ACE members welcomed the National Audit Office (NAO) to discuss their study on the Road Investment Strategy. 

The roundtable meeting, held in early June, was led by Alex Burfitt, audit manager at the NAO. He shared how the study will focus on how National Highways and the Department for Transport are managing risk, as well as whether the programme is providing value for money to the taxpayer. Representatives from across the ACE membership and our transport group were in attendance. 

A key national asset, National Highways plans to invest £27.4 billion on the network in the fives years to 2024-25 in order to deliver the Department for Transport’s Road Investment Strategy 2 (RIS 2). A large proportion of this investment is earmarked on projects that are yet to start and which require development consent orders.  

Following a brief presentation, a robust and thoughtful discussion followed around the enhancement programme, and its implementation and management. 

Commenting on the meeting, Paul Barnes, policy researcher at ACE said: “We were delighted to welcome the National Audit Office and provide a platform for our members to feedback on their experiences to date with the programme.”  

“Given this is a significant investment in a key strategic infrastructure network, it is right that the programme is reviewed in this way and we hope that our members’ feedback will ensure that it delivers as much value to the taxpayer as possible and that any learnings can be applied in future programmes such as RIS 3.” 

Slides to the meeting are available to those who work for ACE members. Simply login or register with your work email address to access the slides below.