Light Rail Schemes

HC Deb 19 April 2004 vol 420 cc309-10W

John Thurso

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 26 January 2004,Official Report, column 36W, on light rail schemes, if he will list the light rail schemes that he expects will be under construction by 2010, with their expected (a) cost, (b) construction start dates and (c) completion dates; and what the stages of (i) appraisal, (ii) assessment and (iii) procurement will be. [166005]

Mr. McNulty

Five schemes are currently under development. Of these two have received provisional approval from my Department. They areMidland Metro extension—Birmingham to Five Ways and Wednesbury to Brierley Hill (estimated total cost £227 million; expected construction start 2005 and expected completion 2008); and Merseytram Line 1 (estimated total cost £225 million; expected construction start 2005 and expected completion 2007).

Three schemes have received approval but the estimated cost subsequently increased. The value for money of the schemes therefore needs to be reappraised. They are: Manchester Metrolink Phase 3; South Hampshire Rapid Transit System; and Leeds Supertram.

Bids have also been received for Merseytram Line 2 and extensions to the Nottingham Express Transit. The Department is also in discussions with promoters about further extensions to the Midland Metro, Sheffield Supertram, Tyne and Wear Metro, Merseytram, Manchester Metrolink.

Currently the Department's approach to the assessment of appraisals of light rail schemes includes: Promoters of major local transport schemes submit their bids for central funds as part of their Local Transport Plan (LTP). The business case supporting the bid should be written in accordance with the Department's New Approach to Appraisal (NATA), details of which can be found on the Department's appraisal website: www.webtag.org.uk. NATA involves assessing the impact of the proposal against the Government's five objectives for transport: economy, safety, integration, accessibility, and the environment. The NATA approach includes the analysis of both monetised and non-monetised costs and benefits. The Department's officials examine the case presented for funding, including the benefits, costs, risks, affordability and public acceptability. This usually requires a period of dialogue with the promoters in addition to the information submitted through the written business case. The Department issues guidance to promoters of schemes to help them prepare a business case that meets the Department's requirements. A pre-procurement business case is needed to secure Provision View for funding, which is dependent on the necessary statutory powers being obtained, and the scheme design or costs not changing substantially as a result of further work to obtain powers and the procurement process. Once statutory powers have been obtained and tender received from bidders an updated business case is needed if details of the scheme have changed to secure Full Approval for scheme funding.

The Department leaves the choice of procurement method to the promoter of a scheme, although on larger schemes it will usually consult with the promoter on the approach being taken from an early stage. Promoters may present a case for PFI or capital funding via the same business case process. Capital funding for public transport schemes is usually split between section 56 grant and borrowing approvals.