The coalition is confused and stalling over long overdue road policymaking.
Governments have been struggling with a policy for roads for decades. The only time that a strategic national plan was put in place was in 1946 when the first map showing the projected motorway system was published. Since then decisions have been made in an ad hoc fashion.
Since coming to office, the coalition has been promising to set out a comprehensive direction for the major road network. The government wants to deliver more capacity and the Conservatives have talked openly about wishing to bring in private money.
So far they have failed to deliver but with a consultation paper apparently coming out in June this may be about to change bringing to an end the current confusion over policy.
The previous government struggled valiantly to encourage Local Authorities to take up road charging schemes to tackle the issue of congestion and secure investment for public transport. However, only Manchester proposed a charging scheme and that was kicked out by the local electorate in a referendum. The mere hint of a national charging scheme sent nearly two million people to their computers to register their support for a petition on the No 10 website against the ‘proposals’.
What the coalition is really considering is far from clear. There has been much recent media speculation on the issue but the messages are confused ranging from ‘not much change’, to various charging schemes, to new private toll roads and altering vehicle excise duty / fuel duty. All this noise is either a very clever attempt to help test out the options with the public or is a result of a lack of a clear direction.
The strategy has been delayed several times before. Most recently it was believed that that a strategy or consultation paper was coming at the end of 2012, then at the time of the Budget and now not until June. There was also a study into the upgrading of the A14 in Cambridgeshire and its possible tolling on which a decision is still awaited.
The reasons for the delay are unclear but it seems that between them No 10 and the Treasury are worried about having too many winners or losers from any policy. Whilst the Department for Transport (DfT) appears to have been giving the issues some serious, and potentially radical, consideration, confusion at the top of government has meant that revisions and reappraisals have been needed.
The Treasury is taking an ever keener interest in the issue because of declining revenue from fuel duty which is set to continue. If it doesn’t something soon, then there will be a black hole in their finances; fuel duty is not the banker it once was.
But the DfT is not itself blameless. A consistent failure to produce a long promised National Policy Statement (NPS) on National Networks, which was designed to set out the priorities across road and rail, has left a hole in policy which is hindering much needed investment. Add to this the decision to kick aviation into the long grass then a long term vision for an integrated transport network won’t be coming forward anytime soon. It has to be remembered that NPSs have a significant role in underpinning national infrastructure development and a formal standing in the planning system (under the Planning Act 2008).
What is critical is that any policies or options that are put on the table in June are clear, unambiguous, well-argued and supported by evidence. Otherwise the level of public support for change will not be secured. That was a major failing for road charging and the coalition is in danger of making the same mistake. If the public cannot be engaged on this issue then we will revert to piecemeal decisions which would do nothing to address a national issue.
This blog was first published by Total Politics.