The contemporary policy agenda - Transport Policy and Planning in Great Britain - page 381

Part V
The contemporary policy
agenda
In this final part of the topic we consider the policy agenda as it has evolved since 2004,
in effect taking over from the historical account at the end of Part 2. Recent changes
in development and local transport planning procedures were generally included in
the explanation of these subjects in Part 4. Here the first chapter (Chapter 23) deals
with the main substantive changes in transport policy, notably concerning the national
roads programme and road user charging plus those arising from the Railways Act 2005
and the Planning and Local Transport Bills progressed in the 2007/08 Parliamentary
session.
The period since 2004 has also been notable for the degree of attention given
by the Government to preparing for the longer term as seen from the perspective of
safeguarding and improving economic performance. This is represented by a series of
reports commissioned from the Treasury - from Nicholas Stern (on climate change),
from Julia King (on the scope for carbon reductions in transport), from Kate Barker
(on housing and planning) and from Rod Eddington (on transport and economic
performance). Eddington's report, and the various research exercises contributing to it,
has laid the foundation for a review of national strategy to influence programmes after
2014 which the Government is currently undertaking. In Chapter 24 we summarise
the findings of these reports and set them in the context of other work on longer term
transport scenarios.
The final chapter (Chapter 25) is in the nature of a personal reflection on the
strategic issues to be addressed given the need to pursue the overarching goal of
sustainable development within a rapidly changing and very uncertain era.