To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding the local transport authority in (a) Suffolk, (b) Bedfordshire, (c) Cambridgeshire, (d) Essex, (e) Hertfordshire and (f) Norfolk received (i) in total, (ii) per mile of road and (iii) per head of population in each year since 1997. (187618)

My hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron), the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, provided this information up to and including 2006-07 in her reply of 22 March 2007, Official Report, columns 1048-50W. Table 1 contains the equivalent figures for 2007-08. The final amount of some funding is dependent on how much is actually claimed and the figures include the current estimate of what will be claimed for the rest of 2007-08.

Table 1 also includes final figures for 2006-07 for Cambridgeshire, which have been revised from the previous answer in the light of further information, in particular in respect of their Guided Bus Scheme.

Total local transport funding, as included in table 1, comprises:

capital for the delivery of local transport plans, including for major local authority schemes, (which can vary substantially from year to year and between authorities);

specific grants to local authorities for bus services;

the specific road safety grant (which started in 2007-08);

the Community Infrastructure Fund; and

the Transport Innovation Fund

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the budget was for transport for the South West in 2006-07; and who is responsible for the timescale within which these funds were spent. (190770)

[holding answer 29 February 2008]: In addition to investment on the strategic road network and support for passenger rail services through franchise contracts and grants to Network Rail for operating the network, the South West benefits from transport funding allocated at the regional and local level.

At the regional level, an indicative £86 million in respect of transport was included in the South West Regional Funding Allocation for 2006-07.

Local authorities, and the Highways Agency in the case of trunk road schemes, are responsible for developing and delivering major schemes. The exact timing of implementation and funding of each scheme is subject to advice from the region on prioritisation, to satisfactory appraisal, and to securing all necessary statutory powers and Government approvals.

At the local level, £173.7 million of capital funding was allocated in 2006-07 to upper and single tier local authorities in the South West for integrated transport improvements and highways capital maintenance. In addition revenue funding is allocated to local authorities through the revenue support grant system, and there are a few specific grants supporting transport services, for example Rural Bus Grant. In general, the funding provided is not ring-fenced, and local authorities are responsible for decisions on its use including the timing of this investment funding.