Under section 112A of NRSWA, the Commissioner has a statutory duty to keep a register of road works. This register is known as the Scottish Road Works Register (SRWR).
As well as the Scottish Road Works Register system also included in the SRWR service are:
- Scottish Road Works Online
- Dial Before You Dig
- Community Apparatus Data Vault
- Training
- Open Data
The Scottish Road Works Register
The SRWR is a cloud based register used for the transfer, retention and management of data used for the planning of road works across Scotland. Utility companies and roads authorities operating in Scotland have access to the SRWR and are required to give notice of their proposed road works to others who undertake road works allowing roads authorities to co-ordinate these works. It includes a public facing website to inform the travelling public and others affected by works of potential disruptions. It is funded by the user community through a levy of Prescribed Fees and Amounts which are collected annually by the Commissioner.
In summary, the SRWR is the main tool used by roads authorities and utility companies to:
- share information on road works
- assist in the planning and co-ordination of works in roads and
- share the results of inspections carried out for compliance with safety and reinstatement standards
- a source of data for management information to measure the performance of organisations undertaking works in roads and
- a source of information for the public and other interested parties regarding planned, on-going and completed works
There were several degradations to the SRWR service during the 2024/25 reporting period. These were mostly reports of the mapping running slow, but not harmful enough to prevent the use of the register. One outage reported in December 2024 lasted around 4¾ hours. This outage was severe enough to breach the service level agreement levels set in the contract with the provider and resulted in a small rebate on the cost of running the service for the affected period.
This reporting period was the final year of the 7 year contract for the provision of the SRWR on behalf of the Commissioner, finishing on 1 April 2025.
A procurement exercise for the provision of the service after 1 April 2025 was completed in the previous reporting period (2023/24). The Invitation to Tender was issued on 7 March 2024, with responses received on 26 March 2024. The tenders were subsequently evaluated during this period and the contract awarded to the winning bidder, Symology Ltd, in July 2024.
The average number of named users per month over 2023/24 was 3,536.
| Period | Users |
|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 2,960 |
| 2021/22 | 2,065 |
| 2022/23 | 2,298 |
| 2023/24 | 2,818 |
| 2024/25 | 3,536 |
Scottish Road Works Online
A simplified version of key information contained within the SRWR is available on the internet for anyone to access information on road works, showing planned and current road works.
Scottish Road Works Online can be found here:
Dial Before You Dig
Whilst the SRWR allows utility companies and roads authorities to exchange details of their apparatus, third parties (those not classed as undertakers or roads authorities) can request information using the Dial Before You Dig Plant Information request facility. This protects operatives carrying out works from harm and protects assets from accidental damage caused by works.
Calls placed to the Dial Before You Dig service are handled by the service provider, Symology Ltd, as part of their contractual obligations for the provision of the SRWR. The provider uses the SRWR to pass details of the request to utility companies and roads authorities, who may have apparatus in the affected area. On receipt of a request utility companies and roads authorities are expected to respond with details of affected assets.
On average 104 requests per month were received during 2023/24.
| Year | Requests |
|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 1,468 |
| 2021/22 | 1,374 |
| 2022/23 | 1,228 |
| 2023/24 | 986 |
| 2024/25 | 1,176 |
Details on this service can be found at:
https://roadworks.scot/dial-before-you-dig or by calling 08000 231 251
Community Apparatus Data Vault
The Community Apparatus Data Vault (Vault) is a feature of the Scottish Road Works Register that allows the roads authorities and utility companies to share details of apparatus they have installed in the road. Vault allows the display of information from all participating organisations simultaneously on one screen, helping organisations planning or undertaking road works to avoid affecting, or even damaging, other organisations apparatus.
Providing information to Vault is now a statutory requirement. Any organisation installing or maintaining apparatus must supply records of the apparatus to be shown in Vault.
This allows organisations to comply with RAUC(S) Advice Note 1 – The Sharing of Plant Information
SRWR System Training
The training in the use of the SRWR is now provided in a suite of 12 e-learning modules, which can be tailored to the user’s expected usage of the SRWR. Over the period 804 modules were completed by users.
SRWR Open Data
As part of the contract for the supply of the SRWR, it is a requirement that road works data recorded on SRWR is made available to download as Open Data. Every transaction relating to works is available for download in a set of CSV (Comma Separated Value) files.
Further information can be found here:
Scottish Road Works Register Open Data
SRWR Steering Group and the System Assurance Team
To ensure that SRWR services are fit for purpose, representatives of the SRWR user community meet regularly as members of the SRWR Steering Group and the System Assurance Team. These meetings are attended by representatives of the software contractor.
This engagement helps ensure that the SRWR continues to serve the needs of roads authorities and utility companies. These groups support both the Commissioner and RAUC(S).
Financing of the Scottish Road Works Register
Provision of the SRWR is funded by the user community through a statutory Prescribed Fees and Amounts levy which is collected annually by the Commissioner.
The Parliamentary Regulations supporting the collection of “Fees and Amounts” required for the 2024/25 financial year were:
- The Scottish Road Works Register (Prescribed Fees and Amounts) Regulations 2008 which came into force on 29 February 2008. Whilst the “Fees” element of this legislation has been superseded, the “Amounts” element remains in force.
- The Road Works (Scottish Road Works Register Fees and Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 2024 which came into force on 1 April 2024 prescribes the fee to be collected for 2024/25.
The 2024/25 prescribed fees and amounts collected for the running of the SRWR totalled £898,817. Invoices for the operation of the SRWR were issued to the community on 1 April 2024. Of the 98 invoices issued, 41 were paid before the due date of 2 May 2024. The remaining 56 were all paid by 18 July 2024.
The Scottish Road Works Register (Prescribed Fees) Regulations 2025 were laid before the Scottish Parliament on 28 January 2025. In conjunction with The Scottish Road Works Register (Prescribed Fees and Amounts) Regulations 2008, these regulations prescribe the £1,008,819 required to operate the SRWR in 2025/26.
During 2024/25 166,295 works were started, meaning an average cost for using the register of around £5.40 for each works started.