In a report to Parliament yesterday, the Transport Secretary said the only target not met related to road user satisfaction which can ‘possibly be attributed to media coverage surrounding safety of smart motorways’. User satisfaction stands at 89.2% against a target of 90% but is higher than five years ago (88.5%) when the Highways Agency was responsible for strategic roads.

The report adds that while Highways England only narrowly missed its satisfaction target for 2019-20 there was ‘a notable reduction in safety satisfaction, particularly over the last three months of the year’ to the lowest level since the start of the first Road Investment Strategy period from 2015-2020.

It added that Highways England made ‘good progress’ in delivering major schemes last year, starting construction on 23 out of 27 projects it had committed to. But it also pointed out that across the whole of the five year period, the company met its commitments on only 69 schemes out of 112 promised in 2015.

The Office of Rail & Road, which monitors the company’s performance, said yesterday that Highways England’s programme of major improvements for the first roads period was ‘overly optimistic’. In its annual assessment the ORR called for improvements in road user safety, for customers to be more involved in planning and decision making and for even more efficiency to be delivered in the second roads period.

ORR chief executive John Larkinson said: “Highways England’s task is going to get bigger, as it needs to deliver a larger programme of works set out in the Government’s 2020 Road Investment Strategy, and we will continue to provide close scrutiny.”

On the issue of smart motorway safety, the ORR said it is ‘vital that Highways England continues to review and assess any evidence... as more data becomes available’.

The Transport Secretary’s report to Parliament also said ‘there is still more work to do’ around improving safety. The first five year strategy had set a target of a 40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured by the end of 2020. While a 30% reduction has already been seen, a final figure is not expected until next summer.

Highways England remained above its target for maintaining a smooth flow of traffic last year, keeping 98.2% of the network open against a target of 97%; and clearing 89% of incidents within an hour, against a target of 85%.

The company maintained its roads to a good standard in 2019-20, the report added, with 95.5% of the network requiring no further investigation, ahead of its target of 95%. This shows a marked improvement from the company, having missed the target for the first two years of the five year roads period.

In terms of efficiency, Highways England delivered over £1.2Bn of savings during the five year period, achieving the target set in 2015.

• This week also sees Highways England announce a new chair. Dipesh Shah, who previously headed up the UK Atomic Energy Authority and has chaired organisations involved in solar power and housing, takes over from Colin Matthews in September.

“I am honoured to be invited to chair Highways England,” he said. “I look forward to working with colleagues to deliver the very significant programme of improvement and expansion of the road network, in support of the Government’s levelling up agenda.”

Transport Minister Baroness Vere added: “I’m delighted Dipesh Shah will be leading the Highways England team at this crucial time, delivering major projects that will really make a difference to communities across the country.

“I’d also like to thank Colin Matthews for seeing Highways England through its first phase as a new company, including the successful delivery of the first Road Investment Strategy.”

Photograph: Highways England