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Transport plan savaged by MPs
Page 7
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1 The Transport Select Committee has criticised the government's 10-year Transport Plan as flawed and failing to tackle congestion. The comments came during a debate on the select committee's report on the plan.
Particularly outspoken in his criticism was Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Don Foster, who said members of the select committee "expressed concern about the unbalanced nature of the plan and its failure to address the management of traffic growth".
He cited figures produced by the Freight Transport Association. showing that jams are costing British businesses up to £20m a year, as evidence of the need for urgent action. -We need seriously to consider how we will address the problem of congestion on our roads, using the carrot and stick," he added. "Sticks must be used in the form of congestion charging and road pricing." But he backed away from suggesting straightforward increases in fuel taxes.
Equally forthright in her attack on the plan was Tory MP Anne Mcintosh: "This is now a downgraded plan from a downgraded department" She claimed the government is strmgging to find adequate funding and will miss its deadrmes, quoting the committee's report "We reiterate our concern that it is impossible to tell whether the plan is on target if it merely consists of a series of aspirations for 2010 and little detail on how we should achieve them from the current position."