Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

July 2021

Department for Transport Great Minster House 33 Horseferry Road London SW1P 4DR

© Crown copyright 2021

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ or contact, The National Archives at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/contact-us.

Where we have identified any third-party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is also available on our website at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport

Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport

Contents

Foreword 4

1. Introduction 5

The Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 5

Our approach to evaluation 5

2. The current Programme 8

An overview of the Programme 8

Improve connectivity 9

Improve users' experience of the transport network 13

Tackling climate change 16

3. Projects that have concluded since the last update 19

4. Regulations 22

5. Evaluation publications 23

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

4

Foreword

Evaluation has been a growing part of our analytical programme since we established our Monitoring and Evaluation Programme in 2013. This update of the Programme describes how we are using evaluation on 26 current projects that deliver the government's priority outcomes for transport which are to improve connectivity, improve users' experience of the transport network and tackle climate change. We have also detailed the evaluation projects that have concluded since the last update and provided links to relevant publications.

This update is published at a time of increased attention to evaluation across government. The Evaluation Taskforce has been established at the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury to drive improvements in evaluation to inform future operational and spending decisions. The recent Declaration on Government Reform identified evaluation as an enabler of improvement in policy delivery. Evaluation plans are built into departmental Outcome Delivery Plans to ensure evidence is collected to show what works and what outcomes are delivered. These developments provide a supportive context for our programme.

We will continue to develop proportionate evaluation for our policies. This will be important for improving delivery, providing feedback for our appraisals and informing decisions about future policies.

Amanda Rowlatt, Chief Analyst

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

5

1. Introduction

The Monitoring and Evaluation Programme

The Department for Transport (DfT) uses monitoring1 and evaluation2 to collect evidence about the effectiveness of its interventions in achieving their intended outcomes. This activity informs the development of ongoing interventions, and the options appraisal and planning for new initiatives. For the remainder of this document, 'evaluation' is used to refer to both monitoring and evaluation.

The Monitoring and Evaluation Programme is a published update of progress on the principal evaluation projects of the central Department (rather than the whole DfT family which includes its Agencies and Arm’s Length Bodies). This publication is the fifth since 20133.

This update to the Programme:

• explains our approach to evaluation (in the remainder of this section) • details evaluation plans and progress for the 26 projects that collectively form the

current Programme (Section 2) • provides information about projects that were listed in the last update to the

Programme but have since concluded (Section 3) • describes our approach to evaluation for regulations • lists our evaluation publications since 2014, with web links

Our approach to evaluation

Strategy

Evaluation is an important activity for any learning organisation which aims progressively to improve its performance. It allows for systematic learning from past and current

1 Monitoring is a process for tracking progress in the delivery of an intervention by collecting data on its outputs.

2 Evaluation is the systematic assessment of an intervention’s design, implementation and outcomes. 3 Previous updates were published in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018.

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

6

activities – ‘what works, what doesn’t work’ and ‘why’. This provides greater accountability and a strong evidence base for future decision making.

DfT's strategy for evaluation was set out in our Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy in 2013. That Strategy established five proportionality criteria to guide evaluation planning:

• the scale of investment/potential impact • strategic imperative • delivering statutory obligations • degree of risk • contribution to the evidence base

These broad considerations have been used to identify the priority projects that are listed in this Programme as well as the wider evaluation work we undertake that is not documented here.

Approach

Our approach to evaluation follows HM Treasury’s Green Book Guidance on Appraisal and Evaluation and its Magenta Book Guidance on Evaluation. In accordance with these guidelines, we seek to embed evaluation planning in new interventions from their inception. This can enable both formative learning, to improve design and implementation, and summative learning to understand outcomes. By starting early, we can establish the baseline data, performance metrics and points of comparison that will enable us to understand a programme’s impact.

For major projects, evaluation planning is built into business case development, alongside benefits management planning, as part of the Management Case4. Evaluation plans are reviewed by specialists as part of the business case assurance process. They are now also included in bids for spending reviews, with scrutiny by the government's Evaluation taskforce.

Our approach is informed by our 2016 report on Strengthening the Links Between Appraisal and Evaluation. Its main recommendations were: to implement appraisal handover packs as a method of passing forward appraisal information to the evaluator; to develop portfolio approaches for evaluation to enable meta-analysis to check on appraisal and modelling assumptions; and to align evaluation work with appraisal evidence needs. These approaches were reflected in DfT's 2019 Appraisal and Modelling Strategy and have guided some of the projects in the current Programme5.

Another current priority for evaluation is DfT's growing portfolio of innovation and research and development (R&D) programmes. Evaluation is particularly important for these programmes as their outcomes are relatively uncertain and their need for learning is greater, to guide future decisions. The current Programme includes the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles, the Future Transport Zones and the e-scooters Trials. In addition, we

4 See HM Treasury Guide to developing the programme business case (2018) for more information about the management case as part of the five business case model.

5 For example, the economic and performance impacts of road enhancements and transformational impacts of transport investments studies

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

7

are working with delivery partners for our R&D programmes to improve how evaluation is used to track their outputs and outcomes. This activity forms part of DfT's Science Plan and will be overseen by its R&D board.

Our evaluation priorities are reflected in our annual Areas of Research Interest publications which, like this document, are used to communicate our priority evidence and research needs to external researchers, as well as funders, investors, industry and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Delivery

Most of our evaluation studies are delivered by external evaluation contractors and academic researchers who are commissioned through competitively-tendered frameworks or individual contracts. Another external partner is the What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth6, which DfT funds and which has advised us on some studies and provided helpful evaluation resources.

Several evaluations of local transport projects, such as for the Local Authority Major Schemes, the Transforming Cities Fund and the Future Transport Zones, have been developed with local authority partners. A common arrangement is for DfT to establish a framework to guide local authorities' evaluation activities, backed up by use of a national evaluation contractor to co-ordinate, support and synthesise evidence from local evaluation activity.

Finally, our approach to evaluation has been enabled by growing our internal evaluation expertise. This has been accomplished through an Evaluation Centre of Excellence, which is responsible for promoting, developing and quality assuring evaluations, as well as providing training and other support to build evaluation capabilities among our analysts. We continue to grow our evaluation capacity by embedding analysts specialising in evaluation in policy and delivery teams. This ensures that evaluation activity is tailored to policy need and fed into the decision-making process at the right time.

Further information about our evaluation approaches can be found in the following sections and the evaluation reports which are referenced within them.

6 https://whatworksgrowth.org/

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

8

2. The current Programme

An overview of the Programme

The Monitoring and Evaluation Programme contains 26 current projects for which evaluation is planned or underway. These are listed below and described in detail in the remainder of this section. The projects are grouped under DfT's three priority outcomes7 which are to improve connectivity, improve users' experience of the transport network and tackle climate change.

• Improving connectivity across the United Kingdom and growing the economy by enhancing the transport network, on time and on budget. Local Authority Major Schemes Levelling Up Fund Transforming Cities Fund Future Transport Zones Roads Reform Roads Investment Strategy 2 scoping study Economic performance impacts of road enhancements High Speed 2 High Speed 1 Crossrail Thameslink East West Rail Rail Enhancements Portfolio Transformational impacts of transport investments

• Improving users’ experience of the transport network, ensuring that the network

is safe, reliable, and inclusive. National Bus Strategy Inclusive Transport Strategy Local Roads Maintenance and Renewals Safer Roads Fund

7 These priority outcomes were established in the 2020 Spending Review and were published in DfT's Outcome Delivery Plan for 2021 to 2022.

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

9

Young and Novice Driver Interventions (Driver 2020) Rail Transformation Programme Rail Fares and Ticketing UK Search and Rescue

• Tackling climate change and improving air quality by decarbonising transport. Office for Zero Emission Vehicles Local authority plans to tackle NO2 concentrations Active Travel Portfolio e-scooters Trials

Improve connectivity

This first group of projects supports the priority outcome of improving connectivity across the United Kingdom and growing the economy by enhancing the transport network, on time and on budget.

Local road and public transport investment

Local Authority Major Schemes

Major scheme promoters are required to undertake proportionate monitoring and evaluation to assess whether the scheme has delivered value for money and to ensure that lessons are learned for future investment decisions.

DfT reviews and signs off scheme promoters' evaluation plans, reviews evaluation reports to ensure that they are fit for purpose, and commissions meta-evaluations of completed scheme evaluations. We have previously published meta-evaluations of schemes funded between 2006 and 2010, and of schemes funded between 2007 and 2012. The next meta-evaluation, which will include approximately 50 projects completed since 2012, will be published in 2022. Also in 2022, we plan to update the 2012 Local Authority Major Scheme Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.

Levelling Up Fund

The £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund will invest in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK. It will support town centre and high street regeneration, local transport projects, and cultural and heritage assets. The Fund is jointly managed by HM Treasury, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and DfT.

DfT will work with its partner departments to develop proportionate evaluation plans for transport schemes that are delivered through the Fund. This is likely to entail the provision of a monitoring and evaluation framework to support the development of project-level monitoring and evaluation by local authorities. It is expected that a national evaluator will be commissioned to synthesise project-level evaluation outputs to provide national analysis of the outcomes of the Fund's transport schemes.

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

10

Transforming Cities Fund

The £2.45 billion Transforming Cities Fund is funded until 2022 to 2023, with monitoring and evaluation activity continuing beyond this date. The Fund aims to drive up productivity through improved connectivity, achieved by investment in infrastructure to improve public and sustainable transport links. Encouraging an increase in journeys made by low-carbon, sustainable modes is a central objective of the Fund, including the provision of new and refurbished railway stations, enhanced bus services and better provision for walking and cycling.

All funded areas will be expected to carry out evaluations of interventions made under the Fund. DfT has appointed a national evaluation contractor to conduct the evaluation of the overall Fund, which will draw on local and national data to do so. It is anticipated that learning outputs will include a baseline report, a series of in-depth case studies across the lifetime of the Fund, and a final report produced after the programme concludes.

Future Transport Zones

Future Transport Zones is a £92 million programme of funding for local areas to trial new transport models that incorporate pre-existing modes with innovations. Schemes to be trialled feature Mobility as a Service, mobility credits, transport data projects, demand responsive public transport, e-cargo bikes and drones. Funding began in 2019 with a pathfinder area, Transport for West Midlands, and in 2020 funds were awarded for three further areas following a competitive bidding process: West of England Combined Authority, Derby and Nottingham, and Portsmouth and Southampton (Solent). The programme runs to 2023.

Each funded authority will conduct its own monitoring and evaluation of its schemes. In addition, DfT has commissioned a national evaluation to support local areas with their evaluations, building consistency across schemes, conduct supplemental evaluation case studies to generate cross-cutting learnings, and synthesise evaluation learnings across the programme. This national evaluation will conclude in late 2024.

Strategic Road Enhancements

Roads Reform

Roads Reform refers to a series of changes that have been made to the management and operation of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) since 2014. The reforms aim to create a SRN that gives road users the best quality of service and supports economic growth. Alongside the reforms, the first Road Investment Strategy set out a long-term programme for the SRN, involving over £15 billion of investment during the first road period of 2015 to 2020.

DfT has established Highways Monitor and Watchdog functions at the Office of Rail and Road and Transport Focus respectively. These bodies are a continual source of monitoring and evaluation evidence on the reforms. In addition, DfT has commissioned a theory-based evaluation of Roads Reform that draws on a range of data sources including qualitative interviews with internal and external stakeholders for the principal

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

11

organisations, telephone surveys of businesses in the Highways England supply chain and a review of documentation. Findings from the first two waves of the evaluation were published in 2019. A final wave of the evaluation will be conducted in 2021.

Road Investment Strategy 2 scoping study

The Road Investment Strategy for 2020 to 2025 (RIS2) commits the government to spend £27.4 billion upgrading the Strategic Road Network (SRN). Some of this will be used to build new road capacity but more will be used to improve the quality and reduce the negative impacts of the existing SRN, so that every part of the country will benefit.

Components of RIS2 are evaluated through Highways England’s Post Opening Project Evaluation (POPE) series, whilst key performance indicators of the SRN are measured annually by the Office of Road and Rail. We will conduct a scoping exercise to assess whether any additional monitoring and evaluation work will be appropriate for RIS2.

Economic performance impacts of road enhancements

This is an analysis project designed to improve DfT’s evidence about the relationship between investment in the road network and local economic performance. It will supplement existing evaluation programmes which focus on the transport outcomes of schemes, such as Highways England’s Post Opening Project Evaluation series and local scheme promoters’ Local Major Scheme evaluations.

A scoping study, which was conducted and published in 2019, identified schemes that could be covered, assessed data requirements and explored impact evaluation methods. A full study was commissioned in 2020 and is expected to report in 2022. This will utilise portfolio-level econometric analysis to examine potential firm-level, labour-market and development impacts, and scheme-level case study research to explore the evidence for impacts in local area contexts.

Rail investments

High Speed 2

Phase One of High Speed 2 (HS2), between London and Birmingham, has begun construction and is due to open between 2029 and 2033. Phase Two has been split into two stages: Phase 2a linking the west midlands and the north via Crewe, and Phase 2b completing the railway to Manchester (the Western Leg) and Leeds (the Eastern Leg). Phase 2a achieved Royal Assent in February 2021. Phase 2b Western Leg will progress to Bill stage by the end of 2021, and Phase 2b Eastern Leg is currently part of the decision to be made on the Integrated Rail Plan.

HS2 Limited and DfT have developed a comprehensive benefits management programme to measure, monitor, assess and report on the extent to which HS2 is being delivered in line with government commitments, and that the investment is achieving its intended objectives. DfT is writing an evaluation framework that will set out how we will evaluate HS2 Phase One, which will be published in 2021. A similar evaluation plan and benefits

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

12

management framework is being finalised for Phase 2a and Phase 2b Western Leg, and plans for Phase 2b Eastern Leg will be developed following the Integrated Rail Plan.

High Speed 1

HS1 opened in 2007 and the First Interim Evaluation was conducted from 2013 to 2014.

DfT is planning a second evaluation to examine the longer-term impacts of HS1 and so strengthen our overall evidence base for major projects and support planning for other schemes. This will begin in 2021.

Crossrail

The Crossrail Programme is delivering the Elizabeth Line, a new railway linking Reading and Heathrow to Shenfield and Abbey Wood, running through tunnels under central London. The Line is expected to open in the first half of 2022.

TfL and DfT have jointly commissioned a baseline evaluation study for Crossrail. The study is collecting comprehensive baseline data, identifying construction impacts, evaluating early transport impacts (such as those arising from new rolling stock) and pre-opening impacts relating to land, property and regeneration. The study will be completed by the end of 2022, in line with Elizabeth Line opening date. A subsequent study will evaluate post-opening impacts of the programme against the baseline.

Thameslink

The Thameslink Programme is a £7 billion, 10-year programme which comprises infrastructure work, including rebuilding London Bridge station, the procurement of a fleet of new trains, and a major re-configuration of train franchise arrangements on the Thameslink routes to increase capacity on the Thameslink network.

A baseline study of the programme collected comprehensive data for measuring the benefits of the programme and was published in 2018. Further work is underway internally to monitor interim outcomes of the programme. It is planned to commission a five-year post-opening evaluation which would be conducted in 2025.

East West Rail

East West Rail aims to put in place transport connections between Oxford and Cambridge in three connection stages. So far, funding has been committed for construction of Connection Stage One which will deliver services between Oxford and Bletchley and Milton Keynes by 2025. East West Rail Company has been created to oversee the project.

East West Rail Company has a benefits management and evaluation strategy that it will refresh and publish in 2021.

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

13

Rail Enhancements Portfolio

Over Control Period 6, DfT has committed substantial investments in new or improved infrastructure that enable service changes and other benefits to improve journeys for passengers across the rail network. These investments will enhance the capability of the railway, typically adding increased or new capacity or providing technical improvements to the way the railway runs.

DfT has a benefits management and evaluation framework which is used to measure, monitor and report on the benefits realised for individual rail schemes within the Enhancements portfolio. This is supplemented by additional evaluation activity for major programmes and/or cross-cutting priority outcomes, to understand the outcomes and wider economic impacts of individual schemes in comparison with appropriate control routes or areas.

The first post-opening study, covering the Great Western Route Modernisation and linked outputs from the Intercity Express Programme, is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

Transformational impacts of transport investments

DfT has commissioned an analytical project to review how transport projects have achieved transformational change in the past. The project is expected to involve a literature review, case studies and econometric analysis. It will focus particularly on rail projects but may cover other modes as well.

The findings, expected to be published in 2022, will be used to develop a deeper understanding of the processes through which a transport intervention impacts the structure and spatial distribution of the economy. This will support better economic narratives and improve our understanding of why some schemes have not achieved their wider objectives.

Improve users' experience of the transport network

This second group of projects supports the priority outcome of building confidence in the transport network as the country recovers from COVID-19 and improving transport users’ experience, ensuring that the network is safe, reliable, and inclusive.

Local Transport Reform

National Bus Strategy

Published in March 2021, the National Bus Strategy sets out the government's vision to deliver better bus services for passengers across England by reforming how services are planned and delivered. It brings together new and existing projects and programmes with the aim of getting more people to travel by bus. DfT is developing a plan for monitoring and evaluating priority strands of activity that will come under the National Bus Strategy. Relevant ongoing evaluation activity is set out below.

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

14

The Rural Mobility Fund provides funding for 17 demand-responsive transport service pilot schemes. It is anticipated that initial process evaluation outputs will be published in 2022.

The evaluation of the Cornwall bus fares pilot, a package of measures to improve bus services and reduce the cost of bus travel, is expected to produce a baseline report and a first interim evaluation report intended for publication in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

The All-Electric Bus Towns scheme provides funding to establish the UK's first all-electric bus town or city. Evaluation activity is at the scoping stage and early outputs are expected in 2022.

Monitoring and evaluation of the Low Emission Bus Scheme supports the uptake of low-emission buses by collecting and analysing the data from electric, hybrid, hydrogen and biomethane buses funded by the scheme. It will provide evidence on the operation of low emission buses funded by DfT, provide confidence to operators considering investment in low emission buses and better inform policy design. A final report is expected to be published in 2022.

Inclusive Transport Strategy

The Inclusive Transport Strategy (ITS) sets out the government’s ambitions for disabled people to have the same access to transport as everyone else and to be able to travel confidently, easily and without extra cost.

DfT has published a framework for the monitoring and evaluation of the ITS and commissioned an evaluation study. This study will include surveys of disabled and non-disabled people and assistance dog users, as well as interviews with disabled people and case studies with transport operators and local licensing authorities. Inclusivity scorecards will be published annually from 2021, with interim and final evaluation reports due for publication in 2021 and 2023 to 2024 respectively.

Local Roads Maintenance and Renewals

The Highways Maintenance Block grant (£976 million per year between 2015 to 2016 and 2020 to 2021 and £625 million in 2021 to 2022) is allocated to local highway authorities in England outside London to fund a well-maintained, resilient local highway network. The Integrated Transport Block grant (£258 million per year, but £260 million in 2021 to 2022) funds enhancements costing less than £5 million. The Pothole Fund (£500 million per year) is intended to help prevent and fix potholes. All are allocated on a rolling basis via a sector-agreed formula.

DfT monitors local roads maintenance, using data on their condition and treatment collected from Local Transport Authorities, and produces annual publications. Monitoring will also be supplemented by process evaluation to gather contextual information about Local Transport Authorities’ asset management strategies and challenges and explore the potential for additional data collection and monitoring and evaluation.

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

15

Road User Safety

Safer Roads Fund

The Safer Roads Fund is a £100 million fund targeted at England's 50 most dangerous roads (as assessed by the Road Safety Foundation). The Fund was announced in 2017 and funding awards were made between 2017 and 2021. Implementation will continue until 2023.

Because this was the first fund of its kind (encouraging a targeted, proactive approach to road safety in line with the principles of the Safe System approach), a process evaluation was commissioned to understand what worked well and less well in the Fund’s administration and to what extent it encouraged local authorities to adopt safe system principles. A report of the first phase of the evaluation, covering the announcement and application stage, was published in 2018. A second phase of research, covering implementation, is underway and will report in 2023. We are considering options for further evaluation to assess the impact of the Fund.

Young and Novice Driver Interventions (Driver 2020)

DfT is undertaking a £2 million research programme to identify which new training, education and technology-based interventions for learner and novice drivers are the most effective in improving road safety (reducing collision risk). Following an initial evidence review in August 2017, fieldwork for this project, known as Driver 2020, commenced in 2019.

The study is trialling five interventions. Three of these focus on the learning period: an app-based intervention designed to increase the amount and breadth of pre-test on-road experience; an e-learning intervention to train hazard perception skill and an educational intervention. The remaining two interventions focus on the period immediately following test pass: an intervention utilising a mobile phone app to provide feedback to drivers on their driving style and a web-based intervention designed to engage parents or mentors in managing post-test driving in specific risky situations (such as driving after dark, and while carrying peer-age passengers). The study uses randomised controlled trials with over 14,000 participants whereby those exposed to the interventions are compared with control groups to understand whether they reduce the likelihood of a collision post-test qualification. The trials are supported by qualitative research with participants and those delivering the trials to explore how they are working in practice and any unintended consequences. The study will conclude and report in 2023.

Reforming rail services

Rail Transformation Programme

Following the completion of the Williams-Shapps Rail Review, the Rail Transformation Programme has moved into a design and delivery phase. The Programme aims to transform Great Britain’s railways to deliver meaningful change for passengers, freight customers and taxpayers.

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

16

DfT is following a structured benefits management approach to measure, monitor and report on the progress of the Programme. The Programme is also progressing further work to scope additional evaluation activity, which is likely to involve an evaluation scoping study to assess data requirements and explore impact evaluation methods.

Rail Fares and Ticketing

DfT is reviewing fares, ticketing and retailing for the railways, with the aim of ensuring that rail services reflect the interests of both passengers and taxpayers. We are developing options for fares and ticketing improvements across a number of areas, including new fares trials on selected routes and rollout of contactless pay-as-you-go ticketing to new stations.

An evaluation of the LNER single-leg pricing trial is currently underway and is expected to report in 2022. This will draw on a range of data sources, including passenger surveys and administrative data, to provide evidence on the impacts of the trial. Further project-level evaluations will be developed in response to other new fares and ticketing options as they are confirmed.

Maritime

UK Search and Rescue

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) contracted the current UK Search and Rescue Helicopter (UKSARH) service in 2013 and it began full operation in 2017, delivering ten strategically-located bases and a fleet of 22 helicopters. The service has been monitored through internal analysis and search and rescue helicopter statistics are published regularly. Aerial Surveillance (ASV) planes are operated under a separate contract to search for missing and vulnerable people, detect pollution on the water, and support law enforcement bodies.

The MCA is currently procuring the UK Search and Rescue second generation aviation service (UKSAR2G) to bring together capabilities of both the current UKSARH and ASV service in a more cost-effective and innovative way, due to commence in 2024. A programme of monitoring and evaluation will be commissioned in three phases, the first of its kind for the MCA. Phase 1, which is being commissioned in 2021 and will run to 2024, will comprise the development of a monitoring and evaluation framework and the collection of baseline measures. Phase 2 will be a mid-service process evaluation to assess how UKSAR2G was implemented and what effects it is having. Phase 3 will comprise interim and final impact evaluations and an ex-post assessment of value for money.

Tackling climate change

This third group of projects supports the priority outcome of tackling climate change and improving air quality by decarbonising transport.

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

17

Office for Zero Emission Vehicles

The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles develops and delivers initiatives to stimulate uptake of ultra-low and zero-emission vehicles, thus helping reduce air pollution on our roads and contributing to economic growth. Its grant schemes provide support for the take-up of plug-in electric vehicles and chargepoint infrastructure across the UK, as well as innovation in the design, manufacture and use of zero-emission vehicles.

In addition to regular stakeholder consultations and routine monitoring of project delivery metrics, we are developing an overarching evaluation framework to gather evidence of impact and value for money. We will gather lessons learnt from previous delivery models to inform an update of chargepoint infrastructure schemes and we will embed robust monitoring in delivery for the reformed schemes. This will be complemented by evaluation to better understand uptake, as well as the impacts of the schemes.

Local authority plans to tackle NO2 concentrations

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and DfT published in 2017 a UK plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations and a Clean Air Zone Framework, which set out the principles for setting up Clean Air Zones in England.

In 2018, Defra and DfT commissioned an evaluation of local authority plans to tackle nitrogen dioxide concentrations, including charging Clean Air Zones. The evaluation provides evidence to inform the implementation and maintenance of local plans and assess how effective they have been in meeting their aims. It comprises trend analysis of air quality and traffic data, and case studies of the implementation of local plans and cross-cutting issues of interest. A baseline report was published in 2021 and the evaluation is expected to conclude in 2023.

Active Travel Portfolio

The Active Travel Portfolio incorporates a range of projects and programmes intended to increase levels of active travel. The principal programmes within the portfolio are the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy and the Active Travel Fund.

The Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy sets out the government's active travel objectives, the financial resources being made available to meet them, the delivery strategy and associated governance arrangements. Programmes planned for 2021 to 2022 that contribute to the Strategy's aims include capital and revenue funding for cycling and walking schemes delivered by local authorities, a new national e-bike support programme, the Bikeability training programme, and the establishment of Active Travel England.

Evaluation in this area will focus on activities and outcomes across these different programmes and will draw together the outputs of individual scheme evaluations, including cycle training programmes, e-cycle initiatives, and other behaviour change measures. This work will conclude before the end of 2023.

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

18

The Active Travel Fund consists of around £225 million granted to local and combined authorities in two tranches. The first tranche supported the installation of temporary projects in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The second tranche supported the creation of high-quality, long-term projects.

DfT is commissioning an overarching meta-analysis and evaluation of the Fund's second tranche. This will draw together themed intervention-level evaluation outputs and case studies to present conclusions about impact, process and value for money. The evaluation will commence in spring 2021 and will be completed by the end of 2024.

e-Scooters Trials

Trials of rental e-scooters are being conducted in more than 30 local authorities between 2020 and 2022 to support a green restart of travel and mitigate reduced public transport capacity during the COVID-19 crisis. DfT introduced the legal changes to allow trials, published guidance for local areas and rental operators and worked with local areas to co-ordinate and support the development of their proposals. Local authorities worked with e-scooter operators to procure new services under the guidance.

DfT has commissioned a national evaluation. This will complement local monitoring and evaluation activity and collect robust evidence about the safety, benefits, public perceptions and wider impacts of e-scooters to inform legal changes that may be necessary after the trial period ends, and to learn implementation lessons to guide roll out of future services. The trials will conclude in 2021 to 2022 and be reported in 2022.

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

19

3. Projects that have concluded since the last update

This section provides information about projects that were listed in the 2017 update to the Programme but have since concluded, including links to any publications.

Local Sustainable Transport Fund

Between 2011 and 2015 the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) awarded £600 million to local authority partners to deliver schemes to cut carbon emissions and create local growth. Interim reports were published, and a final meta-analysis of findings from the 12 LSTF Large Project areas, including in-depth reviews of case study projects, was published in 2018.

Local Pinch Point Fund

The aim of the Local Pinch Point Fund programme was to remove bottlenecks on the local highway network and support growth-enhancing development. Local authorities were responsible for monitoring schemes of less than £10 million against standard metrics, and for evaluating those of over £10 million in line with the 'standard' requirements of the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for Local Authority Major Schemes.

Street Works Permit Schemes

In 2015, DfT removed the requirement for permit schemes to be approved by the Secretary of State, giving local authorities the scope to make their own permit schemes and vary or revoke existing schemes. The evaluation concluded in 2018 with a central recommendation that authorities not currently operating a permit scheme should consider introducing one. The evaluation report and annexes are available here.

A2/M2 Connected Corridor Pilot

The A2/M2 Connected Corridor Pilot was the UK contribution to the InterCor (Interoperable Corridor deploying Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems) project, a programme of investments in Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems in UK, France, Netherlands and

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

20

Belgium. The UK consortium, which comprised DfT, Highways England, Transport for London and Kent County Council, established a programme of testing on the A2/M2 corridor which covered in-vehicle signage, probe vehicle data, road works warning and Green Light Optimised Speed Advisory. The programme completed technology and interoperability tests and a user acceptance trial. It concluded in 2020 and is documented in the InterCor library.

20mph speed limits

DfT commissioned an evaluation of 20mph (signed only) speed limits. The study comprised a process evaluation which looked at why and how schemes were delivered in 12 case study areas, and an impact evaluation which examined the effectiveness of schemes in delivering intended outcomes, using comparisons with areas which had a 30mph limit in place. A report of the evaluation was published in 2018 and can be accessed here.

The National Speed Awareness Course

The National Speed Awareness Course is offered by nearly all police forces in England and Wales and provides eligible offending drivers with a short course of retraining as an alternative to punishment for low-level speeding offences. An impact evaluation was commissioned to assess the impact of the course on the subsequent speed reoffending of participants. The study was published in 2018 and can be found here.

Drug Driving

The Section 5A drug driving legislation, which made it illegal to drive with certain drugs in the body above specified levels, came into force in March 2015. An evaluation of the legislation was conducted to assess the implementation and operation of the offence, one year after its introduction. The evaluation report was published in 2017 and can be found here.

HGV speed limit increase on single and dual carriageway roads

In April 2015 the National Speed Limits for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) over 7.5 tonnes increased from 40mph to 50mph on single carriageways and from 50mph to 60mph on dual carriageways. A three-year evaluation assessed the impact of the changes on speeds, safety and the environment and produced a revised cost-benefit analysis. The final report was published in 2020 and is available, along with interim reports, here.

Longer Semi-Trailers

A trial of longer semi-trailers for articulated goods vehicles was launched in 2012 to test the impact of their operations on efficiency, emissions and safety. An evaluation of the trial has produced a series of annual reports, the most recent of which, the 2019 report, can be found here. As sufficient quantitative data and other evidence has been collected to answer the evaluation questions, the evaluation has concluded.

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

21

Economic impacts of new or improved rail lines

This project examined the economic impacts of new and improved rail lines through retrospective case studies of three completed schemes and baseline studies of three planned schemes. The study used econometric analysis and stakeholder interviews to examine evidence for scheme impacts on economic activity and regeneration. Evaluation case studies and a technical report providing lessons for future work in this field are available here.

Bikeability and Bikeability Plus

Bikeability and Bikeability Plus training is funded by DfT to provide schoolchildren the skills and confidence they need to make safe independent journeys by bike. An evaluation was conducted which compared pupils in Bikeability schools with those in comparison schools to assess the impacts of the programme on pupils’ cycling behaviour. Its report was published in 2019.

Cycling Cities Ambition Grant

The Cycling Cities Ambition Grant (CCAG) supported cycling through capital investment in eight English cities. The evaluation assessed the impact of the grant on levels of cycling and generated lessons for future interventions. In six of the eight CCAG cities, count data suggests an upward trend in cycling volumes. A programme interim report summary, a cost analysis of cycling interventions, and a baseline and further interim reports can be accessed here. A final report is due for publication in 2021.

Heathrow Expansion

Heathrow Expansion is paused, pending a review of the Airports National Policy Statement.

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

22

4. Regulations

DfT is responsible for a wide range of statutory instruments for which ministers have an obligation to undertake post-legislative scrutiny8 and post-implementation reviews (PIRs)9. Post-implementation evaluation is critical in ensuring that our regulatory interventions are delivering their intended outcomes, identifying any unintended consequences and checking that our estimates of the costs or benefits are accurate. Reviewing regulations also enables us to learn lessons from previous interventions and apply these lessons to future regulations. DfT publicly commits to review many other regulatory policies; for example, in the notes published alongside legislation or in impact assessments.

We will continue to monitor review dates, undertake proportionate PIRs and consider evaluation when designing new regulatory policies, drawing on guidance from the Better Regulation Executive.

DfT has 131 pieces of legislation due for a statutory review between January 2021 and December 2025. Of these, 89 are second reviews, which typically recur every five years.

Completed PIRs are generally published online, with high-impact reviews undergoing scrutiny by the Regulatory Policy Committee

We will continue to monitor the necessity and efficacy of any regulatory easements or restrictions relating to health protection and COVID-19.

8 Post-legislative scrutiny refers to a broad form of review, the purpose of which is to address the effects of a legislation in terms of whether the intended policy objectives have been met by the legislation and, if so, how effectively.

9 Post-implementation review (PIR) refers to the review of regulatory policy that complements the ex-ante appraisal contained in an impact assessment. It is a process to establish the effectiveness of a regulation after it has been implemented and operational for a period of time. It addresses the extent to which a regulation is delivering its intended effects, whether there have been any unintended effects, how well it is working and the reasons why.

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

23

5. Evaluation publications

This section provides links to DfT evaluation publications since 2014.

2021

Transforming Cities Fund National Evaluation Case Study 1: The Co-development process (forthcoming)

Local NO2 Plans: baseline research findings

2020

GB Longer Semi-Trailer trial: 2019 Annual Report summary

Final report on the increased speed limit for heavy goods vehicles

2019

Bikeability Impact Study

Evaluation of Roads Reform: the changes made to the management and operation of England’s Strategic Road Network since 2014 (Wave 1 report)

Evaluation of Roads Reform: the changes made to the management and operation of England’s Strategic Road Network since 2014 (Wave 2 report)

Scoping study: evaluating economic performance impacts of road enhancements

Total Transport Feasibility Report and Pilot Review

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

24

2018

20mph speed limits impact and process evaluation

Safer Roads Fund Process Evaluation Phase 1 Report

Behavioural insights interventions to encourage learner drivers to practise more

Cycling Cities Ambition: baseline and interim report

Economic impact of new and improved rail lines: case studies and method

Street works permit schemes: evaluation of effectiveness

National Speed Awareness Course: impact evaluation

Inclusive Transport Strategy: monitoring and evaluation framework

Impact of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund: synthesis of evidence

Local Major Schemes: meta-evaluation 2006 to 2010

Local Sustainable Transport Fund: final meta-analysis

LSTF evaluation: carbon impacts and congestion relief

LSTF evaluation: impact of sustainable transport measures on town centres

LSTF evaluation: strategic employment sites and business parks

LSTF evaluation: visitor travel and sustainable transport

Sustainable Travel Towns: evaluation of the longer-term impacts

Thameslink Programme Evaluation: baseline report

2017

Exploring the economic benefits of strategic roads

An evaluation of low cost workplace-based interventions to encourage the use of sustainable transport

Drug driving law evaluation report

Impact of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund: summary report

Local Sustainable Transport Fund annual report 2014 to 2015

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

25

Local Sustainable Transport Fund: what works?

Low Carbon Truck and Refuelling Infrastructure Trial: final report

Review of interventions to increase the safety of young and novice drivers

Search and rescue helicopter statistics

2016

Cycling infrastructure: framework for evaluating economic and social impacts

Evaluating fixed penalty notices for careless driving offences

Increased speed limit for heavy goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes: initial summary report

Infrastructure and Projects Authority annual report on major projects 2015 to 2016

Longer semi-trailer trial evaluation: annual report 2015

Street works lane rental evaluation

Strengthening the links between appraisal and evaluation

2015

Better Bus Areas programme impact evaluation baseline data report

Better Bus Areas programme process evaluation report

HS1: first interim evaluation

Local Sustainable Transport Fund annual report 2013 to 2014

Local Sustainable Transport Fund: interim meta-analysis

Longer semi-trailer trial evaluation: annual report 2014

Low carbon truck trial: executive summary 2014

Major Projects Authority annual report 2015

The value of community rail partnerships and the value of community rail volunteering

2014

Monitoring and Evaluation Programme 2021

26

Freight mode shift benefit values technical report: an update

Local major schemes: meta-evaluation 2007-2012

Longer semi-trailer trial evaluation: annual report 2013

Major Projects Authority annual report 2014

Revenue support freight grant schemes: review