National Roads Maintenance Review

The National Roads Maintenance Review is complete, with a process in place to deliver recommendations on improving the management and maintenance of all Scotland’s roads.

The Review was undertaken to improve how we maintain our road network in the years ahead through maximising and making best use of available resources.

A Scottish Roads Maintenance Stakeholder Group has been established to oversee the implementation of 30 initiatives identified by the review . The initiatives are split into two groups:

  • Developments – to embed best practice across road maintenance and ensuring best value with existing resources and arrangements
  • Enhancements – to assist Roads Authorities in strengthening their business case for additional investment

This stakeholder group will involve Transport Scotland, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS); the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE),the Scottish Road Works Commissioner, and other relevant stakeholders. It will continue to identify future initiatives for implementation by using a new strategic framework devised as part of the review.

The Review’s Final Report and a separate report on road delivery structures have been endorsed by Scottish Ministers and COSLA. Research on the ‘Economic, Environmental and Social Impacts of Changes in Maintenance Spend on Roads in Scotland’ was also published, with the Summary Report outlining the results from the separate Local Roads and Trunk Road reports.

The review covered all of Scotland’s road assets, including pavement and adjoining footpaths, structures, verges, signing and lighting, and undertook original research to consider potential impacts on all road users. Issued considered by the review included:

  • How Government can work better with Local Authorities
  • Lessons from international road management practice
  • Productivity and technology innovation
  • Resourcing
  • Standards and prioritisation
  • Wider economic issues, impacts, costs and benefits

As a result, the Review generated several document and reports:

The Minister for Housing and Transport, Keith Brown MSP, initiated the review in February 2011. This followed Audit Scotland’s “ Maintaining Scotland’s Roads – A follow-up report”