"Just because our priority is to deal with the debt crisis this does not mean we neglect our central responsibility to provide Britain with transport that works effectively and efficiently and to increase transport capacity where it is most needed to meet long-term increases in demand"

Rt. Hon. Philip Hammond MP, Secretary of State for Transport

GovToday presents Sustainable Transport 2011 - Greening the Transport Sector Conference and Exhibition, which will be held at Church House Conference Centre on 16th February 2011.

Sustainable Transport 2011 - Greening the Transport Sector Conference and Exhibition is our second Annual National Conference, which has as its focus the Sustainable Development of our Transport Sector in the UK.

The most urgent priorities of the new Coalition Government are to reduce the UK's record budget deficit, to build on the commitment to localism, deregulation and decentralisation, whilst becoming the 'Greenest Government ever', investing in our low carbon economy.

This strategy is reflected in 'The Coalition: our programme for government' published in May 2010, which provides information on the programme of change over the following five years. For the transport sector, the Government believes that "a modern transport infrastructure is essential for a dynamic and entrepreneurial economy, as well as to make the transport sector greener and more sustainable, with tougher emission standards and support for new transport technologies."

The two overriding challenges that the Government faces are to rebuild the economy and to reduce carbon emissions which are currently increasing in the transport sector, there is, therefore, a need to rethink how we deliver transport both nationally and locally.

At a national level, the Government has reaffirmed that spending on transport, particularly capital, projects is essential if we are going to move forward and help rebuild the economy - there is a very high correlation between transport spend and the positive impact it has on the economy.

The commitment to localism, deregulation and decentralisation means there is an increased priority given to local transport plans and the impact of the local enterprise partnerships (LEPs). The aim is to boost development and strengthen the local economy by managing transport and infrastructure planning, improving the quality and value to local transport services.

Sustainable Transport 2011 - Greening the Transport Sector will examine in detail the Government's sustainable transport strategy following the impact of the Spending Review and the Departmental Structural Reform Plan, highlighting the core priorities moving forward and the mechanisms for change which will impact on both the national and local transport network.