Transport Committee to investigate how Government sets strategic transport objectives

The House of Commons’ Transport Committee has launched a new inquiry that will examine how the Government develops strategic objectives for transport policy.

The inquiry was Inspired by proposals pitched to the Committee during its Our Future Transport campaign, which saw experts and academics present ideas to the MPs on what subjects they should investigate next.

Building on pitches from Martin Tugwell of Transport for the North and Malcolm Brown of Angel Trains, the inquiry will examine how effectively the Government works across departments to set strategic transport objectives, and how these objectives do — or should — influence decisions on investment in services, networks and infrastructure.

The committee heard that future investment planning is mostly done on the basis of individual transport modes or specific programmes, often with local and regional government and arms-length bodies advocating for new infrastructure, revenue funding or powers to support and improve services in their area.

Funding for some modes is both short-term and in short supply, with resources often allocated by competition. Both the Institution of Civil Engineers and the National Infrastructure Commission are among organisations who have recently set out the case for a strategic transport vision at a national level to guide policy and investment decisions.

MPs will investigate the extent to which the Government takes a long-term, national and multi-modal approach to predicting, providing for, maintaining and developing the country’s transport needs. They will also assess what difference the adoption of clear, national strategic objectives for transport could make.

Transport Committee Chair Iain Stewart MP said, “We will ask the overarching question — what are the Government’s strategic objectives for the transport sector and how are they prioritised? From there, we will examine how those objectives do, or should, influence decisions on investment in services, networks and infrastructure.

“Inspired by the proposals submitted by Transport for the North and Angel Trains, we plan to dig into the extent to which the Government takes a long-term approach to joining up different modes of transport, and works effectively across Whitehall, for the benefit of communities across the whole country. Our own objective will be to recommend changes that help the Government ensure its future plans dovetail and aren’t made in siloes.”