What will be the key features of a successful Fund bid? · PDF fileprojects LSTF will support....
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www.steerdaviesgleave.com
Another wait is over. Published alongside the Local
Transport White Paper, the Local Sustainable Transport Fund
(LSTF) guidance is out.
As previously set out in a ministerial statement, analysed
by Steer Davies Gleave before Christmas, the £560m
Fund focuses primarily on local transport with the goal of
stimulating economic growth and reducing carbon emissions,
as well as delivering cleaner environments, improved safety
and increased levels of physical activity.
Many of the expectant themes around supplementary
funding, business and local community support remain. Most
importantly, we now have some clearly set out objectives and
deliverability criteria that will be used to assess the merits of
bids. More about that shortly, as we first return to the amount
of funding available.
Funding available and bidding
As a reminder, the LSTF is worth £560m over four years. Local
Transport Authorities (LTAs) will be given the opportunity to
bid for small packages of under £5m and larger packages of
up to £50m over the Fund period.
The Fund will be a mixture of capital and, critically, revenue,
which will enable LTAs to develop coherent packages
involving both infrastructure and complementary revenue
funded measures, such as Smarter Choices initiatives.
£m 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 TOTAL
Resource 50 100 100 100 350
Capital 30 40 60 80 210
Total 80 140 160 180 560
Source: Comprehensive Spending Review, and associated statements.
What will be the key features of a successful Fund bid?
January 2011
It’s now been confirmed the Fund will support Bikeability
training, taking up £11m in revenue funding for 2011-12.
We know from Norman Baker’s statement to the Commons
that Bikeability will be supported throughout the Parliament
but are less clear about the level of funding after next year.
Similarly, other projects committed for 2011-12, as previously
announced in the December statement, include:
t £13 million for Links to Schools, Bike Club and walking
to school initiatives;
t £1 million for Transport Direct cycle journey planner; and
t £250,000 to take forward business to business initiatives
on alternatives to travel.
This leaves just short of £55m to go round over 80 LTAs in
2011-12 for small projects of up to £5m. LTAs will also be
able to bid for larger packages asking for up to £50m of DfT
money but the bidding timeline means that these won’t be
funded until 2012-13 and then no doubt funding will be
spread across a number of years. We expect the LSTF to
be greatly over-subscribed so whether bidding for a small
package or a larger one, winning bids will have to be very
good.
The bidding process
For small projects up to £5m, the bids for the first tranche
of DfT funding have to be submitted by 18th April this year,
with decisions on successful bids by the end of June 2011.
Bids must be no longer than 20 pages, including any further
supporting material. If you miss that deadline, there’s
another opportunity to submit expressions of interest by
6th June 2011 for the second tranche, with bids to follow by
24th February 2012 and decisions in May 2012.
For larger projects of up to £50m, the process is slightly
different, with initial proposals to be submitted by 6th June
2011, again no more than 20 pages. The DfT will shortlist
these by the end of July 2011 and those chosen to go
forward will be asked to develop a business case by 20th
December 2011. Decisions on full proposals would then
follow in June 2012. A further option is given to submit key
components (up to £5m) of a larger package by 18th April
2011.
Whether for a small bid or a large bid, there is an emphasis
on demonstrating value for money.
www.steerdaviesgleave.comJanuary 2011
Although not a compulsory aspect for assessment, it
would be advisable to start engaging the local Chamber of
Commerce and for developing the legacy, consider the role
of existing and potential Business Improvement Districts
(BIDs). It also seems an ‘easy win’ to consider booking the
local community hall and hosting an interactive workshop
involving the public, voluntary and business groups. And as
well as their ideas, some of the private sector’s money (or
resources) will certainly strengthen a bid.
Assessment criteria
The Guidance helpfully sets out the criteria against which
it will be assessing bids. We’d recommend that authorities
use this to their own advantage by applying an assessment
framework to audit their own bids prior to submission.
For policy objectives, it is compulsory to demonstrate that bids:
t support the local economy and facilitate economic
development - reducing congestion, improving reliability
and predictability of journey times, and enhancing access
to employment and other essential services
t reduce carbon emissions - increasing the volume and
proportion of journeys made by low carbon modes
Bids are treated favourably where they meet some or all of the following further objectives:
t deliver wider social and economic benefits (e.g.
accessibility and social inclusion) for the community
t improve safety
t bring about improvements to air quality and increased
compliance with air quality standards, and wider
environmental benefits such as noise reduction
t actively promotes increased levels of physical activity and
the health benefits this can be expected to deliver
On the deliverability and value for money side of things, the following criteria must also be met:
t represent good value for money and deliver additional
benefits over and above those already planned in LTPs
and/or funded from alternative sources
t financially sustainable with benefits enduring beyond
the Fund period without further DfT support, with plans,
where appropriate, for any guaranteed local authority
and/or external funding support
t incorporate a credible delivery plan with realistic
milestones for progressing the different elements to
completion on time and within budget
t affordable in relation to the overall funding available and
Value for moneyDemonstrating value for money presents significant
challenge for both small and large bids. For small bids the
task is to come up with credible quantified impacts using
metrics like reduction in vehicle-miles. For a large bid a cost
benefit analysis will be required using a NATA-consistent
approach, as well as an assessment of wider impacts.
Many of the measures that are likely to come forward
as part of LSTF Packages (smarter choices, walking
and cycling, improved information) are not ‘standard’
transport interventions where there is a long-standing
and established approach to forecasting and appraisal.
Appraisal of these innovative elements will therefore require
a strong understanding and ability to interpret a broad
evidence base (for example from Sustainable Travel Towns,
such as our work in Darlington), as well as showing how
the evidence has been used in conjunction with local data
and evidence to construct a robust economic appraisal.
This represents a challenge though not an insurmountable
one, as our work on DfT-compliant business case for the
packages of smarter choices measures that formed part of
Manchester’s erstwhile TIF bid showed
Local Transport Plan
What is clear from the guidance is an unsurprising need
to ensure the Local Transport Plan (LTP) is of high quality
in terms of its objectives, challenges and the supporting
evidence base. Areas that have followed closely the DfT’s
LTP guidance in developing their LTP with a strong evidence
base to support their long term objectives will be at a clear
advantage.
The publication of the bidding guidance presents an ideal
opportunity to review and refresh draft LTPs ahead of
their adoption in April to reflect both the LSTF application
requirements and the Local Transport White Paper.
Partnership working
In a nod to the ‘Big Society’, the guidance is particularly
strong on bringing in the ideas and expertise of the
community and voluntary sectors, as well as business
groups and transport operators in developing and
delivering bids. The inclusion of the local community is
important in both design and implementation and there is
a strong expectation that interventions will stand on their
own two feet after LSTF finishes.
“The Department will treat positively in the assessment process those applications which have the support of community interests and incorporate plans for partnership working, including with the private sector.”
www.steerdaviesgleave.comJanuary 2011
the Government’s wish to maximise the number of bids it
can support
t includes a commitment to make a local contribution
towards the overall costs. This might include formula
grant, section 106, funding from a health body,
European funding, lottery funding, transport operators or
civil society or the private sector
Bids will be treated favourably where meeting some or all of the further objectives:
t have the support of a range of community interests
t incorporate plans for partnership working in the
design and delivery of solutions with external bodies,
which could include the private sector, community and
voluntary sector organisations and transport operators
On top of this the DfT’s guidance is pretty clear that unless
there’s some sort of cross-authority working, LTAs are very
unlikely to get more than one award from the Fund.
Types of projects
It seems sensible to close by looking at what types of
projects LSTF will support. Section 15 of the guidance
provides a list of some possible packages, offering a
broad indicative menu of measures from ticketing to
road safety and traffic management to park and ride,
and, more predictably, walking, cycling and car clubs.
The emphasis is on the local transport, with a steer: “the
Fund is not designed to support major infrastructure or
servce enhancements in relation to inter-urban journeys”.
The assessment criteria is clear that projects should be
sustained beyond the Fund period without support from DfT.
To conclude
What’s clear is that pulling together a successful bid is
going to be tough. Times are such that we would expect
every LTA to bid, so expect the fund to be over-subscribed.
Taken together, the DfT’s minimum criteria are demanding.
LTAs will need to work hard to make sure that their bids
don’t fall at the first hurdle. One of the major challenges will
be getting the right partners together, backed by a lasting
funding contribution to create a legacy. The single award
per LTA rule means that it will be important to get the bid
right first time. What’s also clear to us is that dusting off
that bundle of measures that didn’t quite make it into the
LTP Implementation Plan or has been on the books for quite
a while is unlikely to cut the mustard with Marsham Street.
It’s time for new ideas and partnership working.
If you wish to discuss the details of any bids please
contact:
Jon Foley 020 7910 5000
David Moffat 0113 389 6400
Chris Ferrary 020 7910 5000
Steven Bishop 020 7910 5000
