§ Mr. Ben ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions by what means the relative efficiency of different regimes for public transport provision as between shire counties, unitary and metropolitan authorities, and cities is measured. [36459]
§ Ms KeebleThe Transport Act 2000 places specific requirements upon all local transport authorities to formulate transport policies and publish them as a local transport plan (LTP). It also requires them to prepare as part of their LTP, a bus strategy containing policies detailing how they will carry out their functions in order to secure the provision of bus services.
Our guidance to authorities on LTPs sets out a range of detailed criteria against which each LTP is assessed. These criteria include the development of a bus strategy and the contribution of passenger rail services. The overall assessment of LTPs forms part of our consideration of authorities' bids for capital resources.
In addition, the Local Government Act 1999 places a specific requirement on local authorities to produce Best Value Performance Plans (BVPP) each year. The BVPP should include a summary of the authority's assessment 825W of its performance in the previous financial year with regard to a range of Best Value performance indicators, including those for transport, along with comparisons with similar authorities.