An interim report of Sir Peter Hendy’s Union Connectivity Review was published on 10th March 2021. CILT was one of 144 organisations to respond to a call for evidence.

Media headlines noted one of the recommendations to review Air Passenger Duty (APD), and the appointment of Douglas Oakervee and Gordon Masterton to look at the feasibility of a fixed link between Northern Ireland and the British mainland. However, there were many other issues and proposals that indicate how the review is progressing.

The report included data on cross-border flows that help to understand the scale of the issues. Road traffic flows are highest between Wales and England – for example, over 50,000 vehicles a day each way across the Severn. Scotland–England flows on the M6 are about half of this, but with a much higher proportion of HGVs.

Over nine million passengers a year cross each of the Wales-England and Scotland-England borders by rail. Maritime freight tonnages are highest on routes between Northern Ireland and England, but are similar for coastal routes around England and between Scotland and England. Ship passengers between Northern Ireland and the mainland are over one million annually, compared with over six million by air.

The busiest air routes are between Scotland and England, amounting to nearly 10 million passengers a year. The report relates some of the flows to economic and social factors and notes interdependencies with other policies, including decarbonisation, levelling up, infrastructure plans and various reviews and strategies.

Sir Peter’s recommendations relate to CILT’s evidence as follows:

• We identified Scotland–England and Wales–England rail and road routes in need of improvement and these were included in the interim report
• Similarly, the need for capacity on east–west routes across the Midlands and the north was identified by CILT and Sir Peter
• While the report suggested improving roads to Cairnryan, CILT’s preference was for better rail links
• The interim report suggested that air links between England and Northern Ireland and Northern Scotland were needed and that an APD review would be appropriate, which CILT has also suggested
• CILT had supported the principle of a national strategic transport network and this is recommended in the report

One intriguing point is that the initial terms of reference referred to transport between the nations, but this seems to have morphed now to include within each country, particularly in relation to routes within England, which of course is fundamental to the transport of people and freight throughout the whole of the UK.

The review team will now be working on the details, including delving more into the evidence presented, with the aim of publishing a final report in the summer.