§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the first local transport plans will be published; and when he expects such plans to be placed on a statutory basis. [77178]
§ Dr. ReidLocal highway authorities in England (outside London) need to submit their provisional local transport plans (LTPs) to the Department by 31 July. Full LTPs are to be submitted by 31 July 2000. Publication is a matter for the local authorities, but we expect LTPs to be readily available locally.
We believe there would be advantages in making LTPs statutory and propose to legislate in due course. However, LTPs can be implemented on an administrative basis, which will provide an opportunity to test the system and identify the necessary requirements of any subsequent legislation.