Road Traffic Control: Motorways
Dr McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what commercial products his Department or the Highways Agency has mandated for use in road traffic management on the motorway network in the last 10 years. [193979]
Mr Goodwill: There are no products used by the Highways Agency which have been mandated in terms of what is used for road traffic management. These products are used by staff and contractors for the Highways Agency and such items are procured using a specification via a tender arrangement and not directed by the Department for Transport, or Ministers.
Dr McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress his Department and the Highways Agency have made in delivering the Government's small and medium-sized enterprise procurement policy in road traffic management on the motorway network since 2010; what goods and services have been procured from which companies; at what cost; and what processes were used for the procurement of those goods and services. [193980]
Mr Goodwill: The Highways Agency has made the following progress in supporting the Department in delivering Government small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) procurement policy:
made the use of Project Bank Account a default position on all contracts awarded since October 2011. This considerably speeds up payment times to the supply chain, including any SMEs. Highways Agency contracted business now accounts for over 80% of the overall government target for directing spend through project bank accounts;
increased visibility of SME supply chain spend through contracts using a combination of strengthened contract reporting
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requirements, project bank account data and supply chain survey. It is now the case that over 30% of supply chain spend on HA contracts is with SMEs, and in some cases this can be as high as 50% of overall spend. The SME spend through the agency's planned collaborative delivery framework, currently being tendered, is expected to range between 30-50% of overall spend;
attended and presented at “Meet the Buyer” events around the country, with the two most recent of these being in Sheffield and Reading in late 2013. The opportunity was taken further to reduce barriers for SMEs by helping them identify sources of information on potential direct opportunities (HA website, Contracts Finder, Tenders Electronic Daily (TED)), plus providing attendees with advice on how to seek extended supply chain opportunities in relation to larger contracts;
launched a new page on their website targeting and providing information for SMEs, linked here:
http://www.highways.gov.uk/about-us/procurement/supplier-selection-and-development/small-medium-entrprises-smes
increased use of Open procedure through the procurement process, with the agency now looking, where feasible, to break down lot structures in framework agreements to increase attractiveness to a broader and deeper supply chain;
amended its Instruction for Tenderers (IFT) in 2013 to state that “The Highways Agency is committed to removing barriers to SME participation in its contracts and this includes sub-contracting opportunities. If you are proposing to sub-contract part of this contract, you should provide assurance that you have considered how SMEs could play a part and details of the measures you have put in place to encourage and enable their participation as your sub-contractors. If you are awarded the contract, we will ask you to provide regular information about your spend with SMEs under the contract and may publicise good practice on our websites and report such expenditure to other Government Departments”; and
become an active member of a cross-government Cabinet Office led SME Champions Group looking at strategic alignment, sharing best practice and promoting behavioural change towards SMEs.
The Highways Agency awarded a Temporary Traffic Management framework (TTM) in March 2013 (estimated value £660 million over four years). Breaking down the lot structure for this encouraged application/interest from SME suppliers, resulting in one of the eight successful suppliers being an SME (Forest Traffic Services Ltd).
More broadly, since January 2010, 93 SME companies, names of which appear in the following list, have been awarded HA contracts and/or task orders via frameworks, for the procurement of a range of goods, services and works with a total award value of just over £193 million.
AE Yates Ltd
Alun Griffiths Contractors Ltd
Ashbourne Assessment Systems Ltd
Ashbourne ODP (Oxford Development Partnership Ltd)
Beijer Automotive B.V.
Belmont Press Ltd
Benchmark Training Ltd
Bristows LLP
Briton Fabricators Ltd
Burlington Uniforms Ltd
Carnell Support Service Ltd
Ciria (Construction Industry Research & Information Association)
Computeraid Ltd
Concrete Bridge Development Group
Constructing Excellence Ltd
Consult Capital LLP (was Holistic Services Ltd)
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Coram UK Ltd
Corderoy
Corporate Document Services Ltd
Danaher & Walsh (Civil Engineering) Ltd
Davitt Jones Bould
DB Construction Ltd
Dbi Consulting Ltd (acquired by Oakleigh Consulting Group)
DG3 Europe Ltd
Donyal Engineering Ltd
Electronic Terminations Ltd
Eliesha Training Ltd
Epic Group Plc
Fileradar BV
Fogtec
Forest Traffic Services Ltd
Frontier Economics Ltd
G & H Sheet Fed Ltd
Gas Street Works Ltd
Goudappel Coffeng
Gray Hawke Ltd
Hempsons
Highway Care Ltd
ILX Group Plc
Information Processing Ltd (IPL)
Jade Press Ltd
JMP Consultants Ltd
John West (Contractors) Ltd
JPCS Ltd
JPT Consulting Ltd
Junction17 Defensive Driver Training Ltd
LA International
LMD (Learning Materials Design) Learning Solutions Ltd
Macnaughton McGregor Ltd
Marriott Davies Yapp LLP
McPhillips (Wellington) Ltd
Mendas Ltd
Momentum Incorporated Ltd
MWL Print Group Ltd
Nationwide Gritting Services Ltd
NetComposites Ltd
Network Information Services Ltd (NIS Ltd) (Mouchel / Thales JV)
Nicander Ltd
Nimlock Ltd
Nusteel Structures Ltd
NYS Corporate
P M Harris Ltd
PD Consult Ltd (Professional Development Consultants Ltd)
Peacock Salt
Persona Associates
Premier People Solutions Ltd t/a Premier Partnership
Project Angels
Pro-tect Safety Signs
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PSI Production GmbH
Redflex Traffic Systems PTY Ltd
RHG Consult Ltd
Roffey Park Institute Ltd
Rowsell Wright Ltd
Salinity UK Ltd
Sand Resources
Sharpe Pritchard
Sharpfibre Ltd
Simulation Systems Ltd
Stephen Austin & Sons Ltd
Sterling Press Ltd
Taywest Control Systems Ltd
Technolution B.V.
Techspan Systems Plc (part of Hill & Smith Group)
The Concrete Society Ltd
The Fire Service College
Thermotor Ltd
Variable Message Signs Ltd (VMS)
VPI Immingham LLP
Walsh Construction Ltd
WDM Ltd
Weldon Plant Ltd
Winvic Group Ltd
Yotta Ltd
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
Dr McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department and the Highways Agency are taking to reduce the risk of death or serious injury to road workers on the motorway network. [193978]
Mr Goodwill: As part of its Aiming for Zero safety programme, the Highways Agency established a Road Worker Safety programme designed to reduce risk exposure to road workers, a particular focus of which is to reduce the incidences of carriageway crossing by road workers. Within this programme, a number of projects have been commissioned to test simplifications and other changes to temporary traffic management arrangements to reduce road worker exposure to live traffic while maintaining standards of safety for road users. Some of these projects have been completed already; for example Signs Simplification, implemented December 2011, and Offside Signs Removal techniques, implemented November 2012.
The introduction of these innovative changes has already enabled a very substantial reduction in the number of carriageway crossings, leading to a proportionate reduction in road worker risk exposure. In March 2014 the Highways Agency published further guidance on the Offside Signs Removal technique, allowing it to be used to close a four lane carriageway. The Highways Agency is continuing to work with its supply chain to take forward further projects within this programme with the aim of further reducing road worker risk.