Annual Accounts 2024-25

Overview

This section provides information on the office of the Scottish Road Works Commissioner’s principal activities, purpose and the risks to achieving objectives for the year ended 31 March 2025.

Statement By Scottish Road Works Commissioner– Kevin Hamilton

The Scottish Road Works Commissioner (the Commissioner) is an independent statutory office holder established under Section 16 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005 (the 2005 Act) and is accountable to the Scottish Ministers and ultimately the Scottish Parliament.

The Office of Scottish Road Works Commissioner (SRWC) was initially filled in 2007. I was appointed SRWC on 9 November 2020.

My Corporate Plan was reviewed in March 2023 and covers the period 2023 to 2026. The revised plan includes a new vision which reflects the desire for a just transition to a net zero economy. The plan includes four corporate outcomes:

1. Monitor the carrying out of road works in Scotland
2. Compliance with road works legislation
3. Promotion of good practice
4. Effective operation of the Commissioner’s office

The Business Plan 2024/25 details the objectives for the year, linked to the corporate outcomes and includes three Key Performance Indicators (KPI) which reflect the corporate outcomes set out in the Corporate Plan. These KPIs are:

1. Issue a full performance review for each road works authority and statutory undertaker by end of June 2024.
2. Produce and disseminate three newsletters in line with RAUCS meeting cycle.
3. Percentage of general enquiries responded to within 5 working days (Target 95%).

Monitoring is undertaken through the Business Plan monitoring process. All objectives set in the Business Plan 2024/25 were met.

I issued no new penalties is 2024/25.

Road Works Activity in Scotland

The number of road works registered in 2024/25 once again increased on the previous year although the rise was significantly lower than in each of the past two years. This may indicate that the level of road work activity is peaking.

There was a total of 166,295 road works registered in Scotland in the year to 31 March 2025, an increase of 3,148 (1.9%) compared to the year to 31 March 2024 (163,147).

Utility company road works totalled 122,954 (2023/24 119,383) which represents 73.9% (2023/24 73.2%) of all road works registered.

Roads authority road works totalled 43,341 (2023/24 43,764 ) which represents 26.1% (2023/24 26.8%) of all road works registered.

Unplanned works (ie those deemed to be either an emergency or urgent) accounted for 18% of all works (17.5% in 2023/24) and at 30,235 works, this was an increase of 6% on 2023/24. However, while there has been a recent small trend upwards, the number of unplanned works was less in 2024/25 (30,253 works) than it was in 2018/19 (31,051 works) and the proportion of all works that are unplanned has reduced from around 24% in 2018/19 to 18% in 2024/25.

Nearly half of unplanned works in 2024/25 (48%) were Scottish Water works (49% in 2023/24), this despite Scottish Water accounting for just 16% of all works registered in 2024/25. The water, gas and electricity sectors account for 76% of all unplanned works. The table below give more detail.

Unplanned works need to be minimised as they cause problems for co-ordination and can be very disruptive, particularly if they interact with ongoing planned works.

The performance of all organisations undertaking road works continued to be monitored on a quarterly basis during 2024/25 using data extracted from the Scottish Road Works Register. In addition the quarterly performance dashboards continued to be issued to all organisations undertaking road works in Scotland.

Purpose & Main Activities

History, Statutory Powers And Responsibilities

The Commissioner works with the road works community to oversee improvements to the planning, co-ordination and quality of road works in Scotland.

In particular the Commissioner:

• Monitors the carrying out of road works in Scotland, undertaken by both Roads Authorities and Utility Companies.
• Promotes compliance with the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (the 1991 Act) which sets out the general duties of road works authorities to co-ordinate works and for statutory undertakers to co-operate with road works authorities when undertaking works.
• Promotes the pursuit of good practice by those persons who have functions conferred on them or permissions granted to them by or under the 1991 Act.

The Commissioner has powers to request information from roads authorities and utility companies relevant to their respective functions and activities. The Commissioner also has powers to impose financial penalties when systematic failure of duties under the 1991 Act occurs by either roads authorities or utility companies.

The Commissioner undertakes a dispute resolution function when a dispute between a roads authority and a utility company is escalated.

The Commissioner now employs seven staff who all report directly to the commissioner. In December 2024, one member of staff retired and at the time of writing, the post has still to be filled.

Use of Inspection Powers

The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 introduced new inspection powers for the commissioner and authorised persons. These powers came into force on 1 April 2024 and two new compliance officers were recruited in advance of the introduction of these powers. The Transport (Scotland) Act 2005 was amended to require the commissioner to report annually on the use of the inspection powers.

In 2024/25 the commissioner prioritised monitoring of roads authority signing, lighting and guarding practices. The commissioner’s compliance officers were tasked with visiting road authority sites and recording observations on compliance with the Code of Practice on Safety at Street Works and Road Works.

To support awareness of this activity, a series of webinars was held with representatives of roads authorities and their contractors. Around 700 people attended these events through the summer of 2024. The commissioner and staff also visited several authorities and gave presentations to staff on the requirements of the Code of Practice.

Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, a total of 2,386 observations of road works sites were made in 29 local authority areas, and from July 2024, these were recorded in the Scottish Road Works Register. From these observations, the main issues identified involved a lack of provision for pedestrians and a lack of proper guarding of works activities.

Based on patterns observed, two compliance notices were issued as follows:

North Lanarkshire Council was issued with a compliance notice on 25 September 2024 requiring it to comply with the Code of Practice on Safety at Street Works and Road Works. A series of follow-up meetings were held with managers and monitoring carried out between January and March 2025 showed significant improvement. As a result, the compliance notice was formally closed on 8 April 2025.

Fife Council was issued with a compliance notice on 12 November 2024 requiring it to comply with the Code of Practice on Safety at Street Works and Road Works. A series of follow-up meetings were held with managers and monitoring carried out between February and April 2025 showed significant improvement. As a result, the compliance notice was formally closed on 8 May 2025.

Key issues and risks affecting the organisation

Principal risks and how risks are managed and mitigated are noted in the Governance Arrangements report on page 15. During the reporting period, the risks identified had no significant impact on performance and the attainment of the Commissioner’s objectives with the mitigation measures appearing to be effective. The key emerging risks identified during the reporting period related to the planned implementation of the Oracle finance system within Scottish Government, the planned end of the Scottish Road Works Register contract in 2025 and the establishment of the Compliance Officer posts.

Developments planned in 2025/26

The Business Plan 2025-26 sets out the key activities planned for the year. Highlights include the following:

• Prioritisation of compliance officer activity to investigate road authority co-ordination practice
• Continuation of monitoring of live road works sites to improve provision for pedestrians and vulnerable road users.
• Development of the Scottish Road Works Register to include bus route information

Monitoring

The main sources of data available to the Scottish Road Works Commissioner’s monitoring regime are:

• performance data from a suite of indicator reports in the Scottish Road Works Register (SRWR)
• observations of road works sites made by compliance officers and recorded in the SRWR
• statutory sample inspections of utility company road works by roads authorities, and
• biennial national coring programmes of the bound layers in utility company reinstatements.

The Scottish Road Works Register (SRWR) suite of indicators, which benchmarks roads authority and utility company road works performance across Scotland, and facilitates benchmarking against the rest of the UK, is regularly reviewed to enable organisations and the Commissioner to demonstrate continuous improvement.

Unfortunately, due to the retirement of the Performance Manager in December 2024, it was not possible to continue with monthly monitoring of key indicators.

Best Practice And Community Engagement

The office continued to engage with the road works community at a national, area and local level in addition to membership of various working groups, promoting best practice, encouraging innovation and improved performance monitoring.

The Commissioner presented at the national HAUC UK Convention in Manchester and Roads Expo in Glasgow. In addition, the office organised and ran a well attended webinar on a range of topics in October 2024.

A significant amount of stakeholder engagement was undertaken in relation to the use of the new inspection powers and compliance notice activity as described above.

The SRWR Manager and the Commissioner supported and attended all meetings of the SRWR steering group and the Systems Assurance Team. These forums provide community input into the development and operation of the Scottish Road Works Register.

The Technical Standards Manager continued his engagement at a local level to improve compliance and communication between utility companies and roads authorities, helping to informally resolve issues before they significantly impacted road works performance.

The Commissioner continued his active engagement with various groups but in particular the Society of Chief Officers in Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS). He also engaged with Mobility Access Committee Scotland and the Transport Scotland Roads for All Forum.

The Commissioner and staff have continued to actively participate in the Scottish Road Research Board (SRRB) and the Transport Scotland Pavement Forum (TSPF).

The Commissioner was part of the Department for Transport’s project steering groups for reviews of the Code of Practice on Safety at Street Works and Road Works and also for the review of the Street Works Qualification regime.

Legislative Regime Changes

The Road Works (Scottish Road Works Register Fees and Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 2024 came into force 1 April 2024. Together with the Scottish Road Works Register (Prescribed Fees and Amounts) Regulations 2008 these Scottish statutory instruments cover the collection of fees and amounts from the user community for the operation of the Scottish Road Works Register during the 2024/25 financial year.

Principal Risks And Uncertainties

The principal risks and uncertainties are set out within the Governance Statement on page 14. 

Going Concern Basis

The 2024/25 Annual Accounts have again been prepared on a “going concern” basis and there are no issues to report at this time. Both the SRWC and SRWR budgets are monitored monthly and 5 year forecasts reviewed.

Summary

The office of the Scottish Road Works Commissioner is currently well placed to continue regulating the road works sector through engagement with the community across Scotland and overseeing improvements to the planning, co-ordination and quality of road works. In parallel, the office will continue to input to the development of road works policy.

Commissioner Performance Analysis

The Business Plan for 2024/25 includes three Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to reflect the corporate outcomes described in the Corporate Plan 2023-2026.

The indicators were chosen to be easily measurable and to directly link to the outcomes as far as possible. They are shown in the table below:

In addition to these three KPIs, performance against the full set of objectives for the year is set out in the appendix to the Business Plan 2024/25. All business objectives were fully achieved in 2024/25.

Ongoing attendance at all HAUC(UK), RAUC(Scotland) and Area RAUC meetings is key to promoting good practice and improved performance across organisations undertaking road works. The office was routinely represented at all such meetings.

A customer satisfaction survey was undertaken amongst users of the SRWR again in 2024. The results were again very positive and have been reported to the SRWR Steering Group. The intention remains to repeat the survey annually.

It is a requirement of The Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) that the following are reflected in the Performance Report;

1. An explanation of the link between Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), risk and uncertainty.
   
   The Key Performance Indicators are chosen to reflect the corporate outcomes described in the Corporate Plan. They also reflect the degree of risk and uncertainty in the performance of road works undertakers. They are reviewed annually through the business planning process.
    
2. An explanation of the development and performance of the organisation during the year.
   
   The performance of the SRWC’s office during 2024/25 can be found in the appendix to the Business Plan at:
   Business Plan 2024/25
    
3. Non-financial information including social matters, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and anti-bribery matters.

In addition to taking guidance from Scottish Government HR policy and procedures, the office maintains a number of policies and procedures including a Code of Conduct, Equalities Statement and Environmental Policy. These documents are drafted to be appropriate for the small size and scale of the organisation.

Documents are reviewed on a regular basis in line with our policy review matrix. Each policy has a predetermined review schedule appropriate to the policy area it covers. Reviews consider current public sector requirements, statutory and non-statutory, and the content of other SRWC policies and guidance. The risk register is informed by the amelioration outlined for each specific policy area as well as key targets from the business plan. Assessing whether targets are achievable includes an evaluation of the potential risk that a target introduces.

As an independent public official the SRWC sets operational and office policies to meet the specific needs and unique work of the office. Where the office does not hold its own policy, Scottish Government policy is adopted. This takes advantage of the wider expertise of Scottish Government which is subject to stringent audit process.

Financial Position

The financial statements cover the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 and have been prepared in accordance with the accounts direction issued by Scottish Ministers.

Within the various statements, monies associated with the operation of the Scottish Road Works Register (SRWR), which is funded by the user community through the collection of Prescribed Fees and Amounts, are effectively ring fenced. In view of this, whilst not fully segmented, the accounts include segmented information.

SRWC Grant in Aid of £535k was awarded by Scottish Ministers, £515k of this was drawn down in accordance with the agreed profiling over the financial year (2023/24: £535k). SRWC expenditure in 2024/25 was £567k (2023/4: £484k). There was a surplus in the GIA drawdown to actual spend in the previous year due to a later than anticipated start date of two new roles within the SRWC. The reduced drawdown of the GIA in 2024/25 was agreed with the sponsor team.

SRWR Prescribed Fees and Amounts totalling £899k (2023/24 £950k) were collected from utility companies and roads authorities towards the provision of the register. In addition £12k (2023/24 £23k) was collected from new undertakers for access to the SRWR throughout the year depending on their date of joining. New monies collected totalled £911k (2023/24: £973k). Related expenditure during 2024/25 was £975k (2023/24: £945k). The Commissioner earned no income in the year on direct activities (2023/24: £nil).

Sustainability

The office of the Scottish Road Works Commissioner is committed to functioning in as sustainable a manner as possible. In terms of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010, the office publishes its Sustainability, Efficiency Effectiveness and Economy Statement on the Commissioner’s website. The 2024/25 statement is available to view at:

Sustainability, Efficiency, Effectiveness and Economy Statement 2024/25

Performance Report 

Kevin Hamilton 

Scottish Road Works Commissioner and Accountable Officer

Date: