§ Mr. Dudley Smithasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list in the Official Report the transport economic research projects (a) currently being undertaken by his Department and (b) completed since 1980, together with their cost, estimated completion date and brief description.
§ Mr. David HowellA large proportion of the Department's research projects, whether carried out by its own staff or externally under contract, include some elements of economic analysis; the attached list is restricted to projects in which the development of economic techniques or the valuation of commodities not normally traded in money terms is a primary objective.
Completed
(1) An initial assessment of the adequancy of data and concepts underlying the values of time currently in use by the Department in forecasting and economic appraisals, and identifying areas for further improvement. Cost £72,000.(2) Economic evaluation of vehicle delays due to road maintenance, to aid the development of a technique for forecasting life cycle costs of carriageway pavements for different construction and maintenance strategies. Cost £31,000.(3) Development of a framework for the assessment of local public transport policies, for use by local authorities in allocating support to services in non-metropolitan areas. Cost £171,000.In progress
(4) Further development and improvement to accident costings and evaluation fundamental to cost benefit analyses, aimed at identifying more precisely the cost placed by society on injury and death. Estimated cost £40,000. Completion: September 1982.(5) Development and maintenance of a computer program for the economic evaluation of the Department's road programme, including trial applications in the design of several major schemes. Cost—estimated 1980–82—£170,000, continuing.(6) Evaluation of the effects of different levels of public transport subsidy in a range of metropolitan areas, Cost—estimated 1980–82—£50,000, continuing.