Local Transport Capital Settlement (Hansard, 14 December 2000)

§ The Minister of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Macdonald of Tradeston)

The Government's transport strategy and investment plans were set out inTransport 2010: the 10 Year Plan, published in July 2000. The 10-year plan provided the long-term framework for investment, which is now being implemented. It will put right the effects of years of under-investment that this Government inherited. The 10-year plan provided for £59 billion of expenditure on local transport—£30.6 billion of public revenue expenditure, £19.3 billion public capital investment, and £9 billion of private investment.

This Local Transport Capital Settlement is the first five-year allocation from the £19.3 billion of public capital investment. The total allocation for English local highways authorities outside London for the period 2001–02 to 2005–06 will be £8.4 billion. The five-year allocation is as follows:

LTP allocations (£ billion)	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06	5 year total
Major schemes, integrated transport schemes, and maintenance schemes	1.36	1.52	1.67	1.94	1.93	8.43
These figures do not sum exactly to total due to rounding.

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Every authority will benefit from this significantly increased funding, which in 2001–02 represents a doubling over last year's allocation for English authorities outside London, with further increases in subsequent years.

Using this funding, local authorities, working in partnership with local people, transport operators, businesses and interest groups, will be able to make a real difference to the quality of transport in their areas.

In making these allocations, we have accepted, or provisionally accepted, 67 new major schemes (those with a gross cost of over £5 million). These include 28 public transport and integrated transport schemes, including bus priority measures and guided bus schemes, to make journeys faster and more reliable with major new interchanges, and 39 road schemes, such as local bypasses and relief roads.

This allocation will also enable authorities to take forward the many smaller-scale improvements contained in their local transport plans. These include improvements to public transport, such as priority bus routes, improved integration, better access to bus, rail, and light rail stations, more park and ride schemes, and improved waiting facilities at interchanges. They also include schemes to make local roads safer and less congested, and measures to encourage cycling and walking.

Within the overall allocation, we have also made provision for authorities to repair local roads and bridges, as announced in the other place on 13 November 2000 [Official Report, col. 492W]. This funding, along with the additional revenue funding being made available through the highways maintenance standard spending assessment, should enable authorities to meet the target to halt the deterioration of local roads by 2004.

Copies of the press notice and a list of allocations for individual authorities have been placed in the Library of the House.