Consultee letter
Commission Document COM (2007) 551 Green Paper: Towards A New Culture For Urban Mobility
Executive Summary
I would like to draw your attention to a recent European Commission consultation document COM (2007) 551 at Annex A (PDF, 200KB).
On the 25 September 2007, the European Commission published a Green Paper on urban transport. In its 2006 Mid-Term Review of the 2001 Transport Policy White Paper, the European Commission announced its intention to publish a Green Paper and it has since been in the process of consulting on possible action at EU level to support urban transport. The Green Paper is the first step to developing an EU action plan on urban transport, which will be delivered in autumn 2008.
The Commission has grouped activity under five key themes, each with a number of possible actions as recommended by stakeholders; these include:
Congestion, Clean transport (Green), Smarter transport, Accessibility, Safety and security. With a final section considering what financial mechanism can be utilised to enable greater urban mobility
Under these themes, the Green Paper poses 25 questions on which the Commission is seeking the views of Member States and other stakeholders. There are also proposals for exchange of best practice in a number of fields including intelligent transport systems, safety and security standards, and technology. These questions are reproduced in a response proforma at Annex B. We invite your thoughts on these questions, which can be submitted using our online response form .
Purpose of Consultation
The consultation will aim to pull together a considered UK position on the EU Green paper and the potential impact it will have for UK urban transport policy.
The Consultation Audience
The Consultation is targeted at Devolved Administrations, National, Regional and Local Authorities, citizens and users of public urban transport, economic groups including the transport industry, stakeholders' representatives and associations and employers/employees in collective transport organisations in the relevant fields. However, comments are welcomed from all.
How to respond
The consultation period will run for 12 weeks from 5 November 2007 until 28 January 2008, please ensure that your response reaches us by that date. It can be found at http://www.dft.gov.uk or you can contact Lec Napal. Alternative format of this consultation document will be sent upon request. Please send consultation responses to:
Lec Napal
Department for Transport,
Europe International & Better Regulation Division, Zone 4/13,
Great Minster House,
76 Marsham Street,
London, SW1P 4DR
Phone number: 0207 944 2103
Fax number: 0207 944 5811
Email address: euurbangreenpaper@dft.gsi.gov.uk
When responding to the consultation at Annex B, please complete the form as fully as you can. When responding please state whether you are responding as an individual or representing the views of an organisation. If responding on behalf of a larger organisation please make it clear who the organisation represents, and where applicable, how the views of members were assembled.
A list of those consulted is attached at Annex D. If you have any suggestions of others who may wish to be involved in this process, please contact us.
This consultation has been produced in accordance with the principles of the Government’s "Code of Practice on Consultation" which are included at Annex C of this consultation pack.
The information you send us may need to be passed to colleagues within the Department for Transport and published in a summary of responses received in response to this consultation (along with a response from the Government).
We will assume that you are content for us to do this, and that if you are replying by email, your consent overrides any confidentiality disclaimer that is generated by your organisation's IT system, unless you specifically include a request to the contrary in the main text of your submission to us.
Please ensure that if you want your name or response to be kept confidential, you state this clearly in your response. (Confidential responses will be included in any statistical summary of numbers of comments received and views expressed.)
Impact Assessment
An Impact Assessment has not been produced to accompany this consultation, as the Commission wishes to consider Member States views on what European action should be taken forward .
What will happen next
A summary of responses to this consultation that will be published on our website http://www.dft.gov.uk after the consultation period has closed on 28th January 2008.
According to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, all information contained in your response to this consultation may be subject to publication or disclosure. This may include personal information such as name and address. If you want your response or your name and address to remain confidential, you should explain why confidentiality is necessary. Your request will be granted only if it is consistent with Freedom of Information obligations. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your email system will not be regarded as binding on the Department.
Yours faithfully
John Carr
Head of EU Transport Policy
Department for Transport
