making sure they are built into RIS products;
2. establishing a sufficiently deep programme plan early; and
3. building capacity in some areas of RIS2 delivery.

47.  The Department and National Highways have taken the following actions in response to the lessons learned from the RIS development process:

1. revisited strategic objectives periodically, to help identify key policy challenges for RIS3, and the evidence available, or needed, to support decisions on how these are considered in setting the RIS;
2. formal programme governance put in place early in the process;
3. clear lines of accountability of each layer up to ministerial level;
4. early development of how performance will be targeted/measured; and
5. a more coordinated approach to external stakeholder engagement across the four partner organisations (Department for Transport, Office of Rail and Road, Transport Focus and National Highways).
    

Evaluation of roads reform

48.  This was explicitly commissioned by the Department in 2016 to inform future RIS and other policy decisions relating to the SRN. The third and final wave of this evaluation was published in July 2022[11], and noted a number of positive effects:

1. National Highways has adopted a more commercially-driven culture of efficiency, high performance and continuous improvement;
2. the work of the Office of Rail and Road and Transport Focus has contributed to National Highways’ greater focus on performance, efficiency and the needs of SRN users;
3. new ways of working with the supply chain, such as longer contracts and contracting directly with smaller suppliers, has resulted in greater efficiency;
4. National Highways should continue to encourage innovation within the supply chain by making it as easy as possible to access initiatives and engaging more with smaller suppliers; and
5. National Highways should continue to develop its analytical capabilities and consider whether more data and research could be published.

National Audit Office recommendations

49.  In its Review into RIS2 progress, the NAO made five recommendations for RIS3 planning and these are being addressed as follows:

1. Review the committed projects (from RIS2) that are planned for the third road strategy. In managing the portfolio set out in RIS2, the Department and National Highways keep under regular review the spend and schedule impacts on the RIS3 period; any changes to spend and schedule can fall across RIS periods. In developing funding scenarios to inform Government decisions on the RIS3 Statement of Funds Available (or for fiscal events), National Highways explicitly sets out the RIS3 period impacts of schemes already commitment in previous RIS.
2. Assess the feasibility and affordability of including new enhancements. This is part of the decision-making process. All capital investments, including new enhancements, are considered in light of affordability, deliverability and benefits. Affordability is considered not only at the overall (Statement of Funds Available) investment level but also at a profiled, annual affordability level.
3. Regularly update the estimated cost of work planned for the RIS3 period during development of the delivery plan. This is part of our planned process. Costs will be updated regularly, including at key decision points.
4. Further improvements to National Highways’ approach to monitoring and management portfolio risks. This is being taken forward as part of the work set out above. One key action we are progressing is the establishment of a more integrated level of portfolio risk reporting between corporate and project / programme level risk management. This will consolidate a number of existing separate portfolio level risk reports into a single report.
5. Improve the robustness of governance arrangements surrounding the contingency budget to ensure it is used in the way intended; National Highways is already working to mature and tighten controls on the application of the Central Risk Reserve and tighten the integration of its use with a broader portfolio risk management approach. There is greater knowledge from RIS2 on the scale of contingency needed to reflect the range of maturity of schedule and cost estimates across the enhancement portfolio. It is also ensuring costs are updated when finalising the Delivery Plan so the capital baseline is accurate at the start of the RIS3 period. This step is included in the revised programme to agree RIS3.

Point 6: Whether the Government’s current and forthcoming roads investment programme is meeting the current and future needs of consumers and business;

50.  The SRN is the most heavily used part of the national road network, carrying a third of all traffic and two-thirds of all freight. 

51.  Both RIS2 and RIS3 are developed based on research and analysis by Transport Focus and ORR on what users want from the SRN.  National Highways has its own survey of customer experience.  The ORR has made an assessment based on a qualitative view drawing on the strategic roads user survey and National Highways’ survey. This suggests that National Highways maintained overall journey experience for road users in 2020-21 and 2021-22, with around 80% of users reporting they were satisfied or very satisfied. In May 2021, National Highways published ‘Our Customer Service Strategy: Making a difference for our customers’, its vision to focus on building its relationship with customers. It also publishes an annual Customer Service Plan, an action plan to drive better experiences based on user insights, which is monitored by ORR.

Meeting current consumer and business needs in RIS2

52.  In preparing for RIS2, Government undertook a significant consultation process, which captured the views and priorities of individuals and businesses.  An overarching theme was the need for the right level of funding for SRN maintenance and renewal, alongside investment in upgrades.  Capital spending on maintenance and renewals increased by over 50% between RIS1 and RIS2, with a commitment to long term, multi-road period plans for structures renewals, retiring concrete roads and safety barrier replacement. Priorities of road safety, ride quality and journey time reliability identified by Transport Focus, were reflected in KPI targets in the performance specification.
 

53.  Specific schemes have also supported businesses. For example, the A19 Downhill Lane scheme, which opened in 2022, provides access to the planned development of the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP).
 

54.  To ensure the RIS is delivering for users and businesses the RIS2 Performance Specification, which monitors National Highways’ success in delivery of RIS2, included a number of metrics specifically focussed on user priorities (derived from Transport Focus and consultation). These include the following key performance indicators: killed or seriously injured KPI, a roadworks network impact KPI, and Incident clearance KPI.
 

Meeting current consumer and business needs in RIS3

55.  Building on the approach adopted in RIS2, we are ensuring that we have a good understanding of user and business need via stakeholder engagement and primary research undertaken by Transport Focus on how well the Government’s draft strategic objectives for RIS3 align with user views, and a separate piece of research informing its recommendations for RIS3. This will be deepened by the forthcoming consultation on National Highways’ SRN Initial Report. This will help shape the investment plan and the measures affecting user experience against which National Highways’ performance will be assessed.

Meeting future needs of consumers and business

56.  To meet the future needs of consumers and business and future-proof the RIS, National Highways has developed a Digital Roads vision[12] to deliver:

1. better information for road users, so they will be better informed and have trust in the journey information they access; and
2. better design and construction, with more automation, modular construction and off-site manufacture, meaning less traffic disruption.

Point 7: Whether the Government’s roads investment programme aligns with other policy priorities, such as decarbonisation, levelling up, productivity and growth;

57.  The RIS aims to align the investment programme with the range of Government objectives. A key part of the forthcoming RIS3 Initial Report consultation (as with its RIS2 predecessor) is setting out the interaction between the SRN, the Government's strategic priorities, and asking for stakeholder views on the appropriate balance.

Decarbonisation

58.  Roads will continue to be the predominant form of transport in a net zero world, reflecting their flexibility and convenience to users and businesses. That is why it is essential that we decarbonise not only the vehicles that use roads, but the way roads are operated, maintained, renewed and enhanced.

59.  National Highways has developed its own Net Zero Highways plan to ensure that it is playing its part to reach Net Zero, aligned to the Department’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan which includes a backstop of 2040 to phase out the sale of all types of non-zero emission vehicles.  National Highways’ Plan is taking action in three areas:

1. Net zero for its own operations by 2030 – for example, this covers energy used to light and power its network;
2. Net zero for its maintenance and construction activities by 2040; and
3. Net zero carbon travel on the SRN by 2050.

60.  The Secretary of State for Transport announced in July 2021 that the National Networks National Policy Statement would be reviewed to align with Net Zero commitments. A draft of the revised Statement is planned to be published for public consultation shortly.

Levelling up, productivity and growth

61.  Investment in the SRN supports job creation and inward investment across the country.  RIS enhancements help to tackle congestion – and congestion is estimated to account for over 16% of the cost of road freight, equivalent to around £6bn per year. The RIS investment also enables the SRN to keep up with technological advances now and in the future, such as the deployment of autonomous vehicles which, enabled by investment in digital roads, have the potential to increase highway capacity by 80%, supporting economic growth. 

Third road investment strategy

62.  RIS3 should underpin progress towards realising the strategic vision for the network in 2050 described in RIS2. It should also help secure wider local and national policy objectives such as net zero greenhouse gas emissions, levelling up the whole country and connecting the United Kingdom.  Improved environmental outcomes and growing the economy are two of the six strategic objectives for RIS3 (the others being: improving safety for all; network performance; managing and planning the SRN for the future; and a technology-enabled network). The Department set these out early in the road investment strategy setting process - published in Planning Ahead - to provide a clear line of sight with wider government policy priorities.

Point 8: How RIS3 should take account of technological developments, and evidence on ways of increasing capacity on the Strategic Road Network (such as smart motorways and potential alternatives to them).

63.  The context in which National Highways and the SRN operates is shifting and will continue to evolve. Changing ways of living and working, new services and technologies and different priorities and choices for how to do things will all make their mark on what the Department and National Highways expect from the SRN.
 

64.  As part of developing RIS3 and making decisions on relevant funding priorities Ministers will consider the appropriate level of investment in road technology as part of delivering National Highways’ digital roads strategy. This will again be informed by the views on technology expressed by consultees in the forthcoming consultation on National Highways’ Initial Report. This is separate from smart motorways.  The SRN Initial Report makes the case for investment in Digital to focus on improving the resilience and reliability of the existing operational technology and systems.

65.  The Government paused the rollout of new (yet to start construction) smart motorway schemes until five years’ worth of safety and economic data is available for those all lane running sections opened before 2020. This will allow the Department to make an informed decision on next steps so that alternative operating approaches can be considered further.
 

66.  While we will not be able to predict all the changes through RIS3, it is important to prepare the ground for them, building in flexibility. 

Annex

TABLE 1: Major enhancement schemes that have started works or opened for traffic since the start of RIS2

TABLE 2: The Department’s primary client and shareholder mechanisms to hold National Highways to account on delivery are:

TABLE 3: Funding for RIS2, as set out in National Highways’ 2022-23 Delivery Plan Update, published in July 2022

February 2023

Endnotes