Highways Agency
Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers
Business Plan 2004-2005
Contents
- Chief Executive's Foreword
- Introduction
- Reducing congestion and improving reliability
- Improving Road Safety
- Respecting the environment
- Seeking feedback from customers
- Supporting an improved service
- England's Strategic Road Network (130KB PDF)
- Agency Offices (45KB PDF)
Appendices
- Appendix 1: Highways Agency Board Structure (76KB PDF)
- Appendix 2: Our aim, objectives and values (32KB PDF)
- Appendix 3: Highways Agency indicative 2004-05 budget (244KB PDF)
- Appendix 4: 2004-05 Key Performance Measures - explanatory notes (52KB PDF)
- Appendix 5: Major schemes on the M1, M6 and M25 (20KB PDF)
- Appendix 6: Major schemes - Targeted Programme of Improvements (24KB PDF)
- Appendix 7: Major Schemes Progress Points (40KB PDF)
- Appendix 8: Regional control centres - delivery measurement (44KB PDF)
Chief Executive's Foreword
I am pleased to present the Highways Agency's Business Plan for 2004-05, setting out our priorities and targets for the coming year and the resources we will deploy to meet them.
The Agency has now been operating for ten years. We are still a young organisation, whose role has grown rapidly from road builder to highway manager and - from this year - that role will stretch again to become a traffic manager. Our strength lies not just in our own workforce, but also in the bond we have with other areas within the Department for Transport and with our extensive supply partnerships.
The key to our success is providing our customers with safe and reliable road journeys as demand for road transport grows from motorists and industry, particularly the freight industry. The services we deliver are fundamental to meet two of the Government's key public service agreement (PSA) targets - reducing congestion and improving road safety. The way we work is also important to the achievement of other PSA targets covering efficiency and impact on the environment.
In the coming year we will continue to improve the network. We expect to add 29 miles (46km) of new capacity by completing seven major improvements. A further eight schemes will start construction during the year, and many other projects in the Government's targeted programme of improvements will progress through consultative and statutory processes.
The major change in our service delivery will be the introduction of our traffic management operation. We have already commissioned the National Traffic Control Centre to provide up-todate traffic information for the motorway and trunk road network. We will extend technology to provide information to road users, particularly to inform them of impending road problems, and where we can, offer them a choice of route. This will help reduce congestion further.
The new traffic officer service, ensuring that delays arising from road accidents are minimised, will begin with a live pilot on the motorways around Birmingham from April. I expect new powers in the Traffic Management Bill now before Parliament to enable us soon afterwards to take the lead for managing traffic congestion from the police. Our experience from the West Midlands will then be included in the rollout of the service across England during the following year. We will work closely with the police, who will continue to be responsible for traffic infringements and the investigation of serious accidents. However, we expect the Highways Agency's contribution not only to improve traffic flows, but also to release police resources for other pressing duties. The Agency will not have an enforcement role; our job is to be a friend to road users, helping to improve their journeys.
Although our roads are among the safest in Europe, maintaining the existing network in a safe condition will remain a priority. To deliver the challenging targets set by Government, we need to reduce accidents on our network by about 500 each year, which we will do through a combination of network improvements and traffic management developments. Our network represents a particularly hazardous working environment for our staff and partners. We have reduced accidents at major road works on motorways over the years and remain committed to reducing them further.
The wear and tear on our network from hundreds of thousands of vehicles a day means that we have to undertake a rolling programme of maintenance. To reduce disruption we will continue to ensure that much of our routine maintenance is done outside peak periods.
Maintaining and operating the strategic road network has to be balanced with our responsibilities for the needs of neighbouring communities and for the environment. We have, for example, programmes to reduce traffic noise through the introduction of quieter road surfaces and our other programmes support wider Government initiatives on issues such as recycling, accessibility, biodiversity, water and air quality.
The catalyst for making this year's plan happen and for ensuring that the Agency delivers safe roads, reliable journeys, and informed travellers is our people - every one of whom has a crucial role to play. I look forward to leading them in tackling the challenges.
Archie Robertson
Chief Executive
Introduction
Our plan
This document tells stakeholders of our delivery plans, together with related budgets and performance measures, for 2004-05. It also provides an indication of our longer term direction in relation to the Government's ten-year plan for transport, announced in July 2000. The full programme for 2005-06 and beyond is subject to the outcome of the Government's 2004 Spending Review.
About us and our developing role
The Highways Agency is an executive agency of the Department for Transport (DfT) and is responsible for operating, maintaining and improving the strategic road network in England on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport. We have a major role in delivering the Government's ten-year plan for transport.
The coming year will see us making changes to the Agency to help improve the capacity of the existing road network and reduce the impact of congestion. We are planning to take over traffic management responsibilities from the police on various parts of the network, including the handling of incidents and the congestion they cause. The transfer of responsibilities will be phased and the areas in which we will be providing these new services by the end of March 2005 are shown on the network map (240KB PDF) printed on the front inside cover of this plan.
This exciting new role for the Agency means a greater focus on traffic management and keeping traffic moving, whilst freeing up police time to focus on crime detection and prevention. It complements our existing role of managing, maintaining and improving a public asset worth over £65 billion. At the time of publication (March 2004) we employ some 1780 staff, of which 80 have been recruited to undertake the new traffic management roles. We plan to recruit a further 700 traffic management staff over the next year. More information about this new work is provided in the next section, "Reducing congestion and improving reliability".
Our board, comprising the chief executive, eight executive directors and two non-executive directors, is responsible for managing delivery of the Agency's responsibilities. Details are provided at Appendix 1 (182KB PDF). We have a small corporate centre in London and ten offices in eight locations throughout the country. These are shown on the map on the inside back cover (186KB PDF).
New traffic management
Implementation of new traffic management responsibilities represents the most significant challenge for the Agency since its creation in 1994. It will provide us with an even greater opportunity to provide a high level of service to road users and will help to reduce congestion on our network
How we support the Department for Transport
As part of the Department for Transport we support the departmental aim of "transport that works for everyone". Our work contributes directly to the delivery of the following objectives in the DfT's Public Service Agreement (PSA):
- Improving reliability and reducing congestion;
- Improving safety.
We also help to contribute to the delivery of DfT's and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' (DEFRA's) joint PSA target of reducing the impact of transport on air quality.
Our aim, objectives and values
These are reviewed regularly to ensure that they are aligned and responsive to developments in Government policy, whilst retaining an element of consistency. For the coming year we have redefined our primary customer service objective to reflect the Government's priority of tackling congestion and our new responsibilities for traffic operations.
Our prime objective is as follows:
To deliver a high quality service to our customers by:
- Reducing congestion and improving reliability through:
- A programme of improvements to the strategic road network;
- Improved management of incidents and roadworks; and
- Influencing travel behaviour through better information to inform journey choices.
- Improving road safety.
- Respecting the environment.
- Seeking feedback from customers.
We have four other enabling objectives that support delivery of our customer service. We have also recognised that, to support delivery of all our objectives, it is important that we champion particular behaviours. We have established six values supporting the behavioural requirements most important for the Agency as a whole and the people who work for us.
Our aim, objectives and values are shown at Appendix 2 (32KB PDF).
Our broader role
Because of the strategic nature of our network we maintain very close working relationships with the roads authorities in devolved administrations of Scotland and Wales. The Chief Highways Engineer is responsible for setting and maintaining road standards that must be applied to the Agency's network. We also commend these to devolved administrations and local highway authorities.
We fulfil an international role by building good working relationships and sharing experience and expertise with road administrations across the EU and more widely. An example of this has been the exchange of staff between the Agency and the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. These international links help promote the value of UK knowledge, expertise and best practice to support UK industry and enable us to learn from others.
Funding our role
We have a total budget in 2004-05 of some £4.6 billion, which includes £2.3 billion of capital charges against our net assets valued at some £65 billion2. Details of the budget are shown in Appendix 3 (245KB PDF).
2 Highways Agency Annual Report and Accounts 2002-03
Our performance measures
Challenging but achievable performance measures are agreed with Ministers each year. Our performance is reported to Parliament in our annual report, which can be found on our website, www.highways.gov.uk. These annual measures complement our longer-term strategic role of supporting the Government's ten-year plan for transport, in providing a safe, un-congested network, and provide milestones in measuring our progress in its delivery. Our key performance measures, comprising the indicators and targets set by Ministers, are shown in Figure 1.1. Explanatory notes are in Appendix 4 (52KB PDF).
Fig 1.1: Highways Agency 2004-05 Key Performance measures
The English strategic road network
The Highways Agency's road network provides a vital service to commerce and industry and has a huge impact on the lives of individuals and communities. It comprises various types of roads ranging from motorways carrying 200,000 vehicles per day to single carriageway trunk roads carrying fewer than 10,000 vehicles per day. A map of the network is shown on the inside front cover.
The strategic road network has been divided into "core" and "non-core" roads3 and comprises approximately 2% of England's roads - about 8,255 km (5,130 miles) out of a total of 300,000 km (186,000 miles) - but carries nearly a third of all traffic and two thirds of all freight.
The purpose of the core network is to provide reliable and safe long-distance journeys, linking the main centres of population as well as improving accessibility to the peripheral regions, major ports, airports and rail terminals. The remaining non-core network is being transferred to local highway authorities ("detrunked"). These routes service local and regional needs and are more appropriately managed by local authorities. Responsibility for all non-core roads is due to transfer to local highway authorities by 31 March 2006.
3 The division of the network into "core" and "non-core" was announced in the 1998 White Paper "A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England".
Highways Agency Network Length
(reflects yearly reductions from the ongoing detrunking programme)
Reducing congestion and improving reliability
| Indicator | 1. Deliver the programme of improvements to the strategic road network. |
|---|---|
| Target | Achieve:
|
| Indicator | 2. Deliver a demonstrable reduction in incident-related congestion and minimisation of road works-related congestion. |
| Target | In establishing the Regional Control Centres (RCC's), achieve:
Establish and Implement a management system to monitor and report on incident-related congestion in the West Midlands. |
| Indicator | 3. Make information available to influence travel behaviour and inform decisions. |
| Target |
|
Tackling congestion
Delays caused by volume of traffic, incidents and roadworks lead to frustration for road users and increased costs for industry. With vehicle ownership rising steadily, congestion will increase unless action is taken.
The Government's ten-year plan for transport recognised that action was required and determined that congestion on the inter-urban trunk road network should be reduced to below 2000 levels by 2010. In December 2002 DfT published "Delivering Better Transport: Progress Report" which explained that it had become clear that tackling road congestion was going to be even more challenging than the ten year plan had envisaged. On the inter-urban strategic network, latest forecasts suggest that congestion by 2010 could grow by between 52% and 67% without the measures contained in the ten-year plan, and grow by between 1% and 15% even with implementation of the planned measures.
To meet the increased challenge of tackling congestion, we are undertaking a targeted programme of road improvements. Whilst this should deliver longer-term benefits, disruption from road improvements during construction could lead to temporary increases in congestion so we are putting more resource into actively managing traffic and giving improved information to travellers to influence their travel behaviour.
Improving the network
Some problems, however, can be solved only by providing more capacity. This requires an integrated approach across all modes of transport to produce a sustainable long-term solution. In 1999 the Government set up a series of multi-modal and road-based studies to look at the most serious problems on the network. Proposals made in 2003, as a result of these studies, were added to our programme of work where appropriate.
In 2004-05 we will be investing some £265 million of capital funding into major improvements such as road widening. The programme of investment in improvements to the trunk road and motorway network - the targeted programme of improvements (TPI) - comprises a number of major schemes each costing more than £5 million, funded either conventionally or through public-private partnerships. The programme aims to address the most pressing network problems: easing congestion and making traffic safer; providing safer and healthier communities; and supporting regeneration and integration. During 2003-04, 20 schemes were added to the programme bringing the total number of schemes in the targeted programme of improvements to 91 as at 3 March 2004. Details of these major schemes and the key/critical events in the forthcoming year are shown in Appendix 6 (24KB PDF).
To ensure the benefits of new schemes are realised as early as possible, the Agency has adopted a number of approaches to speed up delivery without compromising the rights of people and communities to be consulted and involved in the planning process. For example, early contractor involvement (ECI) is one of the strategies being developed under the initiative. ECI is gaining enthusiastic support from industry and offers the prospect of speedier delivery by involving contractors earlier in the design process.
Major schemes planned to open in 2004-05
- A10 Wadesmill - Colliers End Bypass
- A120 Stansted-Braintree
- A34 Chieveley / M4 J13 Improvement
- A2 Bean-Cobham Phase 1
- A21 Lamberhurst Bypass
- A1 Stannington Junction
- A63 Selby Bypass
Previously, performance in delivering the targeted programme of improvements has been measured solely through the use of scheme milestones, but this is being replaced by a system of progress points, which works on the basis of awarding points during the lifetime of a road scheme. This approach is more flexible, allowing for unavoidable delays on some schemes to be compensated through speeding up delivery on others. Points are claimed as events in the delivery of a scheme are achieved. A profile for each scheme's progress is established from the point it enters the programme and progress is measured against this profile with a cumulative total of 100 points achieved when a scheme is completed. A chart showing points achievable is at Appendix 7. At the start of April 2004 we will have currently achieved approximately 4590 progress points. These points represent the progress already made, up to the current event, on all schemes already in the TPI programme, including 18 schemes, accounting for 1800 points, that have been completed. The other 2790 points represent progress on the remaining schemes currently in the TPI programme.
Priority action sites
The programme of 92 schemes, announced in October 2002, to tackle congestion and improve safety at junctions across the trunk road and motorway network is progressing well. Some 16 schemes are expected to have been completed by April 2004, up to 26 are expected to be completed in 2004-05 and the remainder are on track to be delivered by 2007-08. The majority of these schemes cost less than £5 million but deliver significant local congestion and safety benefits.
Local Network Management Schemes
These are relatively small in financial terms, but they do enable us to achieve some significant improvements at a local level. These are "quick wins" not only in terms of improved safety; but also in terms of helping to improve journey-time reliability, accessibility, integration, information and/or the environment.
2004 heralds a range of innovative and exciting developments all designed to give road users - our customers - a better service. By improving the way we manage traffic we can help control congestion and reduce the economic costs to business and the impact on society. Drivers in 2004 will get better information before they set off and while on the road. They will also see new traffic officers on motorways in the West Midlands. Behind the scenes, new technology and control centres will mean that road users will benefit from as-it-happens information, and more coordinated responses to incidents. All this will happen 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
New traffic officers working in partnership with the police
The idea of introducing traffic officers was developed jointly by the Highways Agency and the police, following a review of their respective roles and responsibilities on England's core road network. The police will still be responsible for tackling crime and law enforcement, with the traffic officers responsible for managing the traffic around incidents and opening routes when the police have completed their investigations.
Drivers will benefit from a dedicated, uniformed service 24 hours a day, specifically tasked with getting traffic moving again as soon and as safely as possible after incidents. Other regions in England will benefit from this service, with all areas due to have traffic officers by 2006.
Regional Control Centres (RCC's)
Traffic officers will be supported by regional control centres (RCCs), jointly staffed by the Agency and police, which will monitor the roads and coordinate responses to incidents. Seven RCCs will be introduced across the network in a phased rollout finishing by 2006.
Each regional control centre will serve the areas currently covered by a number of police control offices, and will bring several police forces together in partnership with us. A map of the planned RCC areas is shown at Figure 2.3.
The initial RCC areas will be based on existing partnerships. That in the West Midlands will be based on the Central Motorway Policing Group of Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Mercia and West Midlands forces. In the northwest the joint control arrangements will commence with Greater Manchester, extending to include Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire and Merseyside.
In the south and east, the existing integrated policing group, comprising the Highways Agency, the Metropolitan police and forces of Kent, Surrey, Thames Valley, Hertfordshire and Essex, will form the basis of the south and east RCC areas. The RCC at Godstone will initially be a partnership with Kent and Surrey, extending to include Hampshire and Sussex as soon as possible. In the East, the RCC based at South Mimms, will cover Thames Valley, Hertfordshire, Essex and the Metropolitan police, extending to include Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire at the earliest opportunity, followed by Norfolk and Suffolk.
Discussions in the north-east have begun with Durham, Northumbria, Cleveland, North, West and South Yorkshire and Humberside. Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire are expected to form an East Midlands RCC, and Avon & Somerset, Devon & Cornwall, Dorset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire an RCC for the south-west.
Fig 2.3: Highways Agency Regional Control Centre Areas
Improved traffic management technology
In 2004-05 we will be making a capital investment of some £107 million to improve our capability to manage demand and improve traffic flow using the latest techniques and technology.
These include "active traffic management", a pilot on a section of the M42, which is targeted to begin the rollout of different traffic management techniques by March 2005. It aims to tackle congestion through the innovative use of technology-based solutions. Closed circuit television will enable us to monitor conditions, react more quickly to incidents and provide information to road users.
The Agency's National Traffic Control Centre, based in Birmingham, is now operational. It collects information on our network, setting the on-road variable message signs to give drivers route advice, and keeping the travel news on radio, television and the web and other organisations updated on traffic conditions in real-time.
During 2004, further customer-focused services will be added, including:
-
New website
Our website - www.highways.gov.uk - will be re-launched during 2004 and another real-time traffic information site called "Traffic England" will begin. Both represent a significant upgrade to our web services in design and usability. A redesigned traffic information section of the Agency's website will provide the latest information on traffic conditions across the whole of our network.
-
Automated telephone service
This will provide the latest information on traffic conditions across the whole of the Agency's network, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To complement this service, we are considering whether to increase the hours of operation of the Highways Agency information line (HAIL) beyond the current service (8am- 8pm on weekdays and 9am-5pm at weekends) as part of the continuous improvement of our service to customers.
We work closely with a wide range of organisations, including the police, major event organisers, local authorities and our own maintaining agents and contractors to ensure that accurate and timely information is available to the NTCC about incidents, roadworks and other activities that might affect the performance of the network. The Agency is also working with the media and with other traffic information providers to ensure that information about traffic conditions is made as widely available as possible.
Abnormal loads
During 2003 we took over responsibility for the movement of the largest and heaviest abnormal indivisible loads on all roads in Great Britain from another area of the Department for Transport. This work involves approving the detailed arrangements for the movement of these large and heavy loads. The Agency has a number of initiatives to improve the service to hauliers and to reduce the congestion that can be caused. These include improving the way hauliers can check the suitability of routes and introducing self-escorting, which will allow hauliers rather than the police to escort abnormal loads. We are also working jointly with other areas of the Department for Transport to try to get more loads moved on water.
Influencing travel behaviour
The provision of improved information helps both to reduce congestion and ensure that our customers have reliable journeys by influencing their decisions on travel modes and patterns. The work of the National Traffic Control Centre described above, will go a long way in helping with this.
Meeting our customers
The Agency displays and explains its work to its customers at many exhibitions ranging from local events to the International Motor Show.
Working with motoring organisations
We work closely with motoring organisations to provide up-to-date information of interest to their members - including keeping them informed of new projects and other initiatives around the network.
Charging for road use
In July 2003 the Secretary of State announced a comprehensive feasibility study of road user charging. The Agency is now supporting DfT research into charging. The results of this study are due to be published in summer 2004.
The Agency is also working with other areas of the DfT and HM Customs and Excise, who have responsibility for implementing the introduction of a lorry road user charge.
Leaflets and publications
We publish a wide range of leaflets explaining what we do on national, regional and local issues.
Improving Road Safety
| Indicator | Indicator Target Reduce by at least 832 to 4159. 4.Deliver the Agency's agreed proportion of the national target. By 2010 reduce by a third (i.e. to 3327) the number of people killed/ seriously injured on trunk roads compared with the 1994-98 average of 4991. |
|---|---|
| Target | Reduce by at least 832 to 4159. |
| Indicator | 5. Maintain the network in a safe and serviceable condition. |
| Target | Achieve a road surface condition index score of 100 ±1 |
Saving lives
We play an important role in delivering DfT's PSA target of improving road safety, with our focus on building, maintaining and operating safe roads, in partnership with DfT's Driver and Vehicle Operator (DVO) group of agencies - including the Driving Standards Agency (DSA), the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) - whose focus is on education, encouragement and enforcement to ensure that the drivers and vehicles using all roads are safer.
The Agency's roads continue to be amongst the safest in the world. Our motorways have fewer fatalities than most of Europe despite being more heavily trafficked. But we want to make our roads even safer and be able to demonstrate this to our customers.
Safety is achieved through the application of high-quality engineering design standards based on sound research, and this has been the focus for the Agency in the operation and management of the strategic road network. It has made a significant contribution to reducing accidents.
Our network of motorways, dual carriageways and single carriageway roads, both urban and rural, carries about a third of all traffic but accounts for only about an eighth of accidents. We have been set casualty reduction targets as part of the Government's ten-year plan for transport. By 2010, we are expected to contribute to delivering on our trunk roads:
- a 33% reduction in the number of killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties;
- a 10% reduction in the rate of slight casualties; and
- a contribution to the national target of a 50% reduction in child casualties.
KSI Casualty Target
This requires us to reduce accidents on our network by around 500 each year. In 2004 we must reduce the annual total of killed or seriously injured casualties to 4159 to keep us on track to deliver the 2010 target. In addition, we need to reduce the slight casualty rate to 21.04 casualties per 100 million vehicle kms to ensure that the 10% reduction in casualty rate is achieved by 2010.
Focusing on the future
We are not content simply to meet our safety targets and intend to maximise the benefits from our safety schemes. We have identified those sections of the strategic road network where the accident rates for the year 2000 were significantly higher than expected and will use this information to focus our safety investigations and help prioritise the delivery of our accident reduction.
Our construction sites and the network itself can be extremely hazardous environments in which to work. Measures have already been introduced that have reduced accidents at major road works on motorways to similar levels as if the works were not present. We are committed to reducing further the risks to our staff and those to our contractors who work on our roads.
This will be achieved through improving the layout of roads and traffic management arrangements at roadworks, and building on our existing partnerships with industry to train the workforce, and to raise the safety standard of equipment and working practices.
Working in partnership to improve driver standards
To achieve our safety targets, the Agency will adopt a number of new approaches. We will work with others, including other DfT agencies, police, local authorities and other interested organisations to raise driver awareness about safety issues and to promote better driving practice.
Research in support of safety
Underpinning our safety improvements is a programme of safety research targeted on specific user groups or vehicle types, such as large goods vehicles, and specific road accident types such as shunt accidents. We are:
- developing systems for reducing the number and severity of accidents on motorway hard shoulders and those resulting from drivers not maintaining a safe distance from other vehicles;
- developing systems for improving the safety of road workers when working near overhead electric cables;
- developing an integrated method of examining, assessing and managing the safety of routes using a combination of accident analysis, visual inspection, hazard identification and risk management; and
- improving the design of road markings at motorway and dual carriageway trunk road junctions.
Maintaining the network
Maintaining the network to keep it safe and available for use accounts for the largest portion of our budget at some £730 million. Recent surveys confirm the network remains in good condition. In order to keep it that way we carry out a wide range of activities, including:
- Regular inspections to identify where maintenance is needed;
- Repair and reconstruction of roads and bridges;
- Resurfacing roads;
- Keeping the motorways clean, removing debris;
- Maintaining network lighting equipment and communications systems e.g. emergency phones, electronic information signs; and
- Salting roads for winter conditions.
To minimise disruption, maintenance takes place outside peak hours wherever possible. The Public Accounts Committee in their September 2003 report on road maintenance endorsed this approach. We will continue to look for ways further to improve our maintenance activities by:
- increasing the use of new technology such as laser, ultrasonic, infrared and radar surveys
- with the overriding objective of collecting all condition data at normal traffic speed, to help predict when maintenance is required more cost effectively and safely;
- taking every opportunity to use local recycled materials, to deliver both best value and avoid the need for long haulage on heavily trafficked routes; and
- investigating the use of new repair materials, such as carbon fibre plates for bridge strengthening and glass waste in road repairs.
These will all contribute towards the aim of maintaining the network at minimum whole life cost, ensuring the right works, at the right time in the right place.
Sometimes maintenance and road building have to be delayed whilst road-salting and snowclearing are started at very short notice.
Over the past year we have tested and retested our winter service plans. We will ensure, through our contractors, that gritters and snow ploughs are ready for use on 24-hour standby and that our contractors receive up-to-the-minute weather information from the Met Office. When we get a warning all motorways and trunk roads will be pre-salted and we will do our best to ensure all motorways and trunk roads in England remain open during the bad conditions.
Our paramount concern is that road users are able to continue their journey safely. We will continue to ensure that drivers are made aware of the importance of being prepared when driving in poor conditions, through our communications, in support of the Department for Transport's Think! campaign.
Six key "safe driving" messages during the winter months.
- The British winter is unpredictable. If you must drive during severe weather, make sure you are prepared for the conditions.
- Check local and national weather forecasts. Listen to travel information on radio.
- Take care around gritters and snowploughs. Don't be tempted to overtake snowploughs by squeezing into partially cleared lanes.
- It can take ten times longer to stop in icy conditions. Allow extra room to slow down and stop.
- Use the highest gear possible to avoid wheel spin. Manoeuvre gently and avoid harsh braking
- and acceleration. If you start to skid, gently ease off the accelerator and try to avoid braking. If braking becomes necessary, brake very gently.
- When driving in snow, make sure you're equipped with warm clothes, food, water, boots, a torch and spade.
Respecting the environment
| Indicator | 6. Mitigate the potentially adverse impact of strategic roads and take opportunities to enhance the environment taking into account value for money. |
|---|---|
| Target | Achieve at least 95% across the 5 sub targets
|
We recognise the need to maintain a balance between our responsibility to develop and operate the strategic road network effectively and our responsibilities to the needs of neighbouring communities and the wider environment. We do this by integrating environmental considerations into all our network improvement work.
Where aspects of our environmental performance have been identified for improvement, we have instituted specific programmes such as that to reduce traffic noise through quieter road surfaces. The strategic road network also plays a role in the support of wider environmental polices, for example in support of the UK's biodiversity and air quality strategies.
Our biodiversity action plan sets out the specific actions that we will be taking as our contribution in this area and we are working with English Nature to support delivery of the Public Service Agreement target relating to the condition of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
The indicators and targets shown above will be used to measure our 2004-05 performance. These focus on interventions on the network targeted at particular environmental problems or opportunities for improvement.
We will continue to develop these measures in the coming year. Drawing on our established procedures for appraisal, we will be analysing the extent to which all our network improvement projects will deliver the Government's environmental objectives for transport investment.
Seeking feedback from customers
| Indicator | 7. Deliver a high level of road user satisfaction. |
|---|---|
| Target | Achieve from the road user satisfaction survey an average annual score of at least 85% for motorways and at least 80% for trunk roads. |
An important part of delivering good customer service is inviting and responding to customer feedback.
The road user satisfaction survey
We undertake a rolling programme of road user satisfaction surveys to help us identify their concerns and guide our future planning. We interview more than 200 people a month - an annual total of just over 2,500. We ask about their expectations of the services that they have told us are important to them and how well they think we are delivering them in relation to their last journey on our network.
This information is used to measure performance against the key performance indicator target of obtaining an average annual score of at least 85% for motorways and 80% for all-purpose trunk roads in the road user satisfaction survey.
We also hold focus groups of road users and talk to business and intensive users of the network to find out what they expect from the Agency. This information helps to inform the business planning process.
In the coming year the Agency will be checking that we are delivering the services that customers want and how well they are being delivered. We will also be looking at other channels of communication with customers to plan for the future and improve the way we are delivering our services.
We will publish an annual summary report of the results.
The National Environment and National Road Users' Committees
The Agency hosts two focused stakeholder committees, the National Environment Committee and the National Road Users' Committee. These include representatives from statutory and nonstatutory environmental groups, industry and road users' representatives. Both committees are chaired by our chief executive. They meet twice a year to provide an opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss issues relating to the network to help identify areas for improvement.
At a local level, various regional environmental, road user, and other groups also provide a channel for discussing local operational and environmental issues directly with the Agency. We see these groups as providing a valuable point of contact with our stakeholders and customers.
Supporting an improved service
Our approach
We will continue to use and develop our approach to planning and performance management using the Agency's "balanced scorecard".
This sets a framework showing our five objectives that support delivery of our overall aim. Whilst customer service is our prime objective, we recognise that it is important that we carefully plan and manage to meet our four other objectives to ensure that we achieve our aim.
Teamwork
We encourage our staff to work together in dynamic teams and partnerships, as good teamwork within the Agency and with our partners helps to deliver improvements to our services. We have a wide range of partners and other stakeholders, including:
- Our suppliers and industry in general. We are one of the country's major public sector clients, currently procuring some 95% of our services from external suppliers. Our procurement strategy sets out how we will increase quality and reduce whole life costs, for example by developing longer-term partnerships;
- The police, who work alongside the Agency to help manage traffic, deal with incidents and keep delays to a minimum;
- Regional planning bodies, government offices, regional development agencies and local authorities, with whom we work as part of local and regional planning processes;
- Other Department for Transport agencies, such as the Driver and Vehicle Operator agencies, with whom we work on safety initiatives such as the 'Think' campaign to influence driver behaviour;
- Other transport providers, such as the Welsh and Scottish regional administrations, local authorities, the Strategic Rail Authority and others, who work with us on integrated transport initiatives; and
- The media, which helps to keep road users informed.
Improvement
To meet our ten-year plan targets, we need to ensure that learning, innovation and continuous improvement is embedded into all of our activities through:
- Working with our partners to develop new technology;
- Understanding our customers' needs better and balancing their expectations with achievable levels of service;
- Managing change by better prioritisation of work and ensuring all initiatives are clearly aligned to the Agency's aim;
- Changing our culture to deliver a public facing and customer focused traffic management and information service;
- Developing more effective and efficient approaches to project delivery; and
- Modernising our business processes and systems.
Diversity
The achievement of our objectives depends critically on how our workforce develops and responds to the challenges we face. The implementation of our new traffic management role represents a major organisational challenge, involving the recruitment, training and accommodation over the next two years of hundreds of staff with a set of responsibilities and skills very different from those traditionally undertaken by the Agency. It requires considerable management, effort and commitment, including significant support on 'people' policies, systems and processes.
The aim is to ensure this frontline responsibility can be established and integrated into the existing work of the Agency so that each part of the organisation, individually and collectively, contributes to the achievement of our objectives.
Through the continued development of our people strategy we will ensure that our people management, personnel and development policies and systems fully support our people in the delivery of our business objectives. Activities will include:
- Continuing to embed our organisational values of integrity, customer service, teamwork, diversity, improvement and best value into our performance management, development and recruitment and selection systems;
- Focusing our development and training on the skills necessary to support our current and future roles;
- Further enhancing the leadership skills of our managers;
- Taking forward work arising from our 2003-04 staff survey and other feedback, while maintaining our commitment to the Investors in People standard;
- Rewarding performance;
- Maintaining and improving recruitment and selection measures to secure progression and appointment of the right people with the right skills from diverse backgrounds;
- Continuing to implement the Agency's race equality scheme and recent legislation aimed at encouraging the development of a more diverse workforce;
- Ensuring satisfying and rewarding jobs, which maximise the potential of our workforce; and
- Adopting flexible working practices to help provide an appropriate work/life balance.
We will ensure that the Agency continues to operate a sound mechanism for internal control through:
- Planning procedures to ensure future programmes are aligned with Government policy and our strategic direction;
- Performance management procedures including regular reviews by our board;
- Clear capital investment control mechanisms, supported by techniques such as investment appraisal, value management and value engineering;
- Sound project management and project sponsorship disciplines;
- Procurement processes that reflect best practice and best value;
- Established management processes for project management and IT security;
- Transparent processes and checks in place to ensure effective corporate governance; and
- Sound asset management processes, including management of our property portfolio.
Managing risk
The Agency operates formal risk management procedures aimed at ensuring that all high risks to our business are identified and receive focussed management attention, either in the form of treatment, where cost effective, or of contingency plans.
England's Strategic Road Network (130KB PDF)
England's Strategic Road Network (130KB PDF)
Agency Offices (45KB PDF)
Appendices
Appendix 1: Highways Agency Board Structure (76KB PDF)
Appendix 2: Our aim, objectives and values (32KB PDF)
Appendix 3: Highways Agency indicative 2004-05 budget (244KB PDF)
Appendix 4: 2004-05 Key Performance Measures - explanatory notes (52KB PDF)
Appendix 5: Major schemes on the M1, M6 and M25 (20KB PDF)
Appendix 6: Major schemes - Targeted Programme of Improvements (24KB PDF)
Appendix 7: Major Schemes Progress Points (40KB PDF)
Appendix 8: Regional control centres - delivery measurement (44KB PDF)