Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

Who We Are

The Major Projects Contract Development & Collaboration Team coordinates our role as a change agent for the highways industry in order to assist the achievement of efficiency improvements in local roads delivery.

The priority is for us to work collaboratively or in partnership with local authorities to achieve procurement efficiency improvements.

The Highways Agency supports the Highways Efficiency Liaison Group (HELG). Senior roads industry representatives from suppliers, professional bodies, other change agents, the Department for Transport and the Highways Agency are members.

What We Do

The Major Projects Contract Development & Collaboration Team investigates how and where collaboration can be achieved working across the highways industry. It seeks to bring about a cultural change in the way highways work is procured and delivered.  The team is developing ways to capture and share best practice; ensuring successes in one area are transferred to others

How We Do It

The Highways Efficiency Liaison Group (HELG) is the key vehicle for engaging industry and taking initiatives forward. The group meets regularly to discuss specific issues and challenge the way procurement is carried out. HELG is instrumental in disseminating the message of collaboration and efficiency into the local authorities and suppliers..

HELG endorsed the key strategy document "Achieving Efficiency Gains From Collaborative Roads Procurement" (see above), which sets out seven interlinked objectives and work is in progress to achieve them.

HELG has published an annual Toolkit For Local Transport Highways Efficiency Gains. This gives further advice to local authorities on the identification and measurement of efficiency gains in Highways. We have also commissioned and published a report by Happold Consulting Achieving Efficient Delivery of Local Highways Services - June 2006 (421KB PDF). Its objective is to help local highways authorities to develop their procurement strategies to achieve greater service delivery efficiency.

Fact Sheet

For full information on HELG, it's various publications and activities see www.helg.org. Fact sheets on how local authorities can access HA Framework Contracts are available here:

• The Highways Effificiency Liaison Group (HELG) - Fact Sheet (231 KB PDF)
• Highways Agency National Technical Consultancy Arrangements 2009 (PDF 368KB) 
• Toolkit for Identifying and Measuring Efficiency in Local Highways (209MB PDF)
• National Framework for Project Support - Type A (306KB PDF)
• National Framework for Project Support - Type B (250KB PDF)
• East and South East Asset Management Framework (PDF 512KB)

Links to Highways Efficiency Liaison Group organisations:

• The Institution of Highways and Transportation (IHT)
• The County Surveyors' Society (CSS)
• The Technical Advisors Group (TAG)
• Public Private Partnership Programme (4Ps)
• Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA)
• Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE)
• Highways Term Maintenance Association (HTMA)
• Constructing Excellence
• Regional Centres of Excellence (RCEs)

Other useful links

• Audit Commission
• Department of Communities and Local Government (Local Govt pages)
• Improvement and Development Agency
• Department. of Transport
• National Audit Office
• HM Treasury

Please let us know if you have any comments or would like any further information either by phone on 01234 796133, post or e-mail ceteam@highways.gsi.gov.uk