Lee calls for shakeup in highways procurement procedures

George Lee, national director of the Road Safety Markings Association (RSMA), has called on the Government to carry out a comprehensive review and reorganisation of procurement procedures in the highways sector.

He claims this would harvest significant tax-payer savings and free more funds for safety initiatives and road maintenance.

Speaking ahead of Chancellor George Osborne’s Spending Review statement on Wednesday (26 June), Lee (pictured) claimed that inconsistent and inefficient procurement models within the highways sector lead directly to waste and poor value for money for UK tax payers.

He said: “Inadequate quality and inaccurate costings in highways tender submissions lead to massive waste with public money allocated to road and road safety improvements not achieving its purpose.

“Piecemeal development of procurement models over the years has led to an overly complex tendering process in which it is all too easy for public funds to be wasted without benefiting the country’s transport infrastructure. The Chancellor could make significant savings and ensure better quality highways by demanding a thorough shake-up of procurement processes in the highways sector. It is only by stripping away wasteful practices that any meaningful savings will be realised.”