Five-year contract to underpin targeted maintenance planning
The London Borough of Ealing has appointed Preston-based consultancy XAIS-PTS to deliver highway condition monitoring services under a framework valued at £33 million excluding VAT (rising to £39.6 million including VAT). The agreement, awarded under Lot 2 of Ealing’s Highways and Transport Services Framework, began on 1 April 2026 and runs to 31 March 2030.
The contract will fund annual inspections of carriageways and footways, producing condition ratings that councils can use to plan repairs and to make the most of constrained maintenance budgets. While Ealing procured the framework, it is available for use by all London boroughs and the City of London Corporation through existing access arrangements, offering a single route to buy specialist monitoring services across the capital.
How the monitoring will work
XAIS-PTS will use survey data from 2024 as the baseline to track changes in network condition year-on-year. Inspections will follow recognised industry standards to generate detailed reports and condition scores. That information is intended to feed directly into:
- annual and four-year structural maintenance programmes;
- prioritisation of repairs where evidence shows the greatest need;
- a longer-term highway asset management strategy to guide future investment.
The framework is structured on a call-off basis. Participating authorities will commission surveys and related services as required, rather than committing to fixed volumes up front. Individual contracts under the framework can be awarded either through further competition or directly, where the terms permit.
Local consequences and wider London access
For Ealing residents the change means more routine, structured inspection of the borough’s road network, with the prospect of better-targeted repair work informed by consistent data. That should help councillors and highway officers make stronger, evidence-based cases when deciding how to allocate limited maintenance funds.
Because the framework is open to other London local authorities and the City of London Corporation, the appointment also creates a shared procurement route across the capital. Councils that join can avoid running separate tenders for specialist condition monitoring, saving time and procurement costs while aligning inspection standards and outputs.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Provider | XAIS-PTS (Preston-based consultancy) |
| Framework Lot | Lot 2 — Highways and Transport Services Framework |
| Start date | 1 April 2026 |
| End date | 31 March 2030 |
| Value (excl. VAT) | £33,000,000 |
| Value (incl. VAT) | £39,600,000 |
Practical points for residents and councillors
Residents may see more regular survey activity on neighbourhood streets as annual inspections are carried out. For councillors and officers the consistent datasets should make it easier to:
- identify sections of carriageway or footway deteriorating faster than average;
- target resources to locations where condition data shows most urgent need;
- develop medium-term programmes of structural maintenance with clearer justification to stakeholders and funders.
By centralising procurement for this specialist service, Ealing has provided a mechanism for other London councils to access standardised condition data without repeating costly tender exercises. That could improve coordination across borough borders where highway condition and maintenance needs overlap.
The framework represents a significant investment in data-led asset management. If the annual surveys and subsequent programmes are used as intended, they should help stretch maintenance budgets further and ensure interventions are prioritised by need rather than anecdote.
