Today, 25th November 2022, the National Audit Office (NAO) has published a report examining National Highways (NH) and the Department for Transport (DfT) performance in planning, delivering and managing risks across the portfolio of road enhancement projects.  

The NAO report looks at the Road Investment Strategy (2015-20) and the Road Investment Strategy 2 (2020-25), investigating risks to deliverability, affordability, capacity and value for money. In both strategies such risks were incurred, delaying projects and calling for NH and DfT to make changes to the original plans with budget cuts, showing an overall problem with delivery capacity. 

What are the lessons learnt from RIS1 and RIS2 in terms of planning for RIS3. Is more radical thinking required?   

Despite efforts to improve management between the two strategies, RIS2 has seen delays, and consequent cost increases, in securing development consent for roads projects connected to a lack of initial environmental appraisals and risk assessments.  

Even though NH included a risk assessment on affordability and portfolio-level risks for RIS2, when risks arose in the delivery phase, NH did now show a consistent approach in monitoring and managing these the NAO reported.  This led to cost pressures that could not be addressed since the contingency budget had been allocated completely and inflation was not taken into consideration. 

The NAO recognises that when delivering a wide portfolio of projects changes have to be made, but there have been many more than anticipated and by 2025 National Highways will have completed less work and at higher costs.  

The question is whether National Highways and Department for Transport are taking the right steps to improve their approach to planning and delivering the next road investment strategies, especially given that NH and DfT have already committed £11.5bn to the next road strategy, given the delays occurred during RIS2. However, only 7% of the delayed projects that will open for traffic in the next strategy will be high value for money projects (meaning with a rate of around 80%), raising questions about the efficient allocation of investments.  

NAO calls NH and DfT to take decisions on how to prioritise work, seek how to improve portfolio management and planning to avoid delays, cost increases and develop a response to inflationary pressures.  

Moreover, NAO highlights the need to set out implications of changes made during delivery and assess the feasibility and affordability of including new infrastructure enhancements.   

CIHT supports NAO’s recommendation to provide clearer strategies backed by solid appraisals that include environmental assessments and impacts on all road users and communities to ensure to address key issues such as Net Zero, Biodiversity, Safety and Social inclusion at the early stages of the strategy design.  

NAO recognises that NH and DfT will have to take bold choices in front of conflicting objectives. Furthermore, CIHT has called for the identification of different classes of customers reliant on the network, from road users to adjacent communities. Identifying their needs and the purpose the infrastructure will serve is key to planning and delivering road investments with the economic and social needs of the surrounding areas in mind.  

CIHT has highlighted the importance of continuity of investments, with a focus on providing certainty in the supply chain side of the sector in resources and capability to deliver the investments planned. However, it is important that benefits are delivered effectively against a pipeline with a high degree of certainty rather than constant refinement of modelling that will never be able to present a complete or accurate picture. 

The lessons from RIS1 and RIS2 are important when considering how RIS3 is being developed.  The NAO report states: ‘National Highways is preparing for the next road strategy against a challenging backdrop. As well as planning for how roads are used today, preparations must consider the longer term, beyond 2030. Areas of uncertainty include patterns of travel demand, changes in technology and vehicles, and heightened scrutiny of the environmental impact of roads. National Highways has set up workstreams to better understand and address these areas. CIHT welcomes NAO’s observations of the challenges ahead and will take account of these in developing CIHT’s response for RIS3.