§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures his Department has taken to introduce Integrated Policy Appraisal into policy making. [115727]
§ Mr. JamiesonMy Department has, for some time, been involved in the development of integrated policy appraisal. A tool for carrying out such appraisal—the Integrated Policy Appraisal Tool (IPA)—was developed in the former DETR and forms part of the guidance to policy makers in my Department on better policy making. The tool was used to produce a sustainability assessment to accompany our Spending Round 2002 bid.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what monitoring the Department has undertaken to examine the impact of the Single Capital Pot on the allocation of funding for integrated transport measures. [115720]
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§ Mr. JamiesonBlock allocations to local authorities for smaller (less than £5 million) integrated transport and highway maintenance schemes have been made through the Single Capital Pot since its introduction for 2002–03. Audited local authority expenditure data for that year will not be available until August this year, so there is as yet no firm evidence of its possible impact on authorities" allocation decisions.
Officials continue to monitor the delivery of local transport objectives through the system of annual progress reports on authorities" Local Transport Plans. The next such reports are to be submitted by the end of July.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the change in local authority transport priorities in relation to major capital projects since the introduction of the Single Capital Pot; and what conclusions have been reached. [115721]
§ Mr. JamiesonMajor transport schemes are not funded through the Single Capital Pot. They are funded through separate ear-marked resources.