Of all the Departments in Whitehall, the Treasury regards the DfT as pretty much top of the class when it comes to project appraisal.  Which should mean that the decisions that are taken on which transport schemes to deliver are always transparent and justified by robust analysis.  Detailed guidance is provided to scheme promoters and their consultants on the analysis, modelling and assessment that is required to support the case for a scheme.  But in the new era of politics, local decision-making, and public sector cutbacks, what does the future hold for Webtag and scheme appraisal?  Should ideas and projects generated at a local level with local consensus be subject to the same level of appraisal? Does the DfT have the capacity to continue reviewing schemes to the same detail? Is there a case for Webtag-lite? How does Webtag relate to politically-driven projects?  Do appraisal techniques need to be revised to better reflect the rapidly changing world we live in?  These are just some of the questions we hope to explore with our panel of speakers and with you, the transport professionals and practitioners who plan, design, appraise and deliver projects for a living.

Keith Buchan is Chair of the Transport Planning Society and has many years’ experience in the field of appraisal.  Keith will set the scene for the discussion and chair the event.

Mark Ledbury leads the DfT scrutiny of the Value for Money assessments put forward by local authorities in support of funding bids including Local Major Schemes and the Local Sustainable Transport Fund.  Over the last five years he as worked on a number of Local Transport issues within DfT including the appraisal of the Manchester Congestion TIF proposals, large public transport schemes and the reform strategy for the Blue Badge scheme.  He was also seconded to the Cabinet Office’s Strategy Unit to work on the Urban Transport Study in the first half of 2010.  Prior to joining DfT in 2007 Mark held economist positions in the Cabinet Office, Strategic Rail Authority and Home Office.

Steve Atkins is Visiting Professor at the Centre for Transport and Society at UWE, and has had a varied career as both an academic and transport planning practitioner. After teaching and carrying out research at Portsmouth and Southampton Universities, he joined London Transport as Policy Studies Manager in the Planning Department. Steve then worked for Southampton City Council before becoming Assistant Director of Planning at the Strategic Rail Authority, and then recently Projects Director with MVA Consultancy.

TPS Members free with membership card. RTPI/TPS Transport Planning Network members £5, Non-members £10, payable on the evening.  Priority will be given to TPS members.  Please register early by emailing pauline.arundel@ice.org.uk with your name, organisation, telephone number and, if you are a TPS member, your TPS membership number.  Alternatively, complete the form attached here and return it to: Transport Planning Society, 1 Great George Street, London SW1P 3AA. Or fax it to: 020 7799 1325