Information on key regional and local strategy areas, including Local Transport Plans, Local Area Agreements, City Regions, and Delivering a Sustainable Transport System (DaSTS).

City Regions

DfT provides policy and guidance on how transport is delivered in England’s major cities (outside London), including the Integrated Transport Authorities (ITAs) in Greater Manchester, Merseyside, the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear.

The Department has recently worked with the Cabinet Office Strategy Unit and a number of other Government Departments to consider how transport can best support the success of our urban areas. The results of this study can be found in the Cabinet Office’s paper ‘An Analysis of Urban Transport’, which finds that the impact of transport on the people that live and work in cities goes beyond the benefits of mobility and the economic consequences of congestion.

• An Analysis of Urban Transport

This paper is accompanied by DfT’s ‘The Future of Urban Transport’, which sets out a vision of urban transport based on enhanced mobility, a wider choice of journey options, reduced congestion, better health and enjoyable urban spaces.

• The Future of Urban Transport  

The Local Transport Act 2008 empowers local authorities to carry out reviews of transport governance arrangements in their area and to establish new ITAs where appropriate. These provisions are intended to strengthen governance arrangements in urban areas and to facilitate effective transport planning and delivery.

• Guidance on Transport Governance Reviews

Local Area Agreements

Local Area Agreements (LAAs) are at the heart of the new performance framework for local authorities, as specified by the 2006 Local Government White Paper. LAAs enable local authorities to focus their effort and resources on the priorities that matter most in their area. Authorities should ensure that the work of considering LAAs and National Indicators informs the development and implementation of local transport strategies and policies.

The Department of Communities and Local Government’s website provides details of the priorities selected by every English local authority in their LAA.

• Local Area Agreements

Local Transport Plans

The Transport Act 2000, as amended by the Local Transport Act 2008, requires local transport authorities in England (outside London) to produce and maintain a Local Transport Plan (LTP). LTPs set out the authority’s strategy, implementation plan and targets for improving transport in their community. DfT’s LTP web pages provide links to the LTP Guidance document, published in July 2009, and the Policies and Good Practice Handbook, which contains links to relevant sources of Government guidance and good practice.

• LTP Guidance

The Government Offices in each English region hold regular meetings with local transport authorities to assess progress in meeting the objectives and targets outlined in their LTP and to consider any opportunities or threats to its delivery. Following the 2008 LTP2 mid-term progress reviews, the Government Offices issued letters to each local transport authority summarising the meetings and highlighting the authority’s key successes and challenges. These can be accessed via the link below.

• Local Transport Plan 2 mid-term progress review letters

In line with the 2006 Local Government White Paper and LTP3 Guidance, which places greater emphasis on LTPs achieving local objectives and reduces mandatory targets, future LTP progress reviews will act primarily as a means for the Government Offices to provide support and challenge to local authorities in meeting the stated aims of their LTPs. There will be no formal grading or performance funding, although the outcomes of these meetings will assist the local public service inspectorates in preparing their Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA).

Local Transport Act 2008

The Local Transport Act is a key part of the Government’s strategy to empower local authorities to devise transport policies and initiatives which are appropriate for local needs. The Act gives local authorities new powers to review and propose their own arrangements for local transport governance, and to improve the quality of local bus services.

• Local Transport Act

Research Strategy

DfT’s Regional and Local Transport Policy and Delivery Directorates produce an annual research strategy, setting out their strategic evidence priorities.

• Regional and Local Transport Policy and Delivery Directorates Research Strategy