Minister backs decision not to publish tram report

A decision not to publish a report whose findings led to a planned mass transit system for West Yorkshire being delayed until the late 2030s has been defended by the transport secretary.

The proposed tram system was put on hold in December after a review by the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) advised that West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) should take a new approach to it.

WYCA had said a summary of that review would be published in January, but it has since said it would stay confidential for legal reasons.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has backed WYCA's decision, arguing that it was "normal" for such reviews to remain confidential.

If given the go-ahead, the mass transit scheme would see a tram route running from St James's Hospital in Leeds, past Elland Road to the White Rose shopping centre, with a second linking the centres of Leeds and Bradford.

Last June, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves allocated £2.1bn of funding for transport projects in West Yorkshire, including for the proposed mass transit system which WYCA had hoped would be up and running in the early 2030s.

Reeves recently said the planned scheme would see the return of trams to West Yorkshire and not just better buses, adding that "mass transit means a tram network".

WYCA said that despite earlier pledging to publish the findings by NISTA, which led to the mass transport system being delayed, it was now unable to release the report or details of its contents "following legal advice".

"The report contains information relating to financial or business affairs, and disclosure at this stage could inhibit full and frank discussions about the project," it said.

Responding, Councillor Alan Lamb, who sits on the WYCA board and who has seen the 40-page document, has called for it to be put in the public domain.

"It's quite critical of the Combined Authority and the mayor," Lamb said.

"Openness and transparency are crucial, and people should be able to see the rationale for decisions and why things aren't progressing at the pace that has been promised repeatedly."

At a WYCA board meeting on 22 January, Lamb said the way information concerning the delay had been presented by WYCA was "dishonest".

That sparked a furious response from West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin, who asked Lamb to withdraw the remark.

However, he refused to do so, saying he was not calling the mayor personally dishonest.

Defending the decision not to publish the report, the transport minister said: "When NISTA do reviews, it is normal that those documents are kept commercially confidential.

"We are working at pace to take this forward, but we want to do it properly and get maximum value when we let those contracts to do the work that's needed."

Alexander added that her department backed Brabin "100%" in her ambitions for a mass transit system for West Yorkshire.

Brabin has previously said that despite the delay, she would have "spades in the ground" to get the scheme under way in 2028.

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