Local communities
and businesses could be given control of decisions and budgets for
major local transport schemes in their areas, under proposals
announced for consultation by Transport Secretary Justine Greening
today.
The new system could potentially see decisions on capital funding
for local schemes - including new local roads, public transport
schemes, better pedestrian routes, and new local rail stations -
devolved to democratically accountable local transport bodies.
Currently central government must approve all schemes over £5m.
The Government is proposing that from 2015 local transport bodies
will be able to decide for themselves how to spend their money on
priorities best suited to their local needs without Whitehall
approval.
Transport Secretary Justine Greening said:
“We want a system that is much more responsive to local needs and
it makes good sense to give local residents and passengers a
greater say in the transport infrastructure that they rely on so much.
“These proposals could hand real power to communities so they can
make locally accountable decisions on what transport improvements
are needed in their area. This is a key plank to our localism
agenda, freeing local authorities from central government control,
so I look forward to responses from across the country.”
The primary role of local transport bodies - involving both Local
Enterprise Partnerships and local authorities - would be to agree,
manage and oversee the delivery of a prioritised programme of
transport schemes from 2015 onwards.
The Department for Transport is spending around £1.7bn on local
transport projects between 2011 and 2015. Today’s consultation
proposes allocating funding to local transport bodies by formula
rather than a competitive bidding process.
In return for devolution, the bodies would need to assure the
Government of governance and financial management arrangements,
accountability for decisions and achieving value for money.
Notes to Editors
1. Consultation Paper : Devolving local major transport schemes
http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/dft-2012-04/ 2. In December,
the Government announced the final schemes to be funded out to the
end of the current Spending Review period (2011/12 to 2014/15).
This largely decides which schemes are to be funded up to April
2015. This consultation paper is about what happens for future
schemes, for the period beyond 2015. 3. The level of funding
available for the period post April 2015 will be decided in due
course. In the meantime, we are seeking views on the formula and
its distribution. 4. The consultation proposes that local
transport bodies decide and agree their prioritised programme of
schemes by next April 2013. 5. Budgets will be allocated by
formula rather than bidding to Department for Transport. The
Department proposes to publish a range of indicative allocations
per individual Local Enterprise Partnership area by August 2012.
6. The Government proposes that the local transport bodies would
be responsible for establishing a balanced programme of local
major scheme priorities for delivery beyond 2015. They would
oversee the delivery of individual schemes, but would not be the
vehicle for their delivery, which would remain with individual
local authorities or other relevant delivery agencies. 7. The
purpose of the consultation paper is to achieve the best outcomes
for the economy whilst balancing the need for developing
sustainably and reducing carbon emissions and putting in place a
system which is fit for purpose in practical delivery terms. 8.
There are 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships, tasked with
determining local economic priorities and undertaking activities
to drive growth and create local jobs.
http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/economic-development/leps 9. The
average cost to central government of a local major scheme under
the previous Government’s Regional Funding Allocation was around
£30m. However, individual schemes ranged from less than £10m, such
as the £5m A631 West Bawtry Road Improvement, to over £200m, such
as the Manchester Metrolink extensions. The vast majority of
schemes by number are in the region of £5m and £30m. 10. There
would no longer be a £5m threshold defining a major scheme,
meaning that a scheme of any size or on any network could
potentially be prioritised and funded within a given allocation,
where this is seen as a local priority. 11. The Government expects
local transport bodies to continue to secure third party
contributions under a devolved system. 12. It is proposed that
individual schemes would need to meet minimum value for money
thresholds, be appraised in line with webTAG (DfT’s well-evidenced
best practice guidance on appraisal and evaluation) and follow the
Transport Business Case framework. But capable local transport
bodies would have the freedom to appraise schemes themselves. 13.
The new system has been designed to encourage decision-making
across Local Enterprise Partnership boundaries to local transport
consortia – groupings of Local Enterprise Partnership areas - in
order to manage a handful of big schemes, which were experienced
under previous systems. However, the Government will not force
consortia formations, which have to be right for local areas.
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