Marie-Claude Hemming, director of operations at the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA), discusses the uncertainty over highways funding and the support available.
While we may have been distracted by General Elections, a new government, and of course holidays, the National Audit Office (NAO) quietly published a series of critical reports reflecting the state of our public services.
Of particular interest to contractors in the highways sector is the latest NAO report on the condition and maintenance of local roads in England.
The report concludes that local roads are a vital part of our infrastructure, yet despite this, their condition is declining and the backlog to return them to a good state of repair is increasing.
The issue of local road maintenance was of course a constant theme of political candidates across the board in recent elections, with pledges to fix potholes proving a regular vote winner on doorsteps!
Yet as we all know, potholes are just the tip of the iceberg. As well as the road surface, our local road network includes pavements, embankments, bridges and drainage systems, which are all included in the ever-growing maintenance backlog.
Notably, the NAO report finds that this accumulation of work hinders local authorities from undertaking the preventative action that could deliver better value when managing their asset base. Understandably, much of this is due to cost constraints in the challenging fiscal climate we have experienced over the last few years.
However, a lot can be done with a change in approach. CECA has continuously advocated for a step-change in how we secure funding for repairs and maintenance on our local road network.
In our view, we need to move away from a model in which we are patching and repairing a network that is deteriorating faster than it can be fixed.
This can be achieved by implementing targeted investment to fix underlying problems as a long-term approach to repairing and maintaining the network, rather than simply papering over the cracks.
It is important to note that the Department for Transport and local bodies cannot do this alone. CECA represents the bulk of companies that build and maintain the UK’s public infrastructure.
We recognise the challenges faced across the public sector and believe that they can also be addressed, in part, by adopting and tracking progress against the utilisation of best practice delivery and outcome models such as the Construction Sector Playbook, Project 13 and the recent Cabinet Office frameworks review.
As a trade association representing the UK civil engineering supply chain, we stand ready to offer our support via the development of an independent and impartial advisory bank of expertise to offer local authorities advice on issues such as asset management, planning, unblocking projects, best practice and optimum procurements.
We believe that such an approach would establish the basis for co-operation, understanding and development of common areas of interest.
Once established this advisory team could support local authorities by:
- embedding a core network of experts operating on an ad-hoc voluntary advisory basis that they can call upon
- supporting the utilisation of best practice
- promoting and directing local authority opportunities to industry
- and supporting and encouraging Partnership Agreements or Memorandums of Understanding with local bodies and clients.
CECA recognises that the management of UK infrastructure assets is at a critical point for our society. For a long time, industry has worked with governments and delivery bodies to protect and preserve infrastructure for use well beyond its anticipated life cycle. This has been successful, largely thanks to the innovation and expertise that is driven by the supply chain.
However, we can only go so far. To deliver infrastructure that is truly fit for the 21st century, there needs to be a radical shift in our approach. We know that further fiscal challenges will be announced by the chancellor of the Exchequer later this year. However, CECA believes that by focusing on innovation, partnership and longer-term funding models we will go a long way in delivering seamless journeys across our local road network.
Managing the UK’s ageing asset base forms a key part of CECA’s focus this year. If you would like to find out more about this workstream, or speak at one of our events, please get in touch with me at marieclaudehemming@ceca.co.uk.
