Budget casts doubt over future of Scottish RTPs

05 December 2007

The Scottish Government has left it unclear how Scotland’s draft regional transport strategies will be delivered, fuelling speculation that the SNP administration will axe regional transport partnerships.

The Budget for the period up to 2010/11 provided no allocations for the draft regional transport strategies, as expected. The Society of Chief Officers for Transportation in Scotland said there was now ‘a debate about if and how proposals in the various strategies are to be taken forward’.

The regional transportation partnerships, established by the previous Lib-Lab administration, were due to receive funding to deliver the strategies, submitted to the-then Scottish Executive, back in March. But the only capital funding for transport included in the Budget was for local authorities – in a single capital pot that is increasing by 13%, but having to meet new Scottish Government pledges on schools and social services – and Transport Scotland.

SCOTS chair, Ken Laing, told Surveyor: ‘If the regional partnerships don’t have control of any funding, the agreed strategies might not be delivered.’

The strategies set out the need for multibillion investment across Scotland over the next decade, including, for example, a £1bn programme for the west of Scotland to tackle bottlenecks and missing links in the road and public transport network. There was speculation that the SNP wanted to sideline the partnerships, or even abolish them.

Alison McInnes MSP, Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson, said: ‘The SNP has left a large question mark hanging over the future of the regional transport partnerships, which have successfully strengthened the planning and delivery of transport.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government confirmed that it would not be giving funding directly to the regional partnerships, as expected. But, he said: ‘We are continuing to fund the regional transport strategies, but want the partnerships to work more closely with local authorities. Local transport schemes in the strategies can be paid for by the capital funding for local authorities, which is to increase by 13% next year.’

Ministers would sign off the strategies, as promised by the previous administration, ‘in due course’. But McInnes claimed that ‘the levels of capital and revenue provided in the Budget will fall far short of that required to make regional, as well as local, improvements to transport, prejudicing the RTPs’ ability to deliver the strategies’.

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Budget casts doubt over future of Scottish RTPs

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