Issue - meetings

To receive an overview of the financing of sustainable transport provision in Haringey (Joan Hancox, Head of Sustainable Transport)

Joan Hancox also provided the panel with a background briefing on the financing of the sustainable transport service in Haringey.  The total budget for the service is approximately £10m which is obtained through a number of funding streams, most notably through Transport for London (about £4.1m) and investment from Haringey Council (about £5.7m).

Local consultations have shown the importance of local footways and roads and this is reflected in the current capital investment where about 40%-50% of current investment is on roads and footways.  There has also been significant investment in local cycling infrastructure and road safety schemes.

The amount of money which is spent on local behaviour change initiatives (i.e. school travel plans, travel awareness and education) is a relatively small part of the overall budget: probably about 5%.  There is a local perception that more can be achieved with further investment in local behaviour change initiatives (i.e. help to encourage more people out of their cars).  All smarter travel initiatives are currently funded through Transport for London.

The service has a revenue budget of approximately £7m of which the main expenditure items are associated costs for 60 staff (£2.5m) and contactor costs (£1.9m).  It was also noted that about £600k of savings have been achieved from the budget over the past 12 months.

The service is also reliant on fees for income; these are, for example, levied against utility companies that undertake work on the boroughs roads, or businesses that deploy scaffolding.  The authority does not charge for all roads however as some are managed exclusively through Transport for London.  The Panel requested a list of which roads were subject to charging [Agreed see 5.17]