The immediate agenda - Transport Policy and Planning in Great Britain - page 401

b the levy is unrelated to the estimated financial gain derived by individual

developers (the stumbling block which defeated the original PGS proposal)

c the levy is related to the additional aggregate costs which an authority expects

to incur in an area as a consequence of the planned new development (plus an
element for contributing to sub-regional infrastructure).

However CIL is similar to PGS in that the formula for the charge will be pre-
determined (DCLG 2008c). As a result delays through negotiating s106 agreements
will be reduced and the proportion of 'free-riders' eliminated.
The Government proposes that the policy towards CIL in a particular area will
form part of its development plan. This will enhance the planning process by enabling
planning authorities' proposals to be examined with greater rigour and certainty as
far as the provision of related infrastructure is concerned. It should also enable more
appropriately funded and better integrated and managed development programmes to
be delivered.

23.9 The DfT's current 'vision' and targets
To conclude this chapter we report on the 'vision' set for the DfT in the Delivery
Agreement relating to transport included within the 2007 Comprehensive Spending
Review (HM Treasury 2007b). By its nature and relative to the sort of strategic vision
one might hope the Department was working towards it is narrowly prescribed and
short term, being geared essentially to the three years 2008/09-2010/11. However it
encapsulates the present role of the Department as seen within Government and the
trajectory within which longer term prospects deserve to be considered. As such it
provides a useful bridge into the following chapter.
The basis of the strategy underpinning the PSA is acknowledged to be Eddington's
Study of transport's role in sustaining the UK's productivity and competitiveness. It
therefore has a somewhat circular, self-fulfilling character - the Treasury sets the brief
for the Eddington Study and then uses its recommendations as the basis of steering
the Department's work. With the exception of three other PSAs to which transport
is recognised to be a significant contributor (see footnote to Box 23.6) other possible
perspectives do not get a look in. The PSA is specifically focused on the contribution
of transport to economic growth:

The Government wants a transport system that enables sustained economic
prosperity and addresses the needs of the travelling public.
Successful delivery of this PSA will mean, in the context of rising demand for
travel, improvements in the reliability and capacity of those parts of the transport
system where networks are critical in supporting economic growth and where
there are clear signals that these networks are not performing …
The Government's ambition over the 2007 CSR Review period is to minimise
congestion and other costs, relative to what would otherwise be expected. The
ambition extends beyond more efficient application of existing approaches and
includes new ideas and concepts which will maximise the benefits delivered.
(ibid. paras 1.1-1.3)

The overall approach is therefore essentially the one followed by the Government
since 2000, but more focused to take account of the particular insights and