The idea of overhauling Britain’s Highways Agency, making it a part privatised system and allowing for greater financial freedom, first emerged in March 2013.
The M6 Toll, opened in 2003, represents Britain’s first pay-to-use road and Book Theory Test Today now understands that the Transport Department is planning to accelerate the overhaul of the UK’s road network to expand the portfolio of pay-to-use roads throughout Britain.
Prime Minister, David Cameron, initially called for a review of the current transport network setup in 2012, urging the Transport Department to look into the potential of privatisation.
With an increase in capital spending cuts and constant criticism concerning the damage caused to the economy due to weaknesses in the transport infrastructure, pressure has mounted on the Transport Department to take action.
Book Theory Test Today believes that an announcement from Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, is now imminent and will outline the scale of the proposed changes.
At present the Highways Agency is struggling to survive amid widespread budget cuts and a failure to attract bids from contractors who are complaining that some of the work being offered out for tender is not worth compiling a bid for.
In particular CBI is lobbying for change, urging a series of radical measures that include the privatisation of the UK’s motorway network and the introduction of more toll roads.
In a statement from CBI Director General, John Cridland, he said: “Break up the Agency and allocate the supervision of motorways to a new regulator, which would offer franchises to the private sector to run parts of the network. It is just a question of when the network will be privatised rather than if, but there is unease in some Transport Department quarters about the ability of the private sector to successfully manage the new structure.â€
An alternative solution, one favoured by a number of advisers, is to copy the model followed by Network Rail, which has the commercial freedom to take out loans at favourable rates that currently exist on the market.
In a statement from a Transport Department representative they said: “Good reliable infrastructure is vital to the economic prosperity of the country and we have been working hard to invest by approving or advancing 26 new major schemes on the strategic road network. But we need to think boldly about how we ensure investment continues over the long term.â€
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