Autumn Statement: green light for road investment

Commenting on the detail of a £15bn package of road investment announced ahead of Wednesday’s Autumn Statement, Simon Dixon, transport partner at Deloitte, the business advisory firm, said:

“The funding outlined will help to provide security and confidence among those looking to invest in the UK road network. The extra investment and long-term certainty of funding will also enable the Highways Agency to put together cost-effective programmes, which drive down costs.

“As the Highways Agency is turned into a Government-owned company (GovCo), and with increasing pressure on the network and limited funding, a wider debate about the role of road charging in adding to government funding will be needed. As a GovCo, the Highways Agency will effectively become a regulated utility, much like Network Rail, the water and utility companies, but it will be the only one that does not charge its customers. At the moment the only source of funding for road building is what the government provides, whereas other regulated utilities generate income from their customers.”

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Notes to editors

About Deloitte

In this press release references to Deloitte are references to Deloitte LLP, which is among the country's leading professional services firms.

Deloitte LLP is the United Kingdom member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (“DTTL”), a UK private company limited by guarantee, whose member firms are legally separate and independent entities. Please see www.deloitte.co.uk/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of DTTL and its member firms.

The information contained in this press release is correct at the time of going to press.

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