Target setting and performance incentives: - a practical and theoretical assessment of English local transport strategies

All local transport authorities in England have, since 2000, been obliged to submit five year strategies for local transport. The plans set out the overall strategy, key policies that will be implemented and how the strategy will be resourced. The central government now has the flexibility on an annual basis to adjust this allocation up or down by up to 25% based on the quality of the plans and, on an on-going basis, achievement against the targets proposed in these plans. This paper presents a theoretical and practical assessment of the impacts of these incentives on local authority performance.