The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) have published their annual assessment of National Highways,[1] covering the one-year interim period that bridged the second and third Road Investment Strategies (RIS2 and RIS3). The assessment from the ORR is broadly positive, detailing how National Highways met nine of the eleven Government-set performance targets between April 2025 and March 2026, and delivered almost all of their planned capital commitments. However, the regulator flagged delivery risks that are beginning to emerge just as the new road period gets under way.
This has landed in the same window as roads funding is coming under pressure from the same forces squeezing the energy sector’s capital budgets under the Defence Investment Plan, while the 2026 Local Elections have accelerated political fragmentation across Local Government. This will all be born out whilst Prime Minister Andy Burnham acts on his pledge to hand devolved authorities greater control over local roads and transport.
Why RIS3 was delayed in the first place
RIS3 was originally due to begin in April 2025. The Department for Transport (DfT) pushed this back to align with the 2025 Spending Review, publishing an interim settlement to cover the year gap instead. That delay came alongside a much bigger ambition, as the Government set out their 10-Year Strategy for UK infrastructure in June 2025, promising at least £725 billion of investment,[2] notably folding in homes and social infrastructure like schools, hospitals and prisons alongside traditional economic infrastructure such as roads and power stations. Industry bodies including CIHT welcomed the broader framing, and the delay to RIS3 was viewed in the industry as the understandable price to pay for a longer-term, better-funded settlement.[3]
Where preparation for RIS3 fell short
RIS3 now runs from April 2026 to March 2031, determining how Government funding supports operation, maintenance, renewal and enhancement of England’s Strategic Road Network (SRN). The ORR has assessed the interim year, commending National Highways for meeting nine of its 11 Government-set performance indicators, delivering almost all of its capital commitments, and performing strongly in areas including network availability, road surface condition, motorway incident clearance and road user satisfaction.
However, the ORR criticised National Highways for not taking full advantage of the opportunities available to prepare for RIS3, and identified several areas where preparatory work fell behind schedule during the interim period. These included the following:
- National Highways sought funding to develop a programme of 12 large renewals schemes in the interim period for delivery in RIS3. While forecast of spend alone is not solely an indicator of progress, it underspent its funding for large renewals by 33 per cent, or £37 million.
- Similarly, National Highways proposed to develop 15 concrete road schemes into design stage ahead of RP3, but only successfully developed one and underspent its funding for the programme by 41 per cent, or £31 million.
- National Highways also continued to face challenges delivering its technology programme, as it did not meet its output commitment for signs technology and delivered to the lower end of the performance range it proposed for signals and CCTV technologies.
RIS3’s renewals programme is far larger than its predecessors, with funding rising more than 70 per cent, from around £4.9 billion under RIS2 to roughly £8.4 billion. The struggle with technological implementation is especially concerning, as the Chief Executive of National Highways, Nick Harris, previously emphasised that the ‘future of road management lies in AI and edge computing rather than traditional approaches’.[4]
The ORR warned that ‘the company must demonstrate that it is fully prepared and capable of delivering its large renewals programme effectively and efficiently during RP3, including improving the governance, planning and delivery controls necessary to mitigate the impact of delays and manage delivery risks’.[5] Notably, RIS3 is weighted toward this ‘renewals programme’ of maintaining the existing network rather than expanding it, with the Lower Thames Crossing being the main exception.
A squeeze from more than one direction
RIS3 delivery risk is emerging alongside DfT’s own budget reductions under the Defence Investment Plan (DIP), which will strip £700 million from roads funding and could see schemes such as the A38 Derby Junctions and A46 Newark Bypass reconsidered, as well as reductions to as yet uncommitted roads funding.[6] A further £4.7 billion of the DIP commitments remain unfunded,[7] set to be resolved at the October Budget, which could bring further cuts for roads and highways.
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[1] ORR, Annual assessment of National Highways’ performance – April 2025 to March 2026, 17 July 2026, link
[2] Gov UK, UK Infrastructure: A 10 Year Strategy, 19 June 2026, link
[3] CIHT, CIHT welcomes the publication of the UK Government’s draft Third Investment Road Strategy, 28 August 2025, link
[4] Traffic Technology Today, HIGHWAYS UK: Nick Harris confirms £25bn funding and flags AI innovation, 15 October 2025, link
[5] ORR, Annual assessment of National Highways’ performance – April 2025 to March 2026, 17 July 2026, link
[6] Gov UK, The Defence Investment Plan Funding explainer, 30 June 2026, link
[7] New Civil Engineer, Infrastructure funding cuts to enable DIP will lead to 10,000 job losses – report, 3 July 2026, link
