Written question asked by Lord Brady of Altrincham (Conservative) on Wednesday, 10 September 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 17 September 2008. It was answered by Tom Harris (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 September 2008 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Tolls: Manchester

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether it is her policy that Greater Manchester local authorities should begin to repay the £1.2 billion of loans proposed under the Transport Innovation Fund Scheme in 2013, whether or not a congestion charge has been implemented in Manchester by that date;

Answer: The Government awarded Programme Entry to the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities' Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) proposals in June 2008. The £2.8 billion package that AGMA developed combined investment in public transport and a congestion charging scheme. It was produced on the basis that 80 per cent. of the public transport would be delivered by the time that the charging scheme went live in 2013. In considering whether to award Programme Entry to the Package, and commit in principle up to £1.5 billion of TIF grant, we made a thorough assessment of the financial plans that supported the package and the risks associated with its delivery. We concluded that although there was more work to do to further develop the Package, it could be awarded programme entry at this stage. Repayment of prudential borrowing associated with the Package is incorporated into Greater Manchester's financial plans and, as with any prudential borrowing, this will be a matter for the authorities that undertake the borrowing.The grant of Programme Entry does not denote any final commitment to provide funding for the AGMA proposals. The terms of the Programme Entry decision, including financial arrangements, are set out on DfT's website.

Secondary information