HA and councils join forces in efficiency push

Ten councils and the Highways Agency (HA) have joined forces to form the Midland Highways Alliance (MHA), a new scheme they hope will increase contract efficiency by 10%.

The MHA, which is designed to deliver highways maintenance and capital works at a regional level through framework agreements, estimated that projects worth around £50m will be procured in the first year.

This should increase to £150m in the following years as public bodies come under increasing pressure to deliver efficiency gains in the face of budget constraints.

HA chief highway engineer Ginny Clark said: "We are pleased to be part of the Midland Highway Alliance, the first partnership of its kind and leading the way for driving forward the delivery of real efficiency savings across projects in highways authorities."