The Welsh Government has announced plans to merge its two trunk road agencies along with Traffic Wales under one unified brand called Highways Wales, serving the whole of the devolved nation.
Andy Falleyn, chief engineer and deputy director of the strategic road network for the Welsh Government, gave a soft launch to the plans at Highways Live Cymru this month announcing that a full scale public launch would take place in January next year.
'Highways Wales gives us a platform that brings together the work of the Welsh government, our trunk road agents, Traffic Wales, and the wider highways communities. Our aim is simple: to help raise awareness of the breadth of activity taking place across the strategic road network, showcase the people behind the work, and strengthen engagement with state owners, partners, and the public, ' Mr Falleyn said.
'This is an exciting opportunity for Wales, an opportunity to think differently about how we engage with our partners, our state owners, and our travelling public. We want to reflect the professionalism, innovation and commitment that exists across our industry as we look forward to shaping that journey together, with a raised profile with the public, with politicians, and further afield.'
The merger of the North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent (NMWTRA), and the South Wales Trunk Road Agent (SWTRA) along with Traffic Wales will not change the public sector model deployed by Wales, or result in any immediate procurement or policy changes, Mr Falleyn stressed.
The move is likely to invite comparison with National Highways is England.
While the brand concept may be similar, National Highways is a government-owned company where the transport secretary acts as the sole and single shareholder. Whereas Highways Wales will retain a public sector model, with the plan that Gwynedd Council for North and Mid Wales, and Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council for South Wales, will continue to act as the managing and lead local authorities and as the legal entities overseeing procurement.
The Welsh Government will work closely with the agents and Traffic Wales over the coming months to further develop the programme, Mr Falleyn said.
Q&A
Highways caught up with Mr Falleyn, Mark McNamara, head of service at the North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent, and Richard Jones, head of South Wales Trunk Road Agent, for a Q&A about the plans.
How will these changes impact your day job?
Richard Jones: 'I think we'll just forge on doing what we are doing. The bit that will change for us is how we're seen and understood. Hopefully gaining awareness, allowing us to attract talent into our organisation, and obviously clarity of what we're trying to establish so we can have partnerships throughout the supply chain under a strong vision.
'There have been a number of agents over the years. The rationalisation of the trunk road agents has come down from eight to three and then to two and I think there is a lot of confusion in the general public, who we serve through one network. It's one network to them. This is now one organisation and obviously it helps raise the profile of what we do. This is about making it clear to everyone about what our collective goals and ambitions are.'
Are there going to be any internal changes in terms of structure, jobs, or anything like that?
Mark McNamara: 'No, not at this stage. Those models aren't going to change going forward. This is a really good opportunity for us to recognise the people that are involved with delivery, maintenance and operations on the truck road network and continue the success of what we have done over the last 20 years.'
Richard Jones: 'What we are trying to do is through the journey become more efficient, effective, and through enhanced collaboration. There will be ways that we can do things differently and this obviously gives us a platform to really challenge where those areas are.'
What will this mean for the supply chain in terms of procurement and general working?
Mark McNamara: 'It shouldn't really have an effect. We work very closely with our private sector and public sector, contractors and consultancies. This isn't about making those changes. It's about clarity of who we are as an organisation. I don't see that being a change to the way we operate with our contractors at the moment.
'Under the public sector model, as trunk road agents our contracts currently are through Gwynedd and Neath Port Talbot councils. And there will be no change, it's just our public facing brand, but the technical aspects of the contracts in the background would continue.
Do you think Highways Wales can place the supply chain on the same footing as, say, National Highways, where they have a five-year budget?
Andy Falleyn: 'I think that's the sort of the holy grail with anybody managing an asset - to have multi-year budgets. We aren't at that stage yet. Decisions around funding will still continue to be subject to ministerial approval on an annual basis. But we're hoping that having an organisation like Highways Wales will provide more clarity, more consistency around the information we can give.
'We're always trying to be as indicative as we can on budgets and we do have an indication of those but this is the start of the journey. It's a decision for ministers, especially the finance minister, but I think this organisation, which will raise the profile of the highway sector in Wales, could eventually lead to that [multi-year budgets].'
Why did you choose the Highways Wales model?
Andy Falleyn: 'I think the model we've got now in our view brings together some of the best things we do but keeps it based in the public sector. It allows us to work very closely with the agents, and we're all part of the public sector, and I think the evidence is there on the network of the ability for that model to work.
'So Welsh ministers are very content with it being public sector based, and we see the advantage of that. What we want to achieve from that is the best for the highway sector. It's not something that's been driven from the top. It's something that has been driven from the bottom up.'
How will you balance the national approach and its economies of scale against the regional focus you previously had?
Richard Jones: 'There is no change really to the regional structure beneath Highways Wales. But we are looking to make sure we are streamlined. The Welsh government established 20 years ago a single set of standards and that's going to continue, but also we will look at how we can work closer together, to deliver shared resources, shared approaches and to be more efficient and effective.'
Is Highways Wales going to be given KPIs and the same scrutiny and oversight as National Highways?
Andy Falleyn: 'Over a period of time, I think we will develop key indicators. But what we don't want is to generate an industry of KPIs and so forth. We will want to keep that to an absolute minimum, ones that really make a difference. The primary one, obviously, is safety. Carbon will be one and also gathering rich data. One thing we will want to do is gather the best data on the network and make the best decisions based on that.'
The Welsh Government aims to increase the share of Welsh public procurement spent with Wales-based suppliers. How do you see that working in highways?
Richard Jones: 'We're looking at is how can we meet the Welsh government commitments through our procurement approaches. And we are discussing with industry how we can look at our models and maximise opportunities for those organisations in Wales. Social value could be one option, but the other option is the governments made a commitment that they want 70%, so its about interpreting exactly what that means and obviously delivering that through our procurement.'
