Halcrow Group Ltd will continue to audit the management and maintenance of the Scottish Trunk Road network for the next seven years, Transport Minster Stewart Stevenson said today.

The announcement comes on the award of a performance monitoring contract following a tender exercise for the seven year commission taking into account both quality and price.

Minister for Transport Infrastructure and Climate Change Stewart Stevenson said: "Scotland’s trunk road network is estimated to have an asset value of over £17 billion and our operating companies currently employ around 1200 people collectively. It is therefore vital that we have in place systems that ensure we continue to give value for money while delivering the highest possible standards of work in a sustainable way.

"This contract will build on the work of the Performance Audit Group to date to ensure everyone working on the operating contracts strives for continual improvement. This approach will ensure this vital asset delivers best value for the people and economy of Scotland."

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The estimated cost of monitoring and auditing the management and maintenance of Scotland’s trunk roads over the term of the commission is around £18m. The contract itself provides assurance to Scottish Ministers and the travelling public that value for money and levels of service are being maintained across the network.

Donald Bell, Halcrow's regional director added: "Halcrow's expert team is delighted to be appointed by Transport Scotland to this important role. We look forward to working with Transport Scotland and its maintenance contractors to deliver value and innovation, putting Scotland at the forefront of international best practice."

The new contract will replace the current contract for the Performance Audit Group (PAG) in when it ends in December 2009. As with the current PAG contract, the new commission will be undertaken by Halcrow working in association with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Scott Wilson and TRL.

As a further development, Transport Scotland has also selected four consultants – IBI Group, Mott McDonald, Mouchel and Serco Integrated Transport - for its Network Operations Framework Agreement. Through this agreement, these providers will support the continued development and innovation of the Traffic Scotland service.

The framework approach is designed to help deliver further value for money by engaging specialist consultants to help support the Government’s objective of improving journey time reliability.

(GK/KMcA)