Archived decisions

APPENDIX 2

Topic: Consultation on Local Transport Plan 3 Guidance

Date: 22-12-08

Author: Geoff Hobbs

For: John Buckett

1. Purpose of Note

To provide a summary of the above stated document, that was published by DfT on 18-12-08.

The draft Guidance explains the changes to the statutory framework for Local Transport Plans brought about by the recent Local Transport Act 2008, which amends the Transport Act 2000. It explains the strategic policy context within which local authorities should write their Local Transport Plans (LTPs). It offers advice on the process to be followed when developing and delivering plans. It is accompanied by a separate Policy and Best Practice Handbook, containing references to policies and best practice on specific areas.

The Guidance applies to all LTPs after the 2006/07-2010/11 round, has effect until further guidance is produced and also applies to any amendments to current Local Transport Plans made after 9 February 2009.

The DfT is seeking comments from Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) on four areas of the draft guidance, detailed at the end of this note. Final guidance will be published in summer 2009.

2. Local Transport Act 2008

This became law on 26 November 2008. The statutory requirement to produce an LTP remains in place, but with greater flexibilities for LTAs.

The LTP3 must include both policies (i.e. the strategy) and an implementation plan.

The strategy should set out the area's key challenges and how they should be addressed. It should state clearly what the authority wants to achieve, and how it intends to do it.

The implementation plan should complement the strategy, acting as a detailed business plan for implementing the changes set out in the strategy. This may include a funded programme of transport improvements, key milestones and risk assessment. It should be informed by deliverability and likely available funding.

Strategy and implementation can be dealt with within a single document, or separately. The Act enables LTPs to be replaced as LTAs see fit, instead of renewing them every five years. If it is decided to deal with policy and implementation separately, then the two parts can be renewed on different timescales. LTAs can:

· decide to continue with the current approach of five-year LTPs; or

· make the strategy element of their Plan look forward 10 to 20 years, in order to align it with the relevant regional strategy; or

· decide that the implementation plan element of the LTP could span a shorter time period than the strategy (e.g. 3 years); or

· a group of local authorities might produce a joint strategy, but each produce individual implementation plans beneath this.

LTAs have the option of replacing their existing LTP2 before they expire in April 2011.

LTAs will not be required to produce a separate bus strategy. Bus measures should be integrated into the core LTP strategy and the implementation plan.

In developing their LTP3s, LTAs will need to have regard to the transport needs of older people and people with mobility difficulties when developing transport plans and policies.

The Act adds a new requirement to have regard to the needs of disabled people, both in developing and implementing plans, thereby broadening the scope of the legislation to bring it in line with the Disability Discrimination Act.

3. Policy Context for preparation of LTP3s

Delivering a Sustainable Transport System

Subject to the current DfT consultation on Delivering a Sustainable Transport System launched in November 2008, the following five goals will effectively replace the shared priorities of LTP2 guidance:

1. Support economic competitiveness and growth

2. Tackle climate change

3. Promote equality of opportunity

4. Contribute to better safety, security and health

5. Improve quality of life

Each LTA should consider the relative importance of the five goals for their area or for different parts of their area. Freedom exists to refine them, or include local, additional objectives if the LTA wishes. The LTA should also consider the related challenges, particularly those considered most relevant to city and regional networks.

Climate Change

The Climate Change Act 2008 commits central Government to reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the UK economy by at least 80% on 1990 levels by 2050.

The DfT is developing a strategy for reducing emissions from transport. Constraints on the UK's greenhouse gas emissions will become more challenging over time.

LTP3 strategies and implementation plans should take significant steps towards mitigating climate change, by encouraging the development of sustainable transport systems, facilitating behaviour change and reducing the need to travel.

In addition to climate change mitigation and adaptation, LTAs should consider how their strategies and implementation plans relate to all relevant environmental issues, including air quality, noise, landscape and biodiversity.

LTP funding

Strategies and Implementation Plans should be based on realistic estimates of the funding likely to be available. Capital funding for both block allocations and major schemes will be subject to Regional Funding Advice. LTAs should have regard to the indicative allocations resulting from Ministers' decisions on that advice. Actual amounts of funding will be subject to available resources, and confirmed as part of three-year Local Government Settlements. Revenue funding will continue to be provided as part of the Local Government Settlements.

The DfT does not intend to link any national performance funding to the quality or delivery of new Local Transport Plans.

LTAs should also consider alternative sources of funding for both capital and revenue initiatives (e.g. the Transport Innovation Fund or Community Infrastructure Fund, Supplementary Business Rates, Community Infrastructure Levy, developer contributions).

Alignment with emerging Integrated Regional Strategies

LTPs should have regard to the broader policies and objectives contained in Regional Strategies. Under the provisions of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill, all regions will be required to prepare Integrated Regional Strategies. Timescales for reviewing and replacing existing regional strategies will vary. LTAs should discuss with regional bodies how they may best work to ensure alignment between their LTP3s and the emerging regional strategy.

Local Government Policy

LTP3s will need to have regard to local strategic objectives as identified in their Sustainable Communities Strategy and to priorities identified in other local documents.

LTP3s must be closely aligned with Local Development Frameworks.

LTP3 development work and subsequent implementation will need to inform the selection of improvement priorities within the LTA's LAA, and vice versa.

Implementation Plans should set out the expected impact of the Plan on the National Indicator (NI) set indicators (including assessing impact on NIs which are not transport-specific, but where transport is a key part of successful delivery). LTAs should ensure that their Implementation Plans are fully consistent with plans to achieve the targets set in the Local Area Agreement.

Where authorities prepare a joint LTP, it will be necessary to secure consistency between the LTP and individual SCS and LAA.

In preparing LTP3s, and determining arrangements for monitoring delivery, LTAs should not be confined to addressing LAA targets and indicators. It is open to authorities to set themselves additional targets and indicators in their LTP wherever this is likely to be helpful in securing effective delivery, while ensuring consistency with the LAA. LTAs may wish to consider targets for some areas which have a longer timescale than the three years of an LAA (e.g. highway maintenance/ asset management).

Where authorities have prepared a Multi Area Agreement they may wish to consider a Joint LTP to contribute to their joint strategy. The boundaries do not need to follow traditional local authority boundaries; they may instead reflect travel patterns.

4. Process of Plan development and delivery

The LTP3 should cover all of an authority's policies and delivery plans relating to transport, explaining how these contribute to the wider local agenda. It should consider the transport needs both of people and of freight.

LTP3s should be reasonably succinct documents, which can be readily accessed and understood by a range of users. To assist with conciseness, LTAs may, if they wish, choose to support the core LTP3 with a number of supplementary documents, for example explaining how the Plan covers particular policy areas, (e.g. walking, cycling, accessibility, parking, freight, buses, road safety, traffic reduction).

Each LTA should ensure that its' LTP3 is:

· clear about its objectives and outcomes

· developed in collaboration with a range of stakeholders

· clear about its relationship with other local and regional plans and strategies

· accompanied by a monitoring framework to measure its success

· accessible to elected members, the public, NGOs, and staff from local authorities and regional bodies

· clear, uses plain language and limits the use of industry jargon

· as concise as possible (LTAs may want to consider the use of an executive summary, and annexes, depending on their audiences).

In order to develop an effective strategy and decide priorities for implementation, authorities should follow the process recommended by Eddington:

1. clarify goals (national, regional and local);

2. specify the problems or challenges the LTA wants to solve (relating to goals, based on clear evidence and data);

3. generate options to resolve these challenges (comparing policies and packages of options);

4. appraise the options and predict their effects (sift, prioritise and package; quantify costs, benefits, value for money and carbon impacts);

5. select preferred options and decide priorities (taking into account affordability, deliverability and risk);

6. deliver the agreed strategy.

A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the LTP3 needs to be an integral part of developing and later delivering the LTP.

Each LTA should carry out an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) of its' LTP3.

In all cases, (especially where authorities decide to include long-term strategies in their Plans), the authority should also decide and include in their Plan their policy for keeping the Plan under review and the proposed timing of alterations and replacement.

Government Offices will work closely with authorities as they develop their new Plans. They will expect to meet at least annually with each authority or group of authorities to discuss progress on the preparation and implementation of their LTP. In addition it is anticipated that a more formal meeting with senior local authority officials will be held at least every two years.

The planning and delivery of transport will be an important area for consideration in CAA.

The DfT may take into account the overall quality of an authority's LTP, and of its delivery, where this is relevant to its decisions.

LTAs should consult on both strategies and implementation plans. Consultation methods should include both established and more innovative approaches to obtaining public views. The LTP3 needs to take account of other responsibilities (such as the Network Management duty, the Transport Asset Management Plan (TAMP), Air Quality Action Plans, Rights of Way Improvement Plans (RoWIPs)).

Performance monitoring should be an integral part of managing the LTP programme. A strong LTP will include ambitious target setting, clear trajectories and close monitoring of delivery.

Evaluation of policies and measures, should be carried out to help measure the impact of schemes, to know whether similar measures should be pursued in future, and to judge where best to direct funding.

Consultation Questions

The consultation invites Local Transport Authorities to provide comments on the draft guidance. Views are sought on the following four aspects in particular:

1. Is it clear what is required of LAs in producing an LTP, bearing in mind the changing nature of the relationship between central and local Government as discussed in the guidance?

2. Does the guidance strike the right balance between brevity and giving support to authorities in developing plans?

3. Does the approach to the Policy Handbook work, including having a web-based version that can be updated?

4. Is the guidance clear and understandable to a non-transport audience?

Timetable

The closing date for the consultation is Thursday 9^th April 2009. Comments can be made by post or via e-mail.

We propose to take this note to the January meeting of the Policy Forum and the H&T service stream as well as raising it at the Asset Management and Traffic Manager Boards.