Transport (Wales) Bill

The Wales Transport Strategy will be a broad policy statement, setting out the Assembly’s vision and priorities for transport and the general direction of policy. There will be consultation, as I have said, which will give the Assembly the opportunity to discuss the feasibility of its proposed priorities and plans with its key transport partners. It would not be appropriate to include costings in the strategy itself. Amendment No. 11, which we do not think is necessary, would place an explicit requirement on the Assembly to fund any costs arising from the issuing of a direction that local authorities should work together to carry out specified transport functions. Welsh local authorities already collaborate on some transport projects through voluntary regional consortia. Clause 4 would enable the Assembly to put this regional collaboration on to a statutory basis. The Assembly already makes funding available to local authorities to carry out their transport responsibilities, and as authorities are already working together—again facilitated by financial support from the Assembly—it is not clear that any extra funding would be required as a result of a direction under Clause 4. Nothing in Clause 4 would give the Assembly the power to impose new transport functions on local authorities. It merely allows them to discharge their existing functions jointly. Indeed, the Assembly’s policy, set within the framework of its partnership agreement with Welsh local authorities, is not to give authorities any new functions without providing funding for the functions in question. In any event, the Assembly could issue a direction under Clause 4 only after consulting the local authorities affected by that direction. This would allow the authorities an opportunity to discuss any funding implications of the proposed direction. The Bill allows the programme costs of any joint transport authority to be funded in two possible ways: either through raising a levy on its constituent local authorities or direct financial assistance from the Assembly. Amendment No. 11A would remove the provision allowing a joint transport authority to be treated as a levying body. A joint transport authority, if established, would discharge specific transport functions previously carried out by individual local authorities. Therefore these provisions should be broadly cost-neutral for local authorities. I assure the Committee that all additional running costs involved in a joint transport authority will be met from the Assembly’s existing budgetary provision. The funding mechanism of the authority would be one of the issues that the Assembly would consult widely on, should it decide to establish a joint transport authority. Any specific proposals would be decided in consultation with local authorities and the Welsh Local Government Association. The aim of the new arrangements would be to ensure that the best use is made of the resources available. If it were agreed that a joint transport authority should be funded by the raising of a levy, the Assembly would need to make detailed provision for that levy by means of regulations under Section 74 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 before the levy could be raised. I apologise for making that lengthy speech. I hope that my explanation satisfies the noble Lord, Lord Roberts of Conwy, and I ask him to withdraw his amendment.