Highways Agency

2. Roles and Responsibilities

A. Responsibilities

2.1 The Highways Agency, on behalf of the Secretary of State, is responsible for:

1. operation and stewardship of the strategic road network, including day to day and whole-life maintenance;
2. managing traffic, tackling congestion, providing information to road users and improving safety and journey reliability on the strategic road network;
3. delivering a programme agreed with the Secretary of State for additions and enhancements to the strategic road network;
4. acquiring, managing and disposing of land and property and paying compensation in relation to schemes on the strategic road network;
5. supporting the delivery of the Government's objectives in relation to sustainable development and exercising the Secretary of State's policy in respect of informing and influencing the pattern of new development through the planning system, and responding to specific development proposals, in respect of the potential impact on the capability of the strategic road network;
6. identifying, responding to the Secretary of State's proposals for, and delivering trials or wider application of, approaches new to the UK for the efficient discharge of its responsibilities and achievement of the Government's objectives;
7. informing and influencing the development of the Secretary of State's policies for the strategic road network, including identifying and advising on the case and options for:
   • additions and enhancements to that network including the provision of advice to regional partners,
   • changes and improvements to the operation of the network, and
   • the transfer of sections of the network to other highway authorities;
8. promoting efficiency and effectiveness in the procurement and delivery of public services through engagement with other organisations whose business involves interfaces with the strategic road network, including other highway authorities, Government Offices, and local and regional planning bodies;
9. providing professional highways engineering advice to and on behalf of the Secretary of State, and promoting best practice by the sharing and promulgation of best highway management practice to other highway authorities;
10. developing, publishing, reviewing and maintaining engineering and other standards in concert with the office of the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland, or any successor bodies;
11. carrying out a programme of research and development aimed at supporting delivery of the aims and objectives of the Agency, in consultation with the Department's research programme managers to ensure programmes complement each other; and
12. representing the Government's interests on relevant international technical committees where appropriate and recognising export opportunities for the UK.

2.2 The following responsibilities have been retained by the Secretary of State:

(i) overall Government policy on roads in England; (ii) the addition of roads to, or the removal of roads from, the strategic road network; (iii) decisions on schemes (The cost threshold for these schemes is set by the Secretary of State and is currently £5m) and the approval of scheme briefs, for additional capacity or other major enhancements to the strategic road network; (iv) decisions following public inquiries into orders relating to the strategic road network; (v) policy on road user charging; (vi) policy on the development of the use of private finance for roads; and (vii) the methodology to be used in the appraisal of improvements to the strategic road network.

Department-wide Services

2.3 The Agency will have access to legal and other common services provided by the Department. These will be supported by service level agreements where appropriate.

2.4 The Agency will collaborate with the Department to facilitate organisational change in so far as it affects the Agency.

2.5 The Agency will collaborate with other executive agencies of the Department in the planning and delivery of services.

B. Roles

The Secretary of State

2.6 The Secretary of State is responsible for the policy framework within which the Agency operates. Specifically, he is responsible for:

1. setting the aim and objectives of the Agency;
2. with the approval of the Prime Minister, appointing the Chief Executive of the Agency;
3. setting key performance indicators and targets for the Agency;
4. approving the Agency's Corporate and Business Plans;
5. determining the level of resources to be made available to the Agency, including the broad split between the main programmes;
6. determining which individual major road schemes will be included in the programme and approving scheme briefs; and
7. approving revisions to the Framework Document and clearing these with Treasury ministers.

Permanent Secretary

2.7 The Permanent Secretary is the Department's Principal Accounting Officer and the principal adviser to the Secretary of State on matters affecting the Department as a whole, including questions of allocation of resources, expenditure and finance. The Permanent Secretary is responsible for the management of the whole Department and is accountable to Parliament for its effectiveness and efficiency.

2.8 The Permanent Secretary will advise the Secretary of State on the appointment and performance of the Chief Executive.

2.9 The Permanent Secretary will both challenge the performance of the Chief Executive and support and facilitate his work in meeting his objectives and key targets (In fulfilling this role, the Permanent Secretary is supported by the Director, Roads Performance and Strategy and by the staff of the Roads Performance Division, who will liaise with the Agency on the development and production of relevant documents and information, taking the role of departmental "sponsor" of the Agency.). In particular he will:

1. quality assure the Agency's corporate and business plans prior to their submission to the Secretary of State for approval, and hold the Chief Executive accountable for the performance of the Agency against its targets;
2. ensure that the relationship between the Agency and the Department works effectively and efficiently by ensuring that the Agency is consulted about all matters, including policy proposals, having a bearing on it, and that the Chief Executive and staff have appropriate access to Ministers to facilitate the efficient conduct of business; and
3. ensure the establishment of such further arrangements as are needed to support this Framework Document.

Highways Agency Chief Executive

2.10 The Chief Executive is responsible for the day to day management of the Agency and is accountable to the Secretary of State and the Department's Principal Accounting Officer for its performance and the effective and efficient delivery and discharge of the services and responsibilities assigned to it. The Chief Executive is also responsible for ensuring compliance with Government policies and procedures.

2.11 The Chief Executive is a member of the Department's board and, as such, shares corporate responsibility for the overall management of the Department.

2.12 The Chief Executive is appointed Accounting Officer for the Agency by the Permanent Secretary with responsibility for the resources voted by Parliament for the Department and allocated to the Agency by the Secretary of State. As detailed in his letter of appointment as Agency Accounting Officer, the Chief Executive is responsible for ensuring that the requirements of Government Accounting and the Resource Accounting Manual are met and that proper procedures are followed for securing the regularity and propriety of the public funds voted by Parliament and allocated to the Agency by the Secretary of State, and for achieving value for money.

2.13 The Chief Executive may be invited to appear before the Public Accounts Committee to account for the discharge of responsibilities falling to the Chief Executive under the terms of this Framework Document.

2.14 The Chief Executive will normally be asked to represent the Secretary of State and answer for the Secretary of State at hearings of Parliamentary Committees when operational matters concerning the Agency are discussed.

2.15 The Chief Executive is responsible for observing any general guidance issued by the Treasury and Cabinet Office and implementing recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee or other Parliamentary Select Committees if they are accepted by the Government.

2.16 The Chief Executive is responsible for ensuring that effective procedures for handling complaints about the Agency are established and published and for replying to complaints personally if they cannot be satisfactorily resolved by other means. The Agency is subject to the jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and the Permanent Secretary, as the Principal Officer of the Department, will delegate to the Chief Executive responsibility for replying on any matters concerning the Agency.

2.17 The Chief Executive is responsible for ensuring that the Agency provides all such support in terms of advice on correspondence and briefing as Ministers may require.