Local transport plans - Transport Policy and Planning in Great Britain - page 331

Box 20.1 Features of the 2008 LTP2 Progress Reports
DfT 2007e Local Transport Planning: The Next Steps para 2.6
• Authorities have the lexibility to report on their overall progress in a manner that
reflects their individual circumstances and priorities set out in their LTP2 and
which builds on their overall reporting processes.
• Unlike the delivery reports produced in 2006 and many of the previous annual
progress reports the 2008 progress reports will not be assessed or classified by
the Department.
• The reports will provide the opportunity for a dialogue between a local authority (or
group of authorities in joint transport planning areas) and its regional Government
Office to discuss the progress of its LTP2. This dialogue could provide a forum
for constructive challenge and an opportunity to identify good practice and
discuss emerging problems. Local authorities should extend the dialogue to
encompass local strategic partnerships, public transport operators and other key
stakeholders.
• The main aim of the 2008 progress reports will be to assist authorities in reviewing
their own progress against the plans set out in their LTP2. Importantly, and in
line with the place-shaping policies set out in the Local Government White
Paper Strong and Prosperous Communities, the reports will also concentrate on
identifying any risks and mitigating actions needed to ensure effective delivery of
the LTP2 in its remaining years.
separate bus strategy is removed. So too is the obligation to replace the documents every
five years; authorities will in future be able to review them as they think appropriate.
20.4 The funding context for LTPs
For LTP1 the possible level of funding which each authority might bid for was
speculative. The only guide was its own base level (i.e. the amount it had received in
the previous year) plus the amounts for future years which had been identified for local
transport expenditure in total in the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review.
Since these incorporated large increases authorities were engaging in a very uncertain
bidding game. Major schemes were - and continue to be - assessed independently and
funded on a year-by-year basis in accordance with progress in implementation and
current cost figures.
For LTP2 the DfT retained the formula-based approach for capital spending on
road maintenance but decided to alter quite radically both the criteria for assessment
and the basis of funding for the 'integrated transport' block, i.e. for all other minor
works. The Department came to the view that the system used during the LTP1 period
was 'rather opaque and increasingly outdated' and proposed to replace it mainly with
a formula approach which it described as a 'transparent alternative'. The composition
of this formula was developed through a project group with local authority officers and
published in a Consultation Paper in July 2005 (DfT 2005c).
The formula is based on what is presented as the five shared priorities for transport,
with public transport identified as a separate issue from accessibility. Details are