The Committee considered a report which outlined the progress to date following The Highway Service Contract Peer Review which was undertaken by Future Highway Research Group (FHRG) in Spring 2024.
A comprehensive, independent, and external assessment of the services in the scope of the Council’s Highway Service Contract was undertaken. It also compared how the Council’s services were rated against other Highway Authorities comprising FHRG’s 40 members.
The Council intended to commission FHRG to undertake a further review in two to three years’ time to measure progress.
Following the review an action plan had been developed which addressed the recommendations and the actions being taken.
Whilst officers acknowledged that it was a positive that FHRG had placed the Cheshire East Council 14th out of the 40 members they wanted to do better. To improve on this there would be more work conducted in respect of external benchmarking, better engagement with members to help support them with effectively communicating with residents and a review of current services and adapting those to look at the wider resilience and effectiveness of the service provided.
Officers welcomed the suggestion of using artificial intelligence within the service and informed members that they were using it in some instances, but they were mindful that they needed to build a platform ready for supporting the broader use of the technology across other areas of the service.
Members welcomed the report and action plan and complimented the officers on providing good value for money and good collaborative working.
RESOLVED: (Unanimously)
That the Highways and Transport Committee
1. Note the progress made with the implementation of the Improvement Action Plan to date.
2. Approve that the Director of Transport and Infrastructure continues to progress implementation of the Improvement Action Plan in Appendix 1.
3. Notes that progress with the plan will be monitored and managed through:
a. the Place Directorate Management Team; and
b. in conjunction with Cheshire East Highways through the Transportation and Infrastructure Partnership Board, with any significant issues reported to the committee.
4. Approve that the Director of Transport and Infrastructure commissions a further peer review before April 2028 to assess progress.