Agenda item

As resolved at 21 November 2017 ESC, the Committee agreed to continue to review the performance of the 'Highways' service area through the review of service annual report.

At 16 January 2018 ESC, the Committee resolved that the development of the public satisfaction survey - for street scene key performance indicators - be part of the highways annual report. This public satisfaction survey to be included, as part of the annual report.

The Committee considered the report of the Director Highways and Transport which provided a review of the performance of the highways service and an update on performance of the contractors and suppliers involved in delivering the service.

The Head of Highways Assets Management and Commissioning explained that the local highway network is vital for businesses and communities, and effective maintenance to ensure its availability is essential to the economic development of the county.  Wiltshire Council recognised the importance of maintaining and managing its highway network effectively, and is assisted in this task by a number of specialist contractors and suppliers. He referred to the following appendices attached to the Annual report:

·       Appendix 1 – The annual review of the service for 2017/18

·       Appendix 2 – An updated version of the Performance Management Framework

·       Appendix 3 – The performance of Ringway Infrastructure Services for 2017/18

Cllr Bridget Wayman, Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Waste, the Director of Highways and Transport and Head of Highways Assets Management and Commissioning responded to a number of issues and comments from the Committee.  In particular, the following issues and comments were raised:

·       Considerable increase in the number of potholes in 2017/18 as a result of severe weather.

·       The Chancellor’s announcement of £420m funding package to fix potholes and how the Council was waiting to receive confirmation of its allocation.

·       The issues surrounding the delivery of the grass cutting contract due to the legal implications of the Transfer of Undertaking (protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE).

·       The ability of residents living in new housing estates to directly approach alternative companies to provide the management of open spaces on new estates, therefore reducing their expenditure on management fees.

·       The transfer of assets to Parish and Town Councils and their ability to enjoy the same terms as those provided by contractors to Wiltshire Council.

·       The impact of reducing budgets on the repair and renewal of pavements and lack of a repair programme apart from essential works based on safety issues.

·       Improvements made to the major road network through the county and the continual need for further improvements to the local network.

·       Town centres’ cleaning and the management of contractor performance standards.

·       Confirmation that Atkins manage the tree service throughout the county and Jacksons provide the service to maintain the verges.

·       The excellent work undertaken by Parish and Town Council Stewards.

·       Confirmation that the Council are fulfilling its highway obligations on white lines on the highway.

·       Assessment of road side verges to establish their need for maintenance.

·       Development of the ‘MyWilts’ App within the Council’s digitisation project, with a potential launch date of Summer 2019.

·       The impact of enforcement, engineering and education in the reduction of accidents and collisions on Wiltshire roads.

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Waste, officers and representatives from Atkins for attending the meeting and providing responses to the issues raised.

Resolved:

i)               To endorse the Highways Annual Review of Service, and confirm that the performance of the Council’s highways contractors has been good during 2017/18.

ii)             To welcome the reported reduction in killed and seriously injured on the county’s roads as described in the Highways Performance Management Framework.

iii)           To note that the performance of Ringway Infrastructure Services during the second year of its contract has continued to be good, and a further extension of six months should be awarded in accordance with the condition of contract.

iv)           To request that the Key Performance Indicators being developed for the proposed streetscene contract should be considered by a future meeting of this committee when they have been developed further.

v)             To request a report on the Highways Service and the Performance Management Framework in a year’s time.

vi)           To note and value the work undertaken by the Town and Parish Stewards and to ask the Director of Highways and Transport to consider the introduction of an award for the delivery of an exceptional service by Stewards.

vii)           For the Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Waste to consider establishing a monthly reward scheme for Wiltshire’s Parish Stewards.

viii)        Committee recommends that the Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Waste consider the importance and significance of Parish Stewards to helping to maintain the highways, when setting the budget for 2019/20.

ix)           For the Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Waste to return to Committee with information on whether the rate of Killed and Seriously Injured incidences has reduced, or whether vehicles have become safer, which has led to the reduction as noted in the report.

x)             The Council takes all practical measures to reduce the amount of KSIs