Transport Secretary promises ‘vision-led approach’ for project funding

Assessments of which transport projects should receive Government funding will be overhauled to focus on a “vision-led approach”, a Cabinet minister said.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said the switch could have “a lasting impact on transport for decades to come”.

Governments have often been accused of basing transport funding decisions on how much money is expected to be generated by a project, which can often lead to regional disparities favouring south-east England.

In a speech at the New Statesman Politics Live event in Westminster, Ms Haigh said transport infrastructure should be used to “drive the type of outcomes we want to see” – such as more jobs, improved access to education and healthier communities – but that is “often not how we’ve used appraisal information”.

She continued: “That will change. I want to move to a vision-led approach to planning infrastructure, where we work together to consider the type of places we want to live and work, the different ways people want to travel, the deprived communities we want to support the most, and design transport systems that enable those outcomes.

“Getting this right will rev up transport as an engine for social mobility and economic growth, and ensure the decisions we take create more opportunity, for more people, in more places.”

Ms Haigh went on to say “the work to rebuild and renew Britain has begun”.

She admitted that “change won’t come easy, nor will it happen overnight” but echoed the words of Baroness Castle, who was Labour MP for Blackburn from 1945 to 1979, adding: “In politics, guts is all.”