The Infrastructure Podcast: Episode 15

Guest: Martin Tugwell, chief executive, Transport for the North

Fixing the North's transport systems

In this podcast we try to understand a bit more about the challenge of fixing transport in the North - and how Sub-National Transport Bodies like Transport for the North can help to drive the vital investment required.

And yes - I renamed this podcast because feedback suggested the original title "Understanding the role of Sub-National Transport Bodies" was just a little too obscure and not "grabbing" enough!
 
So we start by asking what exactly are Sub-National Transport Bodies (STBs) – what are they, what do they do and why do we need them.

STBs were created by the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act in 2016, and there are now seven Sub National Transport Bodies covering different regions of the UK. The intension is to provide strategic transport policy leadership at a larger scale than is possible by the existing local transport authorities or local authorities individually.

Of the seven currently in existence, only one - Transport for the North - has been given statutory powers – and as such, from 2018 TfN has been a statutory partner to the Department for Transport, National Highways, and Network Rail to ensure that the North's pan-Northern strategic transport priorities are developed and delivered. 

The rest, bodies such as Transport for the South East, Transport for the East, England’s Economic Heartland, Western Gateway and Peninsular Transport and Midlands Connect operate in shadow form, advising and cajoling but without formal powers to act.

That said, they do hold influence and, by bringing together local authorities, businesses, communities and asset owners, they should able to make significant cross border difference in terms of where sone vast sums of devolved and centralised public cash is focussed. 

But do they in reality? Well to discuss this it is my pleasure to welcome Martin Tugwell to the Infrastructure Podcast. Martin is chief executive of Transport for the North and the former leader of England Economic Heartland so probably knows more about STBs than anyone in the UK! 

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