Content archived on 04 May 2024
The consultation sets out ORR's approach to holding Highways England to account in delivering the road investment strategy, a £15bn plan to improve performance, efficiency, safety and sustainability on the strategic road network. It explains the circumstances in which ORR proposes to use enforcement powers to improve the performance and efficiency of Highways England.
ORR will intervene at an early stage if improvement is required, using an enforcement approach designed to be consistent, proportionate and transparent. While financial penalties are an important part of ORR's enforcement toolkit, as Highways England is a public company and receives public funding, it is expected that imposing a fine would be a last resort.
Peter Antolik, ORR's Highways Director said:
Highways England is already providing ORR with evidence of its progress to deliver the £15bn investment plan to enhance, renew and improve the strategic road network. This vitally important programme of work will improve safety, road user satisfaction and increase capacity.
To protect the interests of road users and taxpayers, we will use our enforcement powers if necessary to ensure Highways England complies with its licence and delivers improvements set out in the road investment strategy, including delivery of £1.2bn efficiency savings.
ORR will publish its first assessment of Highways England's performance in the autumn, setting out how the company is progressing against the five year performance and investment plan, which includes:
- Making the network safer
- Minimising disruption from road works and incidents
- Delivering better environmental outcomes
- Increasing the capacity of the network.
To know more about participating in the consultation, visit: https://orr.gov.uk/highways-monitor/consultations/policy-consultations/open-consultations/enforcement-policy-for-highways-england
Notes to editors
- The Office of Rail and Road is the independent economic and safety rail regulator and the independent highways monitor for England.
- To keep updated on ORR's highways monitoring work, follow @highwaysmonitor on Twitter, and sign-up to receive ORR's email alerts.
- ORR has been granted statutory enforcement powers to ensure Highways England complies with its licence and delivers the road investment strategy.
- ORR recognises that it will benefit Highways England, its stakeholders and road users if proactive enforcement action is taken where a potential or actual contravention of its licence or the road investment strategy has been identified. This will allow action to be taken to stop a potential issue from developing into a more serious contravention or to remedy an issue as quickly and effectively as possible.
- Where a potential or actual contravention has been identified, ORR will take a staged enforcement approach, including making public comment on the issue or reporting to the Secretary of State, before exercising statutory enforcement powers, such as the imposition of a financial penalty.
- In setting our current policy on fines ORR recognises that Highways England is a public company and receives public funding. Imposing fines could therefore have an impact on its financial sustainability and its ability to comply with the road investment strategy. ORR has taken this into account in determining the indicative levels of fines we may impose on Highways England and will generally impose fines at a level which will have a reputational as opposed to a punitive impact.