Final Local Transport Plan 2006/07 - 2010/11

The structure through which transport decisions are developed, taken and scrutinised is shown in the chart overleaf. This structure has been developed to enable effective joint working of the ten Greater Manchester authorities (via the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities) and the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority together with stakeholder input and scrutiny, to both prepare and monitor the implementation of the LTP.

Greater Manchester is currently in dialogue with ODPM about the future governance within city region. A case is being prepared which advocates a strategic board for transport within Greater Manchester. This would be one of a number of such boards operating within a framework of accountability via a high level Executive Board, comprising the Leaders of the 10 Greater Manchester Authorities. The Executive Board would act as the primary commissioning agent for key services and activities for the conurbation as a whole, act to integrate, at a strategic level, key public agencies across the conurbation and provide a clear focal point for regional agencies and Government at the level of the city-region.  Within this framework the strategic board for transport would assume the responsibility for the development and implementation of the Integrated Transport Strategy for the city region. It would deliver the integrated plan through a restructured Passenger Transport Executive that would become a new equivalent of Transport for London -"Transport for (Greater) Manchester"

The main bodies within the current structure are detailed below.

AGMA Executive

This group comprises the Leaders of each of the ten District Councils.  The Chair of the Passenger Transport Authority is also in attendance. It provides the political steer for transport policy and plan development.

GM Passenger Transport Authority

The Passenger Transport Authority is the statutory body which assess the public transport needs of Greater Manchester and makes policy decisions about public transport provision. It is made up of 33 councillors appointed by the 10 local authorities Councils in Greater Manchester. The Authority provides a grant to GMPTE which is the body responsible for implementing the Authority's policies. GMPTA does not directly provide bus, train or tram services, which are now operated in the private sector.

AGMA Transport Executive Members’ Panel

This is the political advisory level for LTP policies and programmes. It comprises the Executive Members responsible for transport in the Cabinet of each of the ten local authorities in Greater Manchester, and the Chair of the Passenger Transport Authority is also in attendance. The group provides political advice to AGMA Executive.

Transport Chief Executives Group

This is the highest officer-level group considering local transport policy issues. It discusses such issues before their presentation to Members and clears reports to the AGMA Transport Executive Members’ Panel and AGMA Executive. The Group comprises the Chief Executives of Manchester City Council, Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, the Deputy Chief Executive of Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council and the Director General of GMPTE, advised by the relevant officers, including the Head of the GM Joint Transport Team (GMJTT).

LTP Steering Group

This is the officer level working group which co-ordinates the preparation, implementation and monitoring of  the LTP across Greater Manchester. It comprises transportation planners and engineers from each of the ten Metropolitan Boroughs, together with representatives from GMPTA/E, GMTU, Manchester Airport, GONW, the Highways Agency and the Greater Manchester Economic Development Officers Group. It is chaired by the Deputy Chief Executive of Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council. Reports are presented by the GMJTT, and AGMA provides the secretariat. Reports are circulated to a wider reference group of interested stakeholders.

AGMA Thematic Transport Partnership

The group supports the Greater Manchester Forum in the delivery of particular transport strategy areas of the Greater Manchester Strategy, by agreeing, monitoring and scrutinising an action plan to deliver the transport elements of the Strategy.  It comprises representatives of organisations, agencies and companies involved in delivering transport services across Greater Manchester. A Wider Reference Group will be established to offer specific, technical or campaigning perspectives on issues being considered by the main group, and consideration is being given to the value of an annual conference to widen the discussion on LTP related matters with a large range of interests who have a stake in Greater Manchester’s transport decisions.

Since the submission of Provisional LTP2, two additional groups have been set up:

Greater Manchester Strategy Coordinating Group

Work is currently being undertaken within the sub-region on a number of strategies including, but not limited to, a sub- regional spatial strategy, an economic plan underpinning the City Region Development Programme, a sub-regional housing strategy and the Integrated Transport Strategy.  To ensure that these strategies complement each other a Strategy Coordinating Group has been established, comprising the senior officers responsible for coordinating the development of the individual strategies.  The Group meets on a regular basis to assess the implications of the emerging strategies, which in the case of transport means that it both influences, and is influenced by, spatial, economic and housing considerations.

Greater Manchester Evidence Group

This group of senior officers has been established to oversee the co-ordination of the collection, distribution and analysis of data to provide a common evidence base for a variety of strategies. The group is multi-disciplinary and will enable a more robust approach to be undertaken for the monitoring of strategies and assessing their impact on each other.