Transport and the Economy

HL Deb 30 July 2002 vol 638 cc173-4WA

Lord Berkeley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether, in undertaking economic assessment of new road or rail schemes, they include the potential increase in productivity across the country due to the growth in the motor or railway industry. [HL5606]

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston

Savings in shorter journey times and in the costs of operating vehicles resulting from investment in road or rail schemes are included in the department's appraisal framework for assessing transport investments.

No allowance is made for any other effects on productivity from transport investment. This question was examined by the Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment (SACTRA) as part of their 1999 report Transport and the Economy. SACTRA concluded that changes in productivity across the economy, as a result of transport investment, were too complex and difficult to measure.