SCHEMES to promote and develop integrated transport in Merseyside have been boosted by the annual Local Transport Settlement announced by the Minister for Transport, Dr Gavin Strang.

The overall settlement is worth £20.1 million to Merseyside. Merseyside's packages allocation is retained at £10 million reflecting the good progress the package is making and the effective partnership between the local authorities in implementing the package strategy. The rest of the money is going to fund specific projects.

Said Dr Strang: "We are committed to pursuing policies that provide people with integrated, efficient, safe and environmentally friendly transport.

"Despite very tight budgetary constraints, we are targeting extra resources on transport packages where these policies can be delivered more effectively at the local level.

"This settlement reflects our determination to see that we will have the transport infrastructure this country needs for sustainable development."

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