3.2 Value for Money

3.2.1 Lancashire’s Scheme Appraisal Proforma

The Scheme Appraisal Proforma was introduced in Section 2.3.2. This Proforma has been used during the preparation of our LTP to inform the selection and development of proposed transport schemes and to guide the allocation of funds by prioritising areas for investment, taking into account national and regional objectives alongside local priorities set by our communities.

The first stage in the development of the Scheme Appraisal Proforma was to establish the scoring criteria that will be used to assess the transport schemes presented in the Lancashire LTP and to prioritise their implementation.

The Proforma ranks all the strategic objectives, and associated scoring criteria, in terms of their importance to Lancashire and their conformity to regional and national transport strategies and sustainability agendas.  This is important to help guide the weighting. Levels of importance used for this Scheme Appraisal Proforma are shown below.The Scheme Appraisal Proforma ranks our strategic objectives, and associated scoring criteria, in terms of their importance to Lancashire, and in conforming to regional and national strategies (transport) and sustainability agenda’s.  This is important to help guide the weighting. Levels of importance used for this Scheme Appraisal Proforma are shown in the following table:

Table 3.2.1

Rank	Level	Component priorities
1st	National	Air Quality Congestion Accessibility Road Safety Quality of Life
2nd	Regional	To support economic growth and regeneration and complement the regional prioritisation processes (RTS & RFA)
3rd	Local	The main issues facing Lancashire as a County (excluding those covered at a national and regional level) include: Regeneration of town and city centres and encouraging urban renaissance, with particular focus on the East Lancashire Housing Market Renewal Area Economic regeneration Rural renaissance and the diversification of rural economies Tourism Crime Health Personal safety Social inclusion   Protection of the environment (natural and built) Protection of agricultural land Reducing the risk of flooding Water quality (surface and groundwater) Reduction of waste

Scores are attributed to each criterion. The scoring method is based on a simple positive, negative or neutral (no effect) system (+1, 0, -1). To complement this, there are additional ‘scoring criteria weightings’. This is due to the need to differentiate between the ‘value’ attributed to certain aspects of the environment, local population and economy etc. Therefore, where appropriate, the scores are weighted according to their value/importance.

In LTP1 we assessed schemes within blocks of similar type of work, on scheme specific parameters. For example, Local Safety Schemes were ranked according to their ability to save casualties. The new scoring method for LTP2 widens the consideration of schemes to determine their contribution to our core objectives and other key issues identified through the Strategic Environmental Assessment of the LTP.

Overall scores for each of our major schemes have been calculated. The method also gives a breakdown of the scores to show how a scheme performs environmentally, socially and economically, and in terms of delivering the shared priorities for transport. This enables comparisons to be made between the schemes.

Our potential schemes will be assessed through the LTP scoring system during their development. At the initiation stage, the estimated outcomes are compared with an estimated cost based on past schemes or preliminary design. As the design and consultation processes progress, the outputs and costs are reviewed, giving an opportunity to withdraw or modify the scheme if it is no longer considered value for money.

We are continuing to develop our Scheme Appraisal Proforma as we believe it is an important tool for analysis which could be applied to all our schemes, not only those included in the LTP.

3.2.2 Ensuring Delivery and Value for Money

Effective and efficient delivery of our LTP2 through our programme is vital. This focused approach resulted in Lancashire receiving the Transport Authority of the Year Award and the Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards. We continue to enjoy the benefits of our partnership working at both local and international levels.

Our partnership working helps us increase efficiency and save money, with various transport services and schemes. Our partnerships also provides greater flexibility, such as extra resources to carry out projects in a short time-scale.

The revenue consequences of schemes will be an important consideration in scheme selection. Revenue implications are assessed as part of the scheme development and their provision will be considered at each project assessment. Unless the revenue resources are identified within approved budgets the capital projects will not proceed.

Coordinated delivery and adding value by integrating transport delivery with other improvements is a key element of our approach. Consideration is given to the timing of schemes to ensure that opportunities are taken to combine maintenance, safety, improvements, regeneration and/or partnership schemes in an area. This has the potential to reduce design, consultation and construction costs, combine funding sources and minimise the impact on the network in terms of its unavailability and congestion.

Schemes are Project Managed using a Prince 2 methodology and all schemes are closely assessed before a commitment to progress to construction is made. To ensure delivery of the programme all schemes are assigned a Project Manager. This is a responsible strategic role, with Project Managers responsible to Department or Section Heads. The role includes;

• taking ownership of the project at all stages
• being a point of contact for all project links including the public and elected members
• managing the budget, risks and timescales
• preparing a project plan, monitoring progress and raising any concerns to ensure the project is delivered on time, on budget and to appropriate standards
• discussing any variations to programme or costs with the senior staff
• ensuring financial, scheme and programme systems are kept up to date
• carrying out post project review and report issues to enable improvement of the service through the adoption of best practices, and designs or processes to provide better value for money.

We keep the overall programme under regular review as part of our active risk management to identify potential delays or cost increases. If unexpected delays or costs arise on any scheme, control measures are taken on other schemes to maintain progress towards targets. The ability to allocate resources in a flexible manner is key to good partnership working and has been invaluable in achieving Lancashire’s excellent record of programme delivery though LTP1.

3.2.3 Transport Asset Management Plan

Lancashire is committed to adopting and developing its asset management practice. The County’s Transport Asset Management Plan (TAMP) is in preparation and will set out our strategy to ensure that optimum benefit is derived from the asset management approach. The principles of the asset management plan have informed the development of our full LTP and the TAMP will contribute to our key LTP objectives. A key theme is the necessity for timely maintenance, based upon deterioration modelling and life cycle planning.

Our new systems will help to determine maintenance requirements of assets at optimum times to minimise the need for more onerous treatments above and beyond routine maintenance. Taking roads maintenance as an example, life cycle planning will reduce the need for deeper treatments, such as reconstruction, which evidence suggests is needed in more of our roads than previous methods identified. It is these deeper treatments that produce the most material for disposal and require the greatest inputs in terms of new materials and energy. Thus treatment optimisation and prioritisation will contribute to minimising the adverse environmental effects of maintenance activities, whilst optimising the contribution to the condition of the transport network from available funds.

Prudent asset management and the minimisation of reconstruction and replacement will help reduce the congestion associated with maintenance works and the detrimental effects on air quality that accompany such delays. The integrated approach to asset management as set out in TAMP will also help to minimise the frequency of disruptive routine maintenance works.

A key output from our TAMP will be integrated programmes of work for all transport assets. The levels of service we provide will fundamentally influence the management of Lancashire’s transport infrastructure. Service levels will be developed as part of the implementation process of our asset management plan, with due regard to the views of stakeholders and elected members, as well as relevant legislation and guidance. Effective asset management requires the development of targets, trajectories and performance indicators to facilitate monitoring of the levels of service we provide.

The collection of performance indicators developed as part of our TAMP enables monitoring at a higher level of detail than the core indicators allow. Some of the more important indicators developed for our TAMP are incorporated into the LTP2 as local indicators.

3.2.4 Development of Lancashire’s Transport Asset Management Plan

To derive maximum benefit from our asset management plan, its scope will include all fixed transport assets that are managed by the county and used by the public.

To ensure that our asset management informs the development of the LTP and contributes to key LTP objectives, there are common representatives on the Asset Management Steering Group and those teams co-ordinating the production of Lancashire’s LTP. Officers who worked on the LTP are attending briefings associated with production of our asset management plan. Lancashire is also drawing upon best practice within the UK via close liaison with a number of other authorities that are developing or have developed asset management plans.

3.2.5 Traffic Management Act 2004

The new Traffic Manager role will provide the County Council with the means to co-ordinate and monitor works on the highway and to minimise the effect these activities have on congestion on our road network.

Lancashire has made significant structural changes in order to respond effectively to changing demands. A major restructure has seen the creation of a Network Manager post, supporting the Traffic Manager with a key responsibility to develop the County’s response to the Network Management Duty.

The new post brings together for the first time responsibilities for highway maintenance policy, including streetworks co-ordination and traffic control systems, creating a framework for stewardship that integrates asset and network management in the most cost effective ways possible. Complementary highway maintenance and network management strategies are being developed that will expand and mature over the period of LTP2 in pursuit of value for money, reduced congestion and disruption.

Supply and demand measures used in network management, such as those to promote specific modes of travel and parking restraint, are covered elsewhere in this LTP. These measures address a range of objectives but also have consequences for congestion and the Network Manager will have a consultative role in considering the congestion impacts of such proposals.

These measures will include the use of ICT systems to manage planned activities across Lancashire, development and extension of the use of UTMC and the systematic review of on-street parking where it contributes to congestion in our main towns.

3.2.6 Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) delivering improved quality and value

Some of the more important Intelligent Transport systems which help us to manage our networks are ;

• use of ITS applications within the UTMC system: e.g. journey time monitoring using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR)
• extraction of Highways Agency network condition information via the Travel Information Highway
• use of SCOOT (Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique) infrastructure, and the associated ASTRID and INGRID databases
• Real Time Passenger Information Systems, particularly with traffic light priority.

The UTMC Common Database Management Facility is used to manage and merge the above datastreams and facilitate dissemination to stakeholders and the general public via stakeholder viewers, websites, media, and variable message signs. A strategy integration facility is under development that will recommend and implement  traffic management strategies in response to congestion incidents. UTMC is used to co-ordinate ITS strategies across Lancashire’s major towns and cities.

Journey time data supplied by ITIS is used for;

• traffic model development for disruption scenarios
• network performance monitoring
• Streetworks co-ordination.

3.2.7 Common Sense Working

Lancashire is renowned for invention and common sense working to maximise the value and impacts of its transport resources by;

• raising awareness of the Network Management Duty across the County Council, including influencing the transport activities of other Directorates providing a range of adult and young peoples’ services
• working with District Councils through professional contacts, community strategies and other Local Strategic Partnership frameworks to embed the need to consider the impact of the Duty into decision processes relating to services such as local planning, refuse and recycling collection
• Action Planning with the Police to reduce seasonal congestion, including sharing data collection technologies, and planning complementary Police/ Parking network strategies
• Action Planning with the Highways Agency (HA) to develop information exchange, signing and diversion strategies and contingency planning under UTMC principles, with initial focus on M6, A6 and A59 corridors
• attending Traffic Manager meetings with neighbouring authorities and establishing a Lancashire-led Traffic Manager meeting with neighbouring authorities
• participation in the Midlands Service Improvement benchmarking groups
• exploring the opportunities for joint working, co-ordination and the reduction of disruption with Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen Unitary Councils. Themes to include seasonal holiday traffic management, real-time passenger information for cross-boundary bus services, the co-ordination of winter, regulatory and other maintenance activities, and strategic diversion strategies using VMS (Variable Message Signs) /UTMC.
• Emergency Planning in response to the Civil Contingencies Act, including network management aspects of site clearance, HA contingency planning, business continuity planning and winter service route planning, dissemination and review
• development of ITS systems to display security alert and flood warning messages, managed via the UTMC common database.

3.2.8 Demand Management

Demographic trends clearly indicate a rise in car ownership over the coming years and demand management measures will be an essential tool in reducing congestion and improving air quality.

With its mixture of cities, towns and rural areas, Lancashire is not seen as a suitable test area to lead on a major congestion charging scheme and we are focusing on measures that we believe will deliver effective use of roadspace and encourage the best use of alternative modes for appropriate journeys. We are also looking to work closely with our neighbours to take the opportunity of potential regional solutions, particularly the measures being developed through the successful bid by Greater Manchester authorities for TIF funding. Opportunities for extending similar measures along key corridors in Lancashire will be investigated.

Measures proposed for implementation in Lancashire include ;

• innovative demand responsive parking measures including pre-booking, demand based charging and flexible payment mechanisms
• local zoned access control for sensitive areas
• introduction of selected use traffic lanes, such as no-car lanes or multi occupancy lanes
• Park & Ride for both Preston city centre and to serve peripheral hotspots such as business growth zones and hospitals
• air quality improvement through vehicle access control including potential low emission zones or clear zones
• personalised Travel Planning
• site centred Travel Planning (schools, businesses, hospitals etc).

Parking management will be a key tool in demand management and we will continue to develop the partnership established through the ParkWise programme working with the twelve District Councils to coordinate on- and off-street parking enforcement, as well as opportunities for rationalising charging regimes. We will encourage the extension of on-street charging in appropriate towns in association with other measures such as residents parking. Through this we aim to achieve and maintain a balance between parking availability to serve commercial and business needs whilst encouraging the use of alternative options for appropriate journeys.

In additional we have planned and are beginning to execute some of the largest Personal Travel Planning schemes in the United Kingdom. Preston, South Ribble and Lancaster districts will take part in major personalised Travel Planning Schemes, which are designed to maximise the use of appropriate local alternatives to the car. Any new schemes developed in this LTP will become part of the switch mechanism encouraging people to use new modes.

We have proposed several business-related schemes to improve the accessibility of employment and hospitals. Notably, the proposal to improve accessibility of Walton Summit in South Ribble will result in local infrastructure improvements, Travel Planning across the industrial estates and changes to local transport provision. This work is being carried out in partnership with the estate management, businesses and Groundwork. We are also continuing to work with local hospitals, and the Optimum2 project (described fully in Chapter 9) will see demand management and accessibility improvements mixed to improve the overall management and experience of visiting local hospitals.

3.2.9 Rights of Way Improvement Plan

The Lancashire Rights of Way Improvement Plan (RoWIP) was completed and submitted to DEFRA in 2005. It was prepared jointly with our neighbouring Unitary Authorities Blackpool Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council with the participation of public rights of way users and countryside visitors. Participants included specialist groups and the Lancashire Local Access Forum and a wider consultation exercise involved the public. The plan will offer new opportunities for cyclists and walkers as well as equestrians and people whose mobility is limited to enjoy the countryside. It will also offer multi-user routes from residential areas into the countryside which will promote leisure and utility trips, contributing to accessibility, healthy living and the rural economy. So that all users can travel in safety, we will keep the paths and bridges of the Public Rights of Way Network in good condition.

We established the Lancashire Local Access Forum in 2001 to advise on the development of the RoWIP and in preparation for  the implementation of access to open countryside. We have prepared guidance to show countryside managers how to increase access to the countryside for disabled people and, in developing the Rights of Way Improvement Plan, we have taken account of the related regional policies and county-wide corporate aims and objectives for healthy living, a high quality environment and safe and easy travel.

The plan has been developed with the vision to;

• improve the network of local rights of way
• meet the needs of local people and visitors better, including those with impaired vision and reduced mobility
• increase people's enjoyment, and the benefits they derive, from the Lancashire countryside.

The Lancashire Countryside Service will care for the landscapes, wildlife and rural communities of Lancashire and provide countryside recreation facilities for the benefit of Lancashire's residents, visitors to the County and future generations.

3.2.10 Transport Service Procurement

The County Council has completed its review of how it can improve transport procurement for the County. This process has the twin aims of ensuring that provision meets both demand and value for money criteria.

The review covered all aspects of procurement including;

• review of social care transport (procurement & delivery)
• review of bus subsidy thresholds (maximum cost per passenger criteria)
• review of education transport (procurement & delivery)
• examination of tendering methods, including ensuring a holistic approach to the procurement of services for education, social care and public transport to ensure value for money
• examination of methods to ensure that sufficient competition exists in the market place for tendered services
• the role of community transport, demand responsive and other non-conventional transport provision in providing a more cost effective transport solution than traditional methods
• assessment of existing administrative methods (tendering, including e-tendering, and payment of invoices).

We also consider that there are further opportunities for better utilisation of our own vehicle resources, through the development of multi-purpose vehicles capable of performing a number of functions throughout the day. In order to facilitate more efficient working, responsibility for transport within Lancashire County Council has already been brought together under the new Transport Procurement Unit. We will continue to challenge conventional thinking and explore new and innovative ways to provide transport services that contribute to meeting our accessibility and congestion targets, in a cost efficient and effective manner.

3.2.11 Value and Programme Management

Our aim is to ensure that we maximise value for money from all our works programmes. We do this in a number of ways.

• In selecting our LTP works programmes we have evaluated options for schemes against criteria, including effects on our objectives and targets, environmental impacts, monetary costs and benefits and public acceptability.
• In designing schemes, we will continue to apply best practice ideas, using our partnerships to add value to our work.
• As part of our Locality Focus Agenda, we will deliver maintenance and planning services more effectively by establishing local offices in the north, east and south of Lancashire.

3.2.12 Value and Road Safety

To gain national and regional road safety awareness, Lancashire’s road safety managers are members of the County Surveyors' Society Traffic and Road Safety Group, as well as national and regional road safety groups.

We will continue to benchmark our performance against road safety Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPI) and refine and monitor the Road Safety Strategy with the support of national road safety experts.

The programme of road safety schemes also provides added value to other areas of our programme. For example, junction improvements will often include an element of road maintenance, while other schemes will involve the resurfacing of cycleways, both improving safety and encouraging more people to cycle.

3.2.13 Value and Travel Planning

Lancashire County Council has been committed to the use of the Travel Plan element of the Smarter Choices toolkit since it helped introduce the concept into the UK and produced the first research under DfT Seedcorn funding, to prepare the blueprint for Travel Plan Implementation and research into the effectiveness of the Plans. Since then, travel planning has developed substantially into a major element of the County Council’s transport strategy. We are currently implementing one of the largest personal travel planning schemes in the UK, based on the cities of Preston and Lancaster. The project is being assisted by Sustrans, using their TravelSmart brand and methodology. The project will deliver personalised travel planning to 50,000 households over the first two years of LTP2. Following appraisal of this work, we will decide whether to extend the project to other areas.

3.2.14 Value and Public Transport

The County Council is an active member of the regional and national Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers networking groups, which share best practice and inform the County Council of new developments in the industry. We are keen to share our experience with other Local Authorities. These include: the marketing of our Quality Bus and X services to Manchester, bus priority corridors, operation of some of the most imaginative and successful rural bus services in the country, development of community rail schemes and the NoWcard schemes. We actively seek expertise from other Local Authorities, particularly those with similar characteristics, to maximise the efficiency of new public transport activities.

3.2.15 Maximising Government Funding with Other Funding Sources

We are committed to giving the people of Lancashire value for money and to adding value to our resources to meet their needs. Lancashire has long recognised the need to supplement LTP funding to deliver improvements to our transport infrastructure. We have brought in additional resources throughout LTP1 that have enabled us to deliver a programme consistently above the LTP allocation through developer contributions, joint projects and European funding.

3.2.16 Developer Contributions

Through LTP1 Lancashire has consistently delivered programmes above the level of resources allocated for the LTP by negotiating substantial contributions from private developers. This policy of attracting contributions underpins the proposed programme for LTP2. The most significant of these contributions to transport infrastructure are through our close working relationship with English Partnerships to deliver infrastructure for development sites. These include major highway infrastructure at Broughton, Eaves Green and the development of Park &  Ride at Preston East.

We have also used partnership working to deliver access improvements to the Regional Investment Site at the Royal Ordnance site in Chorley. A major new access has been funded by the development and designed by the County Council. Further works are planned to improve the slip roads on the M61 to deal with forecast traffic to the site.

In East Lancashire, the development of the Waste Technology Park at Huncoat will provide a new access to the site from the existing junction on the A56 trunk road. We will seek to identify further funding to extend this link to provide a route to link with the Whinney Hill landfill site.

These major contributions are identified in the programme where detailed negotiations have taken place. Other smaller contributions are included at an estimated level based on our experience from delivering the LTP1 programme. Cycling and walking connections are also considered for all developments to ensure that all new construction is connected to pedestrian and cycle networks.

Developer contributions are not confined to capital infrastructure improvements; where accessibility by public transport is not adequate, we seek contributions to provide improved levels of bus or rail services.

Lancashire has been leading the County Surveyors' Society working group to develop more robust methods for Councils to acquire funding from development contributions. The group has undertaken national research as well as considering better integration of policy and developer contributions. In partnership with all the District Councils in Lancashire, a new methodology is being tested which gives a clearer indication to developers how their proposals will affect the transport network, and what contributions they must make as a result of this. Lancashire aims to  maximise the levels of development contributions for transport related projects and link them to objectives and schemes in this LTP.

3.2.17 Value from Joint Projects

Where appropriate, working in partnership with other public or private bodies has brought us excellent value for money and added real value. Some of the more recent projects we have developed in partnerships include NoWcard and PTi Ltd.

The NoWcard scheme has been set up jointly by Lancashire County Council, Cumbria County Council, Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool Borough Councils, in conjunction with local councils in Lancashire and Cumbria. Working closely with bus operators and other agencies, each local authority will be issuing concessionary NoWcard bus passes and equipping buses with new upgraded ticket machines under the NoWcard banner. Merseytravel is also considering joining the scheme.

PTi Ltd is a jointly owned private/public company delivering public transport information in Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool. By combining efforts, significant cost savings have been realised by councils and bus operators, as well as added value in terms of coverage, quality and consistency with national standards.

3.2.18 Value from European Funding

Lancashire has benefited from EU funding from the CiVITAS program, but recently also funding from EU Interreg Atlantic Area funding (e-bygov and Optimum projects) and Interreg NWMA funding (Eurospin projects). We are continuing to work in Europe where it adds value, attracts supporting funding and represents the region in the most positive manner possible.

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